Carla's Heart Valve Journal

We left for the hospital at 7:00am this morning via the hotel shuttle...still raining and cold. I think I had a TEE last year during or after surgery which I don't remember at all. I also had one after a suspected TIA in 2002. I didn't remember the medicine cup of "yucky thick stuff" to gargle for a full minute that seemed like forever. At that point, I felt my tongue was more numb than my throat but eventually that numbed as well. Then 2 quick sprays of numbing spray for the back of the throat and we were ready to roll. The nurse gave me a sedative through the iv in my arm and the Dr. started inserting the tubing (about the diameter of my little finger) down my throat past the gag reflex and then on down the esophagus. A weird feeling but not really uncomfortable.

The Dr. told me they suspected a leak around the repaired mitral valve after seeing the results of the cath. from yesterday. I thought I was aware of everything that went on and what was said at the time but now tonight it is all a blur...exactly what the nurse told me would happen.

We met with Dr K after the procedure and got to look at the pictures. Everything is intact with the repair and they did not see a stitch that had opened and said the repair looked in very good shape which was very good news and an answer to prayer. There is a very mild leak which may be causing the pulmonary hypertension but he seemed to indicate that may not be the cause. He does believe it is heart related though and not a lung issue. He said the normal pulmonary pressure should be 35 and mine was 38-44 with the cath. Lower than with the external echo (53) which actually can only estimate the pressure. He really did not seem too concerned but he prescribed a mild dose of lasix and potassium and wants me to exercise consistently and really push it. My blood pressure has been quite good but he also wants me to keep a daily blood pressure log to make sure I am not getting any spikes in that. No "pat" answers to the original issue though. I've got the echo and TEE on CD to take to my Dr. and I am anxious to get all the reports and see everything written down. The Dr. gave me his phone and email and told me to let him know any concerns or questions.

I snoozed off and on this afternoon and then we celebrated tonight and went to see "Million Dollar Quartet" (true story of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash - Dec. 4, 1956) not far from our hotel in the playhouse district. A fun rock n roll show!

Thank you so much for praying for us. It has brought such peace and calm. None of us knows the future but we can and do know the One who holds our future. God is so good!

Love,
Carla

Just a quick note to thank you for your continued prayers while going through testing. I had a great nights sleep last night and the right heart cath went quite smoothly...amusing...but smoothly...I think. :)

When the nurse brought me back to the cath lab she asked if I needed a sedative, which I guess they usually give. I told her I had never had a right cath before so didn't know what to expect and passed the question back to her if I needed one. She told me if I didn't have a sedative I could leave shortly after the procedure and would not have to go to recovery. She told me I looked and seemed so calm she didn't think I needed one. She said the neck would be numbed and I wouldn't feel anything there and she said if I needed anything it would be available at any time.

They paged the Dr. to come and start; meanwhile I am hooked up to an EKG, blood pressure cuff, oxygen indicator, iv, laying on and also covered with heated blankets and then covered with blue surgical covers, a hat on my head and my face almost all covered...leaving one eye uncovered to watch the procedure on the screen. Oh, this is so unlike me, but I've become so intrigued with all this medical stuff. Before being covered over, I questioned the nurse and other "helpers" as to whether the Dr. that was coming was skilled in doing right heart caths and then joked that I didn't want any rookies practicing on me. They assured me this is CC. :) The Dr. arrives and proceeds to ask the fellow injecting my neck what school he came from and then said "so you are first year, first week solo". At that point, I'm considering saying "hey wait a minute" but decided I didn't want the poor guy to get nervous nor myself to panic so decided to give it all to the Lord - including him! I felt like I got a bit of an education in the do's and don'ts of right heart cath and lived to tell about it. :) Randy told me I am dangerous because I hear everything...he told me to take the sedation next time. :)

I am so thankful that our Great God is sovereign and has known before I was born every detail of my life and even gives me the faith to trust Him in all things!

My TEE is at 7:30am tomorrow (Friday) and then we meet with the Dr. at 9:00am to sort things out.

36 degree windchill and still raining.

With a grateful heart!
Carla

We left FL in nasty rainy weather very early this am and arrived in Cleveland at 11:15am in very nasty, rainy, windy weather and 30 degrees cooler. We checked into our hotel and found we had been given a suite – very nice – maybe a bonus from staying so long last year…and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies…which makes the whole trip worth it for Randy. :)

By 2:45pm, I had completed all the scheduled tests and then met with Dr. Kalahasti, who was very likeable but had no easy answers to the pulmonary hypertension issue. He said with the symptoms it would seem like there could be a problem with the repaired mitral valve, although no problem was present on the echo. After discussing just monitoring the situation and doing nothing at this point but taking the chance that it could cause the right heart to fail, he decided to have me have a right heart catherization, Thursday, at 7:30am to measure exact pressures and check things out. I believe they will be going in through the neck but I won’t be totally out. The name of the Dr. doing it has changed 3 times already so only the Lord knows who it will be.

Dr. Kalahasti also scheduled a TEE (transesophageal echo) on Friday at 7:30am. I will be sedated and they will go down the throat to the esophagus and stomach to get an even better look at the heart, especially the back of the heart.

I will have another appointment with him on Friday, at 9:00am, after the TEE. At that time, we’ll go over the results and see if any cause can be determined and then decide how to treat it…he is talking meds as this point.

Prayer Requests: I didn’t sleep a wink on Tuesday night; thinking about too many things I wanted to get done before we left….so a good night’s sleep tonight for both of us. Must leave the hotel at 6:00am

Wisdom and skill for the Dr. doing the heart cath. – Thursday at 7:30am

TEE Friday at 7:30am

Wisdom for Dr. Kalahasti

I know it is all in the Lord’s hands and He has been so faithful and we continue to trust His will for our lives. Thank you so much for your prayers….we are so grateful!

Resting in His peace!
Carla

We had our 3rd annual Camp Mimi & Pop-Pop this summer and enjoyed having all the grandkids together. We are amazed at how they are growing up so fast – it doesn’t seem possible. Does that mean we’re getting older as well? Shhh...better not say that too loud. Check out the new pics that I’ve added.

The grandkids left one day and the next day I flew up to Wisconsin to visit my Mom who turned 88 years old on the day I arrived. I spent 2 weeks in Wisconsin with heat hotter than Florida but had some precious time together and also time recouping from “camp grandkids”.

When changing planes on my way to and from the North, I noticed it was a bit of a challenge getting from one terminal to another while toting my backpack. Found myself short of breath and wishing I had asked for assistance - nothing I've ever considered before. When I returned home I noticed I had problems climbing the stairs at the Mall so I made an appointment with my cardiologist. They did an echo and found that my pulmonary hypertension went from 38 (August 2010- 3 months post surgery) to 53 (August 2011) and where I had a trace leak in my tricuspid valve pre-surgery and 3 months after surgery, I now have a mild to moderate leak. Not music to my ears. My local cardiologist wants me to have a heart catherization to get an accurate reading. He is puzzled why the pulmonary pressure has risen in the last year – if anything it should have decreased after the mitral valve repair. He also had a VQ scan done to check for blood clots in the lungs and also a chest x-ray. They were both ok. I have been trying to research to see if the re-repair of the mitral valve could have any connection. It’s like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

I don’t feel comfortable having a cath done locally and have been praying that somehow we could go back to Cleveland. The “boss” came through and said we could go so I called a contact at CCF and I have an appointment for this Wednesday, October 19th. They will do blood work, EKG, Echo, and then I will meet with a Cardiologist. After reviewing the tests and if he thinks it is needed, they will do a heart catherization Thursday, October 20th. All my surgical records are at CCF and with all the valve problems that they see and treat, I am hoping and praying that they will determine what is going on.

I know God is sovereign in ALL things and He is truly the Great Physician and ask that you join me in praying for this appointment that the Lord would give the Dr. and support staff wisdom in testing, diagnosis and recommended treatment and that I will rest in His perfect peace. Thank you for your prayers!

Giving thanks in ALL things!
Carla