Carolina's Journal

I seriously cannot believe that it has been 6 weeks since I have had my AVR surgery! I can honestly tell everyone that will undergo surgery - it does get better - although at a slow pace - but worth it! Next week - September 27 I see my surgeon Dr. Leclerc - I really hope I get great news from him and then on October 1st I see my cardiologist. I will keep you posted on what their feedback is. I really hope it is positive! Just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and positive vibes they have sent my way. They were definitely needed and appreciated. Love you all!

At 8:30 am I received a call from my physician with the results of my blood test. YIPPEEE!!! No blood transfusion necessary my level is at 104 - so I guess I don\'t need the iron pills again - because they were causing me problems - so I will get my extra iron by eating food that contains high iron... like edamame.... What a wonderful feeling!!

So Wednesday September 5th I had my first visit with my physician Dr. Miriam Potter. I have not seen her since the month of May when I went to get my yearly physical (which is how I found out about my aortic stenosis. Anyhow – it went well – when she saw me she wanted to give me such a big hug but knew that would hurt me – she was really happy to see me. We reviewed everything that transpired since August 9th; however she was still waiting to receive all the information from the hospital upon my release (the second one). One thing did catch her eye – the fact that my Cat Scan showed that I had a mini stroke prior to my surgery. So I explained to her what had happened. So short story – Friday June 15th in the afternoon very close to 5:00pm – I felt that my vision was very blurry – I shrugged it off to the fact that I probably was straining my eyes on the computer. Anyhow I took some time to see if my vision would return to normal. After about ½ hour – no change however when I put on my sunglasses it seemed to subside. So I decide to get into my car and start heading home – but knew that it would be way to risky to drive on the 401 so I took the side streets so I can drive slower and if necessary could pull over. I managed to get to Rockwood which is halfway to home when hubby called me worried as it was now 6:30-6:45. So I told him what was happening and he told me to wait where I was and that he and my son would come and pick me up. Late Friday night we went to order new glasses at the same time get some glasses that would help soothe my eyes. Saturday June 16th- eyes still felt the same – so instead of going to Guelph General we decided to go to St. Joe’s Health Center in Hamilton. After seeing the doctor there – he did not find anything either so we went back home (very late). Sunday June 17th– eyes no better - but kept them closed most of the day to see it that would help. Monday June 18th - called my optometrist (as per doctor’s orders) to get them checked out again. My optometrist did a very thorough examination – however did not find anything. Tuesday June 19th– my eyes start feeling a lot better and my vision had returned to normal. All this to tell you that “blurry vision” is a symptom of a stroke – YUP !! OMG I can\'t believe I actually had a mini stroke and the only way I found out was thanks to the Cat Scan I had while I was in the hospital. They figured that the blurry vision was my warning sign. So let me tell you the 5 symptoms of a stroke – and why it is very important to recognize and respond immediately to these warning signs. Weakness: sudden loss of strength or sudden numbness in the face arm or leg, even if temporary. Trouble speaking: sudden difficulty speaking or understanding or sudden confusion, even if temporary. Vision problems: sudden trouble with vision, even if temporary. Headache: sudden sever and unusual headache Dizziness: sudden loss of balance, especially with any of the above signs However what Dr. Potter did notice was that I still looked very pale. The fact is that even while I was in the hospital my hemoglobin was very low and she was worried that this had not changed. So I had to do another blood test. If my hemoglobin is lower than 85 – I may need to get a blood transfusion. This is exactly what my nurse practitioner had said when I was hospitalized! If the blood test shows 85 + , this can be treated by taking iron pills and eating food with lots of iron. So once again I wait ..... for results ... hopefully I should know by Friday or latest Monday September 10th.

The second part of my story….. On Friday, August 17th I had to go back to the hospital (accompanied by hubby and my sister in law Nicole) as I had an appointment to make sure that my Warfarin (blood thinner) levels were ok and if they were not I would get another injection in my tummy. The procedure for this is that they take blood and send it for testing and that takes about 45 mins to 1hr. The nurse comes back after 1 hour and tells me that I do not need an injection as my levels are good – I am so happy! Unfortunately that did not last long….. We were told we had to wait as the Nurse Practitioner needed to see me before we had the all clear to leave. Lori (Nurse Practitioner) arrives and takes urine test, blood pressure tests (while standing – while sitting – while standing for 5 minutes) and she starts to make me nervous and worried. She told us that my white blood count was very elevated and that meant my body was fighting either an infection or an inflammation. So she decided she would let me go home however that I would need to take my temperature 4 times a day and if it spiked to rush back to the hospital. She also wanted another ECG done before I left. As we all make our way to the ECG area , and by the time I arrived there – I must have looked like a walking dead. Lori turns around and notices that I’m completely out of breath and ready to pass out. She makes the decision that it would be safer if I stay in the hospital. She quickly orders a bed on 3W (AGAIN!) and a gurney to escort me to the ECG room. Hubby and Nicole wait in the waiting room while I’m undergoing the test. One hour later – test done – they put me in a wheelchair and I wait for someone – anyone to come! Finally I ask another nurse to let me know if my family was still waiting and if she could tell them that I finished the test. They both come and wait with me – I ask Tony to get me something to eat as it was 3:00pm by now and I had nothing to eat since the morning and I was feeling weaker by the minute. They were hunger too! So as Tony goes and gets me food and then returns for something to drink, at that time Lori arrives with a wheelchair looking for me. She tells me that the bed is ready upstairs and that she will bring me herself. I tell Nicole to tell Tony that I’m up there and to come and meet me. I arrive on 3W – the nurse waits for me – gives me the hospital gown and we start the process once again! When Tony and Nicole arrive I tell them to go home as they look as tired as I am and that Tony could come back after dinner with my stuff. So off they go – unfortunately 15 minutes later Lori (nurse practitioner) arrives with the result of the ECG. NOT GOOD NEWS… the ECG test shows some “shadow” around the mechanical valve. So what needs to be done is to wait and see if my temperature rises. The good news is that I am in the perfect place in case something happens. Saturday, August 18th – Dr. Salisidas (surgeon on call) comes to see me and tells me that he was speaking with Dr. Pearce(cardiologist on call) and they see the same thing and there MAY be a possibility of going back to surgery to fix the valve. I called Tony immediately and I was lucky enough to have the surgeon tell him exactly what he just told me. I AM IN UTTER SHOCK.. I DO NOT WANT TO BE REOPENED – I DO NOT WANT TO GO UNDER AGAIN!!!! So next thing I know – some other nurses come in to place an IV and get more blood tests . The reason for the IV is for preventive measures, in the event we need to lower my Warfarin level. They will replace Warfarin with Heparin – which does the same thing as Warfarin but takes only 4 hours to get out of my system compared to 4 days with Warfarin. In case of an emergency surgery The rest of Saturday and Sunday nothing eventful happens – however there was this dark cloud hovering over us…. we were waiting for Monday to arrive and speak with my surgeon Dr. Leclerc who was returning from his vacation. Let’s just say we prayed like we never prayed before hoping that another surgery would not be necessary. Monday morning arrives – no idea as to when he will arrive – you can imagine I barely slept a wink the night before. At about 11 am he arrives. He looks at me and tells me that he reviewed all the tests but somehow he thinks we need to do one more test before making any decision on what needs to be done. At the end of the conversation I bluntly ask him “What are the chances of getting reopened?” In his Quebecois accent he responds, “Carolina, I am sure it will be very slim”. My heart jumps and holds on to those words and hope he is correct ! Later that day Tony arrives and I tell him the news – he tries not to get too excited - just in case. I was told not to eat anything after midnight as they thought the test would happen on Tuesday. The test that Dr. Leclerc was talking about is called a Transesophageal echocardiogram – the test of all tests. A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is a special type of echocardiogram. It is usually done when the doctor wants to look more closely at your heart. Like an echocardiogram, the TEE uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to examine the structures of the heart. A transducer (a unit that directs the sound waves) is placed in the esophagus (the pipe that connects the mouth to the stomach). The esophagus is close to the heart, so images from a TEE can give very clear pictures of the heart and its structures. The transducer at the tip of the tube releases sound waves that bounce off your heart and are converted into pictures on a video screen. The doctor can move the tube up, down and sideways to look at different parts of the heart from different angles. Tuesday afternoon – they arrive at my room with a gurney to bring me down for the TEE test. There I was given a mild sedative to help me relax and they numbed my throat with an anesthetic, which really does not taste very good (putting it mildly), then a flexible tube about the size of an index finger was inserted into my mouth and down my esophagus. During the procedure, I actually felt the probe moving, but it wasn’t painful because really whatever they gave me actually put me into a light sleep. The test took about 40 minutes. They gently woke me up to tell me the test was finished and they were bringing me back to my room, where I slept until Tony arrived. I woke up but really did not want to – because I was still nervous – we still did not know what the test showed. About 1 hour later Dr. Leclerc arrives in his scrubs and has this serious face – now I’m really really worried. He looks at both of us and all of a sudden he breaks into a smile and says “What did I tell you?” I responded, “very slim chance to be reopened” to which he says “actually no need to be reopened.” I did not hear anything else after that because I started to cry like a baby! I was so happy I could not believe the good news!.. All I know was that he would monitor me for a couple more days and see what the problem actually was. OH MAN WAS I HAPPY... I texted my brothers and the one in Montreal actually called me.... we were both crying like kids. This turned out to be a GOOD day. Wednesday morning August 22nd - woke up from a somewhat good night sleep ! Plus my daughter calls from Australia to chat for a bit and tells me how happy she was to hear the good news. I was about to have breakfast when my nurse tells me that the shower was available if I wanted to take a shower. Which of course I certainly wanted one! As I get off the bed I feel somewhat light headed but I try to shrug it off as nothing was going to put a damper on my mood. I go into the shower – do my business and as I’m drying off – I start to feel yet again – nauseous, dizzy and unable to stand. I had just enough energy to sit down and pull the string to alert the nurses. I have never seen such a team of nurses work together in such speed! The next thing I remember was they placed me on a wheelchair – covered me as I was semi dressed – and whisked me to my room – they immediately took blood by pricking my finger and next thing I was throwing up bile and needed to go to the washroom as I had no control over my body. Once I did what I needed to do, they placed me in bed and asked that I rest. At which time the nurse practitioner (Lori) arrived. I think I baffled her because everything went well until this morning. So she decided to get more tests done – a CT scan for my head and a test for my thyroid. She is determined to figure out what the heck was happening to me. Later that day I had both tests done and the results arrived as well. It seemed that the CT Scan showed I had a mini stroke prior to my operation. This may explain the the clusters/auras I used to get in front of my eyes. However what was making me feel so sick? Lori was willing to even get me a blood transfusion! She spoke with Dr. Leclerc who told her to not do anything except to remove me off all the pills I was taking except the warfarin(heprin) and see what will transpire in the next couple of days. BINGO! He hit the nail on it’s head - I guess that is why he gets paid the big bucks........ Long story short – due to the mini stroke and the fact that my heart was now functioning perfectly combined with the heart pills they were giving me this was causing me every symptom I was feeling. I left the hospital for the second time on Friday, August 24th! This time I left feeling much better and having more control over my head. I have been home since Friday – and I can honestly say I feel great. I can handle the pain of the cut as long as I don’t ever have to feel like I have felt for the last 2 weeks. I have scheduled all my appointments to see my physician, my surgeon and my cardiologist – but I can honestly say that the worst is over and now I can concentrate on regaining my strength and getting back to a somewhat normal life. As soon as I see my physician I will keep you posted of what comes of it. I just want to take this moment to thank everyone who kept in touch with me and supported me through this ordeal. Without your support I honestly do not think I would have made it – Love you all!

Hello everyone! Yes… I survived…. but I tell you it was a heck of a roller coaster ride. I will try to give you a quick synopsis of what has transpired – so you can understand why we were unable to keep you posted. So, August 9th was the day of my surgery – Tony (hubby), Charles (my son) and I arrive at the hospital by 9:00 am – and by 9:45 I was dressed in the beautiful hospital garments and was given something to calm me before the surgery. Had I known how strong these pills were I would have made sure to tell both my husband and my son how much I love them and that I wanted to reassure them that I would fight with all my might to come back to them. The first thing I remember when I came to, was Dr. Hutfluss, my anaesthesiologist telling me that I made him work for his money, but that he was happy to see that I was finally awake. Between you and I – that’s one hell of a way to wake up! It was Friday August 10th, late morning and still in CVICU (Cardio Vascular Intensive Care Unit). I can’t remember what happened after that so I guess I fell asleep again, for how long – who knows! – But when I reopened my eyes way later I recognized my hubby. He looked like he carried all the worries of the world on his shoulders but somehow found the way to give me the biggest smile ever. Later that day and after numerous tests and injections– they decided I was well enough to be moved to cardio vascular surgery floor (3W). The rest of Friday up to Saturday morning were such a blur as all they kept on doing was pump me with Percasets and Oxy – what a cocktail! By Saturday early afternoon I’m sitting in a chair and hubby arrives - by that time I finally get enough clarity to ask what really happened in the surgery , as I told him that Dr. Hutfluss told me I made him work for his money. Tony gets choked up but starts telling me that he almost lost me and that the entire procedure took a total of 12 hours. Without going into too much intricate detail, here is what happened. The operation was scheduled for noon and Dr. Leclerc my surgeon finished around 2:00pm so all there was left to do was to replace my blood and close me up. However when it came time for them to replace my own blood back which was in a bypass machine during the surgery my body did not accept it and it was at that point that my body started to shut down bit by bit. It seems that there are about 10 types of medications in the bypass machine and I had a huge allergic reaction to one or more of those medications. By the time they finished, it was 8pm Thursday night and they told Tony that it would be midnight / 1:00 am by the time I would wake up. They convinced Tony to go home as I would only wake up at 1:00 am or later - he returned home at 8:00pm only to change into warmer clothing as he was planning to sleep in the waiting room (it seems it was a very cold floor). He returned and at 1:00am it seems that the nurses told him that I had been able to respond to their questions. However I don’t remember anything. Back to Saturday - after Tony told me what had transpired on Thursday, the nurse came in to announce it was time for me to start taking my first walk. This is when I realized that Percasets and I don’t agree. As I got up from the chair and drag my zombie like body to the walker I told Tony that I felt very nauseous. We turn around to go back to the chair – barely making it –Tony takes the tray and hands it to me only to find out it was WAY TOO small. I was so violently sick that it came out like a projectile, I felt like the girl in the Exorcist. So since that day I stopped taking Percasets and started to slowly feel better but somehow I consistently felt weak. Sunday, August 12th to Tuesday August 14th were days that seemed to be filled with the same things – breathing exercises, walking around 3W floor, blood tests and injections in my stomach to make sure I was protected against blood clots until my Warfarin (blood thinners) level was good. Nothing eventful. Wednesday August 15th – they release me with tons of papers and pills and do’s and don’ts. Although between you and I - I knew something was wrong, because I consistently felt dizzy and weak – but who was I to doubt their expertise! So I shrugged it off and thought that maybe the Nurse Practitioner thought I’d heal better at home. I must say that once I got home I was truly happy to be in my own environment – but all I did was sleep in the lazy boy chair – eat – take pills and go to bed. Thursday, August 16th both of my brothers and their wives came to see me (one from Montreal and the other from Michigan). It was wonderful to see them and talk to them all. It was the first day I can honestly say I ate! - However sleep was still an issue! Stay tuned as the story continues.........

I find that I am very short of breathe this morning which makes me more determined to have this surgery, so that I don’t have to feel this way anymore. I’m not saying that I’m not petrified - I just want this to be over and on my way to recovery. I am very happy this morning because I started my day with a nice chat via Skype with my daughter Stephania and her boyfriend Dylan. My son Charles starts his shift later today so I can catch some time with him too. I must tell you that I am such a proud mamma -I have a beautiful daughter who teaches and a handsome talented son who will soon work in broadcasting - 2 of the most wonderful children a mother can ask for. I feel it will be a good day - even though I have last minute things to do today and this day will fly by . If I don’t have an opportunity to add to my journal today - I want to personally thank each and everyone that has sent their best wishes - like I said before I am truly blessed to have wonderful HVJrs, friends, coworkers, and family supporting me, you are all truly beautiful people. Love you all - and talk to you soon Carolina

Funny how the mind works.... today I am calm - cool and collected. The stress is gone - since I now know it is definitely scheduled for the 9th of August - second surgery of the day. I am making last minute lists for hubby - so that he knows who to call after the surgery. So we decided that since there are way too many people we will call the family and our friends will be updated through my blog.... I hope that eveyrone had a wonderful long weekend - We sure did...Tony and I did whatever we felt like doing - nothing planned - no structure... WOW what a feeling!... On Saturday, which happened to be one of the hottest days of this summer, we went to St. Jacobs Market - we arrived about 10 am and left just before noon - WAY TOO HOT.... I could barely breathe. This is where I can really feel the difference - I was short of breathe and sweating profusely... However we made it home before the sun became hotter. Later on we were invited to our friends home - ... may I say... what great hospitality and wonderful and beautiful people they are. Sunday - went to church - talked to the priest - and basicaly had a relaxing day... Yesterday was a day of skyping and phone calls!!! I had the opportunity to skype with my daughter (who is currently in Australia) and her boyfriend - BOY ... do I enjoy when we get this opportunity. The next one is scheduled for tomorrow morning - which will be her Wednesday night (14 hour difference) - so I\'m sure this one will be a little more emotional - I may want to be selfish and ask for some one on one time while we skype - no boyfriend from her side and no hubby from my side. That sure will be nice. I also had the wonderful opportunity of talkng with both my brothers and wonderful sister in laws as well as with Tony\'s sister who is back from her vacation. and had the opportunity of talking to her too. Some friends called as well ... I tell you I have never felt so blessed to have some true friends and a wonderful family!!!

Ok - so when I started this blog - I mentioned that my surgery was to take place on August 8th. Last week - the surgeon\'s assistant called me to reschedule the appointment and even mentioned to push it for another 3 weeks down the road!!! However, she mentioned that she would reschedule it to the 9th (Phew .... only 1 day later) but to expect her call to confirm it and to start the medication and stuff. You can only imagine my fret today..... have been trying to keep busy and not think about it ... Boy did I pray like I\'ve never prayed before .... Then when I stopped thinking about it .... at 10:38 am I received the call... the assistant was confirming that the 9th was the day - however I would be the second surgery of the day. So - just to let you know that the 9th is the confirmed date and this is only and only if there are no unforeseen emergencies this long weekend. So let\'s all pray that everyone out there is extra careful this Civic weekend.... Talk to you soon

Hi everyone… sorry for not posting anything earlier… As the surgery day gets closer, I find myself rushing - trying to finish everything I would like to do and wishing I had more time - yet another side of me can hardly wait all this to be over and that I’m at the recovery stage. I decided to take a couple of days off prior to the surgery to get things ready such as my legal papers - these are now in order, as well as my house - hired a maid, pedicure and manicure (no polish) done, haircut appt. made for Saturday, tomorrow I start prepping some food for the next couple of weeks. Yes this last one is necessary… have you ever tried eating my hubby’s food? No? neither have I and don’t intend to… ever!!. LOL!! Everyone tells me to slow down… and to take it easy!! Those that know me know that is impossible. Example … today I rearranged all the kitchen cupboards… do you think I’m stressed???? Hmmm I’d say just a bit… You know it’s amazing the different emotions I have experienced since I found out - who would have guessed there were so many emotional implications. I find that this type of surgery is a significant life event that affects us ( our families too) in ways no one can imagine. I read somewhere that because our heart has a different association than many of the other organs in our body, that it is linked with our emotions and for these reasons cardiac patients feel more emotional distress than people having other major surgery. Well that explains it ! However, I truly believe that the worst part of all this is the time spent waiting for the surgery - so stressful. It seems my life is on hold - its difficult to plan anything for the future or even difficult to enjoy present activities. From mood swings, depression, sadness, frustration, anxiety, fear, and so much more emotions…. I need to tell myself that I’m lucky…. Yup … I’m lucky to have a husband and son strong enough to cope through all this and still love me. I’m glad to read that what I’m experiencing is normal… PHEW… that’s reassuring! OH … another person this week told me … “it’s a routine operation”…. I know they mean well - but …. Can someone please explain to me how an open heart surgery can be routine… there is NOTHING ROUTINE about someone opening MY CHEST… yes MY CHEST … not theirs… it is my body - not theirs… I’ll be suffering, I’ll be feeling the pain, I’ll have to change the way I live …. Not them. I really hope not to hear that word again… because with my emotions flying high… who knows what my reaction will be. Sorry... just had to release some stress...

Rough night - barely slept - next thing you know - it\'s 5:30 am! Ok - need to wake up - shower - get ready and leave by 6:30 to get to the hospital by 7:15 the latest... Made it to St. Mary\'s in time - and as soon as we arrive - we are escorted to the pre-op area - lovely nurse greets us - checks my identity (now tell me who in God\'s name would want to steal my identity to get this type of a surgery...LOL) and next thing you know I\'m whisked away! I get weighed (disaster - I gained another 7 lbs!!)- then get a cardiogram (again!) and blood tests- urine test. All that in 1 hour... Phew! We watched a video about what happens the day of surgery and then a presentation on blood transfusion. They told us that we need to shower in a special way with some type of sponge that removes bacteria. So - what I need to do is wash my hair and myself with my normal shampoo and soap - then rinse - shut the water - soap myself with the special sponges (we paid and received today). We need to wash each area for 2 minutes (#1 chest - #2 both upper arms # stomach area #4 feet #5 legs #6 private area)- therefore 6 areas at 2 minutes each = 12 minutes and then rinse and do it all over again !!!Therefore I need to take a 30-45 minute shower! The nurse tells us that depending on our BMI (body mass index) that would determine if you need to do 4 washes or 2 washes prior to surgery. (I\'m hoping and praying its 2) This whole thing is very informative! - Eye opener! Ok so we finish with the presentation and stuff - off for a CT Scan - back to the Pre-Op to meet with the Nurse \"Sandra\" - more questions - more information - then more tests - swabs - more information..... then finished with Sandra (too bad - cuz it was a pleasure talking to her - we figured we both had daughters that live in Australia). OH YEAH.. I forgot - I only have 2 washes to do - one the night before and one the morning of ... Phew! Then off to get an x-ray and then back to pre-op - then meet the Cardio vascular anaesthesiologist Dr. Hutfluss - for at approx 1 hour 1/2. What a gem! He is so nice and from what I hear very efficient - but most of all I felt so comfortable with him. I guess I should really get to know him ... he\'ll be putting me to sleep - and he\'ll make sure I wake up!! After I meet with him I meet with Norma - the blood transfusion nurse (she is the one that gave us the presentation earlier) - she explains the results from my blood tests and tells me that my hemoglobin level is at 129. Let me explain hemoglobin.... Hemoglobin is the pigment that makes blood red. It is essential to transport oxygen from our lungs to the cells in our body. The hemoglobin molecule contains iron, an essential mineral found in our diet. Normal hemoglobin levels are different in women and in men. For women, normal hemoglobin levels range from 130 to 160 . For men its 140 to 180. So when Norma tells me that mine is 129 - I start to be a bit nervous... then she explains that during surgery the level drops by at least 40 - which would mean that my level will be at an 89. Which is too close to the 65 - 75 level and then I would need blood transfusion. HOLY COW... I don\'t need this !!! So what I have to do for the next 3 weeks prior to the surgery is bring those levels up as much as possible - I need to bring my level to at least 140 - 150 - so if the level drops by 40 during surgery I\'m not in any need of a blood transfusion. So let\'s just say today was very draining - physically and mentally - for both my husband and I. By the time we got home it was approx. 2:30-3:00pm. Oops I forgot to mention - I found out I will be the first surgery for August 8th and I need to be at the hospital at 5:45 am - which means I need to wake up at 4:00 am - shower (their way... sponges and all) get out by 4:45 and at least be at the hospital by 5:30 ... So first thing I did when we got home was to sit on the sofa. Guess what.. KNOCK OUT... slept for about 45 minutes.... really needed this... OK - it\'s late - gotta get up early to go to work tomorrow!! Thanks for reading...

On June 25th, I had the pleasure to meet my Cardio Vascular Surgeon - Dr. Yves Leclerc.. Personally I was happy because he was orginally from Quebec (like MOI)... He went over the results from the angiogram and basically told me that it needed to be done this year - He confirmed that the aortic valve has got to be replaced. Area is down to about 0.8 cm from a normal 2.5 cm. He told me to be careful and not to do anything strenous - until the surgery. I was very impressed with my meeting because he made me feel at ease with what was going to happen. He has done thousands of these surgeries. We discussed the choice of valves and he strongly suggested the St. Jude mechanical valve. The only thing with the mechanical valve is that I will need to be on blood thinner pills for the rest of my life. He mentioned that with a consistant diet I should not have any problems controllng the levels. We were then sent to his assitant to schedule the operation and the pre-op and she went through things i needed to do - to remember, etc.... - INFORMATION OVERLOAD!!! She said not to worry as she would be calling me everytime I had to do something! Thank the Lord! It\'s funny - I still feel like my old self - the only thing at this point is that I\'m counting the days. My Pre-op is scheduled for July 19th and my surgery is scheduled for August 8th. I\'ll keep you posted....

So - from where I left off - Dr. Schwarz had arranged for an angiogram. The reason for this is that they wanted to make sure that there was no other visible problems. June 22 - at a God awful time in the morning - we drag ourselves to St. Mary\'s in Kitchener - I\'m so nervous - I had spoken with my brother the night before - he had 5 angioplasties done! The nurses seem really nice - they make sure that I am comfortable and feeling good. About 1 1/2 later - I am taken to the operation room - hop onto the table - because I am not put asleep - only given a sedative to calm me and some local anasthetic. As soon as the doctor tries to put the catheter through my groin area - he hits a nerve and I jump - two seconds later - the catheter is in its proper place. The procedure took about 45 minutes - then I\'m in recovery for about 4 hours... Well 4 hours turned into 5 1/2 hours - guess what I passed out just as I was reviewing the informaton with the nurse - I guess I may have been dehydrated. Anyways ... long story short - it seems that my arteries are looking good and so is my heart - NO OTHER COMPLICATION!!! YAHOO.... I was very fortunate also to be able to meet with my surgeon so soon - my appointment was for the following Monday - June 25!

This year on May 11th – I visited my physician (Dr. Miriam Potter) and once again went through a series of test – yup... urine – blood – bone density – pap smear – mammogram.... you name it! ... OH and yes a cardiogram.... which was scheduled for May 23rd. May 23rd arrives – I worked in the morning and then leave early for my appointment – I arrive at Guelph General - go to the 7th Floor – which is the Cardio Respiratory floor – and sit and wait for the technician to finish up with the patient ahead of me. After about a half hour – it’s my turn..... (Basically a cardiogram is like an ultrasound...) The technician was very gentle and extremely polite. At the end of the examination, she asked that I get dressed and to take a seat – as she (politely says) “I would like for the cardiologist on staff to take a look at your results”. So I proceed to get dressed and wait for this cardiologist to come up from another floor. A man whisks by me and went directly to the examination room and within 3 minutes called me in – no introduction – all he said was.... “You have a severe problem with your valve – you will need an operation”. The only thing I say is “are you telling me I need to have open heart surgery?” While I said that I did the motion of the cut with my hand towards my chest and then cringed ... He blatantly says... “Well you have 2 choices – you can wait (here is where I expected him to say wait a couple of years) until the valve thickens so much you die – or you get this done”. BOY!... What just happened?? Only 2 hours ago I was my normal self – working like crazy – and now.... this!!! As I tried to absorb all this information – he called Dr. Potter and explained everything to her . Two minutes later – my husband calls me on my cell wondering how my appointment went – all I said to him is ... “it does not look good... let me finish with the doctor and call you back”. The days following this news were a whirlwind ! On May 24 – Dr. Potter called me directly and we had a very pleasant talk and told me that her office would arrange for an urgent appointment to see Dr. Schwarz – On May 25 – Dr. Potter’s office called advising me that my appointment with Dr. Schwarz was for Monday, May 28th. That meant we had the weekend to try to absorb the news - all the while trying to live a normal life. That weekend we drove to Montreal for a baptism. It sure was great to see everyone and we did have a nice time. It also gave me the opportunity to tell my older brother Franco. Let\'s just say it was consistenly on our minds, all we wanted was for Monday to arrive fast so we can find out what was happening. Finally, Monday May 28th arrives - Tony and I get to Dr. Schwarz\' office (cardiologist) and right away I am asked to do an electrocardiogram. Approximately 10 minutes later Dr. Schwarz start talking to me about the findings and his opinion and what needs to be done. I immediately stop him and ask if my husband could join us for this conversation. (I\'m thinking and praying that my husband can retain more info than I can - because at that moment my mind was racing! This is where my aorta valve replacement journey commences . .