sharlene's Heart Valve Journal

1 year ago I joined the heart zipper club.....I had many bumps along the way and in June this year I hit hit a road block....A long story made short...I have now been diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension and stage 3 congestive cardiac failure......my world has been turned upside down and I am having to find a new normal in my life...all the symptoms had been there for a while but I never mentioned them as I thought they were related to me being out of shape and overweight....my legs,feet and abdomen are permanently swollen now and my legs leave an indentation in the area that you have pushed on...I am on the maximum dose of Lasix.beta blockers and still things continue to deteriorate...I spent some time in the coronary ICU to try and help me to get rid of some of the fluid..then they discovered my kidneys had gone into failure....what a mess I had become...living in a country far from home with my children far away in South Africa and Pennsylvania and my husband and I in the Middle East.life really is not looking rosey. I could go on and on writing all the things that have happened this past year but tried to keep the story as brief as possible for a number of reasons. In spite of all this I am trying to stay positive and keep focusing on the things that make me happy...Christmas season is defintely one of them and I cant wait for my home to be transformed into a christmas fairy land with twinkling lights and candles and the warm familiar smells associated with cookies.........until my next posting may you all be filled with the love.peace and blessings you so deserve. Take care. xxx

Here I am back with pneumonia in both lungs,on high doses of cortisone...still have consolidated lower lobe of the left lung with a bronchiectasis and trying to stay out of the hospital....I find that I dont rest there and also my greatest fear is when they need to look for veins for the iv therapy.... dont have any veins...I have until this Wednesday to show some improvement otherwise I will have to book in at the hospital. When will this all end...my mended heart is still ticking albeit it being in afib and trying to cope with the poor state of the lungs. Hey,at least I am alive and the sun still shines every day (even though we do live in the desert and it never rains...only about 5 days a year if we are lucky),I have a saint of a husband and 2 great kids.... and I am always trying to look on the positive side of life which helps. Take care one and all and may you all have a great day. Sharlene

Well I am almost 16 weeks post surgery and boy oh boy what obstacles my family and I have faced.Pneumonia,atrial fib,collapsed left lung.... Saw the cardio again today and the lung still doesnt have good air entry,my blood pressure is markedly raised so have to take it daily and record it for the dr.my INR was 4.8 so the Warfarin dose has been decreased from 6mg to 5mg and still have the a-fib. I try to see the silver lining of the dark clouds every day and know I have many blessings...my husband is a saint and needs a huge medal for all the anxious moments I have given him. Fortunately or unfortunately not sure which one but our children dont have the full impact of this on their lives as our daughter lives in South Africa and our son is studying at uni in Pennsylvania.I will continue to soldier onwards and upwards and thank each of you for sharing your journal. Have a happy day.

As most of you know I am 14 weeks post surgery and would like some advice. I still have a tenderness around the top part of my scar and a pulling feeling in the same area when I move in a certain way or turn over in bed at night....does anyone have any advice or suggestion? This has been like this since day 1 and there was some redness around the area but that has gone. Are any of you using any vitamin E oil or anything else to rub on the scar? I am on the mend again from my lung/heart failure setback. Will be seeing the dr again tomorrow....yes it is Sunday and as we live in a strict Muslim country we have weekend on Friday and Saturday....does take a little getting used to. Thank you to all for the lovely emails and words of encouragement and support....keep them coming as they are very much needed and appreaciated. Have a good day all. xxx