Patricia's Guestbook

  Hello Patricia, you have gone through a lot at such a young age. As Laurel said, hope all goes well and you won’t need any more interventions. God bless you and keep us posted. 

Susan Lynn  Welcome, Patricia. I'm a fellow Pennsylvanian and mitral valve heart warrior. I'm sorry you have to go through this, again. You're in good hands at Penn. Wishing you the best!

Patricia Garcia  Dr. Thomislav Michaljevic. He is a brilliant surgeon, very compassionate and he has some YouTube videos. He cut out a huge blood clot from my left atrium. I think he is Chief of Cardiology in Cleveland Clinic in Dhabi. That was my porcine valve replacement in 2007.

Patricia Garcia  Not sure if he is in the Ohio location anymore but I believe he is still with the CC. I would have went back to him but they did not take my insurance. My surgeon from UNPENN was outstanding also.

Michael Meyer  Patricia:
Dr. Michaljevic is in Abu Dhabi as well as Rakesh Suri. They do come back to Cleveland to do procedures. Dr. Gillinov is also at CC. Dr. Gillinov performed my mitral valve repair.

Patricia Garcia  They are great doctors in the Cleveland Clinic that is for sure. This time around though the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Michael Acker took great care of me.

Patricia Garcia  Hi Emily and sorry that I am just getting back to you. Since you have had a previous surgery there will be some scarring, but everyone is different in how their body heals. I had and have keloid problems with my scars, but I really don't worry about it anyone. My repair failed after 5 years because the ring they used calcified with scar tissue. My replacement valve was predicted to last 16 years and only lasted 8 years. It was extremely stenosed and was open the size of a pinhole when the surgeon got in there. I also had a huge blood clot in my left atrium since the blood had no where to go but backwards. I was severely out of breath and quickly went into congestive heart failure. Within 2 month I had my valve replacement. This time I opted for a mechanical valve. My surgeon never even mentioned another tissue valve. Why is this not your last? I know no of us can really predict the longevity of these valve and anything can go wrong, but the mechanical valves seem to last for over 30 years. I have a friend that has one over 20 years and carried mail around with it. She actually has two replacement valves. I believe that your lifestyle places a key factor in the longevity of these valves. Older less active people can get these tissue valves and may never need another. I was and am very active. I am a busy mom of 4 although one is on her own. My two children were born after the repair so pregnancy is stressful on the heart. Then I had the tissue valve, without thinking I would ever have any more children. Well surprise here came my last and I must say my poor porcine valve keep us both alive, but we struggled. I had afib/flutter my whole pregnancy. All my children were born via C-section. Two years later my valve just deteriorated with calcification. I am back at it again running around like nothing was ever done to me. I do have afib/flutter that is rate controlled and I have learned to live with it. Any more questions just ask and I will help you the best I can.

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Gladys I hope it is my last too. Recovery was not to bad for me on the first or second surgery, but a little harder this time around.

Loren Sealey  Hello Patricia, the Lord bless you with speedy recovery and double strength to go back to what you love doing. I adore you for being such a brave and courageous woman. You encourage me too much . I had my valves replaced 3 years ago and its a tissue valves and my doctor said that i will need to have another surgery in the future when the tissue valves deteriorates and I dreaded the thought of it. God bless you more and more.

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Loren I really appreciate your kind words. I am happy to know that what I went through has inspired you. It is not easy but I take each day each as it comes and yes the Lord has blessed me in so many ways. I pray that your valves continued to work successfully for a very long time. Take care of yourself physically and mentally and that will help preserve your tissue valves. God bless you.

Patricia Garcia  That is great news Clay. Mine has been under control since I was put on Amiodarone. It has been 14 days since my last event and trip to the ER. I was on it twice a day and have been dropped down to once a day as of yesterday. In 3 months I will come off of it and hope it does not return. I have mild palpitations that go away quickly, but no Afib. Praise God is right, for all of us.

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Tammi for your encouraging words at well...I always hear mine and I have 3 boys at home with lots of noise. It can be soothing at times. They told me when the heartt sac heals and scar tissue sets in it may be less audible for me. I am OK with it and it just takes some time to get use to.

Bob M  Patricia, I pray for a peaceful surgery and recovery. It will be a new day when your heart is fixed. God bless and rise up!

Joan Napier  Patricia, Prayers and positive thoughts for a very successful HVS tomorrow. Please update us in your good news when you feel up to it.

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Tammy. Today has been like a see-saw of emotions. Thank-you so much for reaching out to me. You truly are a special person. Thank- you heart sister. Early morning surgery.

Jeff V.  Patricia, You are a warrior... I'd want you on my team any day of the week! I hope your 3rd fix is the charm! It sure sounds like you are making the best choice in going with the mechanical now and I bet this will be your final surgery. Best of luck to you on Monday... I look forward to reading about your smooth recovery!! Take care - Jeff

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Lenore and I also had 4 children going through all of this. I could not go to CC this time around because of insurance, but U of Pa is a great hospital. I hope this one is my last. CC made it so easy for me and you are in great hands. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to your speedy recovery. The worse part is the waiting.

Tammy Pilcher  Welcome Patricia, it's nice to meet you! Wow, you've had a lot to deal with already! I hope everything will go well for you. I'll keep you in my prayers for success!

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Tammy for the prayers and although this my 3rd time at this I am extremely worried. So happy you are doing so well and it is such a relief when the surgery is over.

Bob M  Patricia, welcome to our awesome Community! We all pray that your next OHS will be your last ... With peace.

Patricia Garcia  Thanks Bob for the prayers. I hope that this is the last time that I need OHS and can move on with my life.

Terrie Syvertsen  Hello Patricia-I read your story and have to say that I am sorry you have to go through it again but what stands out is that you have had something pretty special about you to have already et those challenges so I am thinking that you have what it takes to do this again. By the way I am 66yrs. old and I think sometimes being older brings out some of the worse anxiety. You have already seen how your body responds to fight for you and your survival so please believe that this will be the case again and hopefully for the last time! This time around you have a pretty incredible group of people in this community to support you on this journey of yours who have either gone through or are about to go through the same type of surgery and I found that this helps as the days grow closer it seems the love and the support grows stronger and it is a tremendous asset leading to and in recovery "Mode" so I hope we can all help aid in reducing the anxiety for you and help you move forward with Faith and Confidence in your new surgeon and his/her team! It will help when you have an actual date too! So welcome aboard the Heart Train where together we are all headed for or heading home to mend and lead healthier lives.!

Patricia Garcia  Thank you Terrie..I do have a date and I go this Monday, January 12, 2015. I am not on the list yet and it might be on it tomorrow. When I started my profile I put 2014 and had to edit it, so it may not show. I am ready to go now and have my mind focused. Thank-you so much for such inspiring words and they mean so much to me. These mechanical valves last a lifetime and that is the risk us valve patients make when opting for a tissue valve when we are younger. I hope this will be the last time I have heart surgery and can go on to live my life again. Although I never felt the recovery to be overwhelming, it is the waiting to me that is the hardest part.