Kate's Photos

The church across from my hospital in London today…I’m home now. I’ve always found joy in keeping our complex family world turning and looking after everyone in it—nothing I couldn’t do. How suddenly the pendulum swings, and for now, I find myself the one needing a hand. It’s been quite a year. In April, completely by chance, I discovered that I’d been born with a defective heart valve—a bicuspid aortic valve so severely calcified and narrowed that my doctors were amazed I was walking around, let alone living my usual active life. I had no symptoms. None. Suddenly, open-heart surgery was not a possibility but an inevitability. Those early months were spent quietly coming to terms with the news, exploring my options and trying to keep life ticking along as normally as possible. There was a household to run, a son to get through his IB exams, and plenty of other things that seemed rather more pressing at the time! Sometimes it was surreal. Fast-forward to November, and I’m now on the other side of a remarkable operation called the Ross procedure—a double valve replacement that has saved my life. I owe my presence here to an extraordinary combination of chance discovery, modern medicine and the exceptional skill of my surgeon and his team. Gareth and I are profoundly grateful to everyone involved in my care at Royal Brompton and Harefield. We hope to find meaningful ways to support the work of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, helping more people benefit from the extraordinary expertise and treatment available there. In this immediate time, I’m learning to be the one receiving care. But I’m also beginning to look forward again—to making plans and continuing to do my little bit for the planet. 🌍 If only fixing her were as straightforward as replacing a couple of heart valves. ❤️

I couldn't resist posting this photo of me at my pre-op tests and scans today in London, as I thought, for once, the hospital gown was quite chic! 😉. Anyway, I had 5 different tests today…they swabbed my groin and nose to check for bacteria-resistant infections, they took blood (don’t know what for), they scanned me with a state of the art CT scan—“the iPhone 18 of CT scanners” , did an ECG and they did a chest X-ray. A lovely group of 3 technicians were warm and reassuring--I am constantly touched by the kindness of everyone in my new cardiology world. One of the nurses told me that I had the heart of an athlete again due to my low resting heart rate, which made me happy. Anyway, I am managing my expectations, but am hoping that they will have found that my pulmonary valve is suitable for the Ross procedure. My surgery date is set for November 6 and I will know in the coming week if it will be a classic tissue valve or Ross procedure. I am feeling...ready, but apprehensive. Keep keeping me in your thoughts, please, my wonderful Valve community. Thank you!! xx