About Me (In My Own Words)
Four years ago I went to the ER due to needing a nebulizer to control my asthma. While there I told the doctor about some abnormal heart beats I was feeling, which ended up unrelated to my diagnosis. A EKG was performed and showed that there was some concern over something in left ventricle. From here I was referred to Cardiologist where a CT and Echo were performed. These tests showed that not only did I have a Bicuspid Aortic Valve but also a Aortic Aneurysm in the Ascending part of my Aorta. At this time I was referred to a Cardiologist and heart surgeon at the U of M. My Cardiologist recommended "watchful waiting" before actually doing surgery. This entailed a yearly CT and Echo to make sure my aneurysm is not growing. I thought this was a great idea since I'm terrified of being put under and have never had any surgical procedure. So here we are four years later and my test results revealed that it has grown to approx. 5.2 cm and surgery is inevitable. I have the most loving and supporting wife who I have known for 29 years and two awesome, fun loving, beautiful children who are 2 and 1. I must also add that the family and friends in my circle are the most loving and loyal people I could ever ask for. I always kid that you don't mess with my family, how loyal I am to my family and true friends. Their support is overwhelming and already helps with some of the anxiety and stress as many of them are already to finds times to come over and help after my surgery. I decided to start this Journal to keep these awesome people in my life up to date and because I keep most of this all internal as I don't want to scare my family friends anymore than they might already. And I'm scared shitless and can not stop thinking about my upcoming procedure to repair my Aortic Aneurysm. My Bicuspid Valve will be left alone as long as it responds well to the surgery.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
MN
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My surgery date is:
March 5, 2018
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Kenneth Liao
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My hospital is:
University of Minnesota