About Me (In My Own Words)
I was 31 I woke up with a toothache one day cheek was slightly swollen I took ibuprofen and it went away over the next two months I developed night sweats shortness of breath and shivering I ignored it thought it was do to my more active job title I went from operating machinery, to being a millwright walking up stairs all day with tools to fix stuff. It got to the point where I would shake uncontrollably and was always cold I still ignored it and thought I was being a sissy. I even had a bad chest pain and my arm went numb after work and I laid down for 30 min in agony saying this isn’t it I’m ok lol. Finally my girlfriend told me I better go to the hospital after a uncontrollable shaking episode.After work I went and I had a 103 fever and a heart murmur the doc said he thought I had a growth around my valves a “vegetation “ and I better go to the main hospital to take my blood that night he said I was seriously I’ll ,I still didn’t believe him but I went anyway.The next day they called me said I was septic and had to go in this was February 15 2023 they flew me to Colorado Springs they said I had indocarditus and asked if I did drugs, I do not never did any drugs I’m a firefighter and work as a millwright in a sawmill and get drug tested regularly. They did several test and found out I had a bicuspid aortic valve I then remembered my toothache and they took x-rays and found two infected molars. I also had pieces of the infection breaking of into my blood stream, witch is the small stroke I experienced when I lied in bed for 30 minutes in pain lol… Anyways they said they would have to replace my aortic and mitral valves and possibly a pacemaker the infection was really bad…February 24 2023 they did the commando procedure and I wish it was only a week in the hospital it was a month I didn’t get out tell march 26th I had fluid buildup and all that… June I was back to work feeling better than I was before… now I feel great given I have to take blood thinners the rest of my life I’m great full and want to tell this story for people to know especially stubborn guys !!!Listen to your body your not being a sissy it actually knows!!!!! And I wanna know your story I still worry and wonder they say I will have heart failure for the rest of my life but if I feel good it’s not a big deal lol 🤷♂️.I know I’m not the only one but it feels like it lol and would love to talk to people with similar stories 😁
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Fort garland , Colorado
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My surgery date is:
February 24, 2023
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Mitral Valve Replacement
Pacemaker Implant
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Brian Killmartin
