About Me (In My Own Words)
I am a medically retired Combat Veteran as of December 2013, US Army. Was injured during my service in Iraq 2008, among other times as well. I had pretty severe spinal injury. July 2016 I was rushed in for an Anterior spinal fusion. My disc had blown out into my spinal cord along with bone fragments. Surgery went great but one issue I had was a crown on my tooth was knocked loose and came off when I got home. 2-3 weeks post-op a bacterial infection entered my bloodstream, and caused endocarditis. This pretty much ruined my valve. A year prior I was told I had a slight murmur and an abnormal aortic valve with two leaflets and a small one barely there. This is why the doctors believe the endocarditis set in so quickly. I did my ceftriaxone picc line treatment for month and it cleared. I still had vegetation on my valve but it wasn't infectious or spreading anymore. Helping a buddy of mine with a deer he hunted. We lifted the deer into his truck. After that I felt severe pain in my abdomen. Turned out to be a splenic infarct. Apparently the vegetation along with the abnormal leaflet flaked off and went to my spleen. This ruined my valve and I was sent to the surgeon for aortic valve replacement options. When I retired out of the Army, I was part of the Red Sox Foundations Homebase program. I received medical care at Mass General in Boston. The connections I got in that were crucial in my decision of type of surgery I would go for. My surgeon in Maine wanted a cow valve done. When I talked to the head of cardio thoracic surgery at Mass General (one of the best surgeons in the world), he said with my current injuries, risk of future surgeries for other reasons that multiple heart surgeries wouldn't be the best option for me. He said if he were in my shoes, being 34 years old, he would go for the mechanical valve and deal with the Coumadin. That is the option I decided to go for. End if December 2016, right before X-Mas I had Mechanical Aortic Valve put in through sternum. They would have went through my groin but I had a small hole in my heart and the doctor wanted to make sure it wasn't serious. Now I'm on the road to recovery. Good days and bad. Just hoping to get back to feeling normal and enjoying my days here on earth while I can.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Milo
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
