Jennifer's Profile

A month after turning 50, my family physician heard a murmur in April 2014 & ordered an echo. Being me, I rescheduled it twice, finally getting it done in July. For some reason though, my doctor didn't receive the results until October. I just assumed nothing was found on the echo....wrong! I was referred to a cardiologist who said I needed to be seen by a surgeon, sooner rather than later. I live in a rural county on the far northern coast of Calif. Doctors are in short supply here which means we have ONE Cardiothoracic surgeon. It's a 3 hour drive to the next surgeon. After doing a lot of research online, I self-referred to a surgeon 5 1/2 hours away & he was worth every minute of the drive! I wanted to get the surgery done before the end of 2014 to get the most benefit from our insurance & Dr. Castro understood, agreeing to operate the day after Christmas. Our Christmas consisted of packing, eating out & the long, night drive down to Redwood City, staying in Sequoia Hospital's guest house. I was very lucky to be discharged on New Year's Eve so I could begin 2015 at home, with my husband & newly repaired heart.