About Me (In My Own Words)
My heart murmur was discovered about 8 years ago, and has been followed since. In April 2015 my cardiologist informed me that my valve had gotten critical and it was time for surgery, hopefully in the next 6 months. I was in quite a bit of shock, since I have been feeling quite well, and although limited in stamina, could still lift heavy things and do a fair amount of work. Only for short periods, though, and I guess I had adjusted my work sessions so that I seldom felt short of breath (my only symptom..).
But this new deadline proved impossible to achieve. I have always had dental problems, and so I needed to have my remaining upper teeth (8) removed. This became a real obstacle because my cardiologist felt it needed to be done in a hospital setting because I had never had anesthesia, I have been very healthy all of my life.
(I am now 73 years old, and home-birthed four children, partially because I had unusual labor symptoms and also very short labors). He felt that that my reactions to the various compounds was unknown, and did not want to take a chance. While I have visited the emergency room a couple of times, I have mainly had yearly checkups. Anyway, because of this lack of knowledge of how I might react, and because of the severity of my stenosis, he felt that was the best way to go.
Of course, no insurance wanted to pay for my hospital use for oral surgery. And a number of local oral surgeons wanted nothing to do with me after consulting with my doctor. I found that most dental surgeons want to have their patients sedated since that allows them to optimally remove teeth without a wiggly moaning patient to contend with. Some told me outright that they did not have hospital privileges.
Solving this problem was very time-consuming, but I finally found a surgeon that was willing to either do it in the hospital, or in his clinic (1 block from the hospital) using novacaine. Even that had to be reluctantly agreed to by my cardiologist.
This took a couple of months to get the doctors in agreement and I had the teeth removed in the office with novacaine. The worst part, for me, were the shots of novacaine. My surgeon, Scot Tate (Bloomington, IN) was wonderful. They kept me on a heart monitor. I know I was a bit wiggly, but I marveled at how expert Dr. Tate is, and how strong my jawbone is....he had to surgically remove some roots. I only needed limited pain relief and lots of ice packs afterwards, and two days later the dentists (at Aspen, who prepared my denture, and Dr. Tate's office) were amazed at how quickly I clotted and how well I was already healing. So obstacle one finally over in March 2016.
I assumed it would be smooth sailing after. I already knew my thoracic surgeon, and my cardiologist performed the procedure to visually check out my heart arteries and veins. I was awake also for that, and am truly in wonder at how we can "see" the inside of the heart through a wire through my wrist. I could hardly keep myself from pestering them with questions as I watched.
So finally surgery was scheduled for mid-May. But that was not to be. In early May I got poison ivy or some other contact allergy, on my chest, and my surgeon postponed until that could be cleared up. No prednisone, so it took a couple of weeks to get my skin back into shape. What a shock I had when I called in to reschedule at the end of May, and was informed that my surgeon was moving to a practice in Florida on June 1st!!!!
While he still might be able to do the surgery, he would not be available for any post-op.
I could hardly believe it!!! So I decided to explore other surgeons, and Dr. Marc Gerdisch, who is recommended on this site, was one of them. I also had an acquaintance whose husband highly recommended him as well.
So that has brought us up to date!!! By the time I got all of my records transferred (my own cardiologist had also changed health affiliations, and the old practice was slow in transferring my records to his new office) and my previous surgeon had left already. But anyway, I finally got to see Dr. Gerdisch this week, and we are again on schedule!!!
Lucky for me, that while my stenosis is critical, I am not an emergency case. All of this delay has proven difficult to schedule, since I live alone and have animals, etc to plan care for while I am gone. And since I am alone, I will be in a nursing home for the first couple of weeks after.
I must say I feel blessed to have found this site. I have been lurking for some time, and learning the whole time. And gaining encouragement and wonder at the amazing people who I will soon join as a "heart" sister.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Bloomington
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My surgery date is:
August 15, 2016
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Stenosis
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
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My hospital is:
Franciscan St. Francis Health
