About Me (In My Own Words)
My story starts with a trip to Brazil, this past July, 2022. My wife was concerned with my health as I have a family history of the males having heart disease issues and complications. While we were in Brazil, my wife (Maria) scheduled me for testing; EKG, Ultrasound and Tomography (CT Scan). I figured I would breeze through everything, no problem, as I am 61 year old and in great health and great shape. Since I have issues with my knees, I had to do the chemical EKG whereby the heart rate is speeded up via an IV and an ultrasound is performed. Well, after the technician advised the nurses (rather abruptly) to turn off the drip, he explained that I had what appears to be a thoracic aortic aneurysm, about 5.5 cm in size. He said if they hadn't turned off the IV, it had the possibility of killing me (not what I was expecting to hear). After this appointment the next stop was to get a CT scan with contrast. After this I was told that the aneurysm was actually 5.9 cm in size (normal being between 3 - 3.5 cm. At this point my mind was whirring, along with having this bombshell dropped in my lap!
Upon my return home we decided to go through the V.A. in Palo Alto as I also have veterans benefits, including full medical coverage. We walked into the E.R. there on 7/29/22, with a complete folder of all my scans and test results from Brazil. I was admitted within 10 minutes and they not only ran me through a complete battery of tests, including another CT scan, but I actually met the entire cardiac surgery team who would be performing the actual surgery. I was very impressed by the professionalism and compassion of all in attendance. A surgery date was made for the 18th of August. In the intervening time I had to make additional trips for further blood, dental and health testing.
The hardest part of this was to see my wife, adult daughter and son become affected by this. In addition I had to write the letters to each one should I not make it out of surgery, that was also very difficult not to mention very emotional.
My wife and I drove down to Palo Alto VAMC and we stayed in the Fisher House on campus on August 17th (lodging provided by the V.A. for family of veterans). Bright and early (5:45 AM) on the morning of the 18th we walked over to the Cardiac Surgery intake, about 100 yards from the Fisher House. We checked in at 6 and when all was said and done, I was wheeled into surgery at about 9 AM. The next time I awoke was on either late in the evening on the 19th, or early morning on the 20th (I don't really recall). My wife did give me the re-cap of everything that happened though.
Maria told me they had to open me up twice as there was a clot that let loose over one of the stitches on the replaced aorta tubing. That was a quick repair, but it did necessitate opening me up a second time. My wife said she and my daughter were very worried when I was wheeled back into surgery a second time because of this, but all worked out for the best.
When I finally awoke they had removed the oxygen tube, but there was a catheter in my neck, two IV's per arm, an external pacemaker with wires attached to my heart, two tubes in my abdomen for fluid drainage, a foley catheter, nasal cannula, EKG patches, etc. I looked like the mummy. I spent 5 days in the ICU, one day in the IICU (Intermediate ICU) and 3 days in the cardiac ward.
Never before in my life have I felt so depleted of energy, not able to do very much, having incredible difficulty just sitting up, using the bathroom (with help), realizing how much we take for granted just in the normal everyday flow of life.
I remember the day they took out my foley catheter (necessitating my learning to pee again), my carotid catheter, the external pacemaker and my chest tubes. The easiest to have removed were the carotid catheter and the foley catheter. Humming while they do it to prevent you from holding your breath which would cause complications. When they pulled the tubes out it was akin to having a torch being pulled from anywhere out of your abdomen (very painful!).
After my combined 6 days in ICU/IICU I was moved over to the cardiac ward where I spent the next 3 days. I had a great roommate (Charlie) who, when I was brought to the room, promptly greeted me and welcomed me to the 'zipper club'. Didin't know there was such a thing, but apparently there is! I was released after 3 more days here and was able to go home. Being home was great, but also brought it's own set of challenges regarding mobility, emotional stress, anxiety and depression, and a weird disassociation, where I knew that I had undergone major surgery, but it felt it was someone else that had done it, definitely not me.
Walking my dog and morning affirmations have really helped in this aspect and will continue to do so. Lots of follow up appointments, INR draws, etc.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Corte Madera, CA
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My surgery date is:
August 18, 2022
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Thomas Burdon
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My hospital is:
VAMC Palo Alto
