About Me (In My Own Words)
My name is Roger Jensen and I was born with a bicuspid aorta valve which means instead of having three leaflets to close the valve from regurgitation, I had only two. I didn't have any symptoms as a child but they wouldn't let me participate in sports like some of the other kids because of a murmur.
When the military tried to enlist me for the Viet Nam War, I was 4-F and I also couldn't pass the physical for some jobs that I applied for.
I got married when I was 24 and my wife became a nurse when she was 30 so we had Kaiser Insurance.
I finally had surgery when I was 48 years old. It was done at Sunset Hospital in LA so that has been almost 30 years ago.
I have done numerous things since then. I have owned my own business and had heavy lifting and raced motorcycles out in the dessert and on the street.
Kaiser regulates my coumadin and it hasn't always been easy some high and some low INR reading so I was having to be careful with dosages. I had a small TIA's when my blood got into the INR range of 2. They had to set different titer levels and make my blood a little thinner to keep that from happening again.
It hasn't always been easy when I had elective surgeries and gave myself Heparin which really made me develop bruises and a hematoma on my leg which had to be drained.
All in all, I've managed to pull off almost 30 years with a artificial valve. My cardiologist says my valve still sounds good and my aneurysm has stabilized so I feel like I have been quite lucky because of modern medicine.
I also have a female cousin who has had the same surgery as me. Fortunately for her, she didn't need her valve until she was in her 60's so she got a pig valve and doesn't have to take any blood thinners. We both have two toes stuck together too so I think genetics had a lot to do with our heart problem.
Thank God for modern medicine.
People can say a lot of things about Kaiser but they have kept me alive for 30 years now so I thank the organization very much.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Yorba Linda, Calif
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My surgery date is:
October 31, 1991
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve