About Me (In My Own Words)
Well, I’m still alive in New Zealand!
The day had started so well, it was our wedding anniversary, and we were going to collect our brand-new electric car – a Hyundai Kona Electric Elite – with all the bells & whistles available,
We picked up the car and I drove it home, dropping my wife back at work… it’s another working day for her! I don’t remember too much about the 40-minute journey, but I parked the new car in the garage and then spoke briefly to the neighbour (another electric car nut).
Later, when my wife came home, she discovered me asleep on the bedroom floor and soon realised I was unwell and possibly had had a stroke as the room was well-lit, but I complained about the darkness.
She phoned for an ambulance, and I was driven to the local Hospital and then by helicopter to Auckland General Hospital where I underwent heart surgery for an Aortic Dissection – a tear in the inner layer of the heart wall.
I don’t remember much about the next ten days after the operation, I knew when my wife visited me (I could hear her voice!) and that I was being cared for. Then on 22nd March, I woke up and wanted to go home.
I then spoke to one of the two surgeons who operated on me, he explained why I felt I was in darkness when my wife found me - My body was slowly shutting down and trying to keep oxygenised blood flowing to my brain.
He further explained that they need to repair the tear in my heart wall. And to do this they connected me to a heart-lung machine, chilled my blood down to 16C and stopped my heart. This all helps the body and buys the surgeons time for their repair work, normally, they need about 40 minutes but in my case, they needed a little longer at 52 minutes. The downside of taking longer is the likelihood of complications in recovery.
Fortunately, my scans were all clear and I’ve been home now since the beginning of April. I'm back walking the dog twice a day, still taking things easy with morning & afternoon naps. My bodyweight has reduced by nearly 10kg.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Waipu, New Zealand
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My surgery date is:
March 10, 2022
