About Me (In My Own Words)
Found out in February 2023 that I had a heart murmur, but also after a few months of Ultrasounds, numerous trips to the Cardiologists, a Heart Cath, it was determined that my Aortic valve was calcified and leaking (aortic valve stenosis). I was born with two Aortic valves, not four, in which are a hereditary thing, so my Cardiologist told me to let my children know.
I live in Inverness, Florida, 5 miles from the best Heart Unit in the state of Florida, so know this helped a lot, what I didn't know, was what they were going to do....eventually. Time approaching to September 19th, I had to see both of the heart surgeons, the first one said, I would have a TAVR, I was so relieved until two weeks later, I saw the second and top of the line heart surgeon, Dr. Peter Kim, and he said, you have severe stenosis, and we are going through the chest aka Open heart, I was freaking out afterwards, this is serious! Not to mention an aortic aneurism, in which it had shrunk from a 4.4 to 3.9 and weren't worried about it. One thing I had to do which I wished they had let me know a lot sooner, prior to my surgery was that I had to have a Dental checkup so there is no infection, I hadn't been to the dentist for quite a few years, it's more expensive than medical, and I didn't have insurance, but could have gotten it had I known sooner. Needless to say, I didn't check around, and the low-cost clinics were hard to get in touch with, so now I have a new $2300 bill for my dental charges. NOT happy as I am on SS and not collecting a lot.
Post-op 3+ weeks, can't believe it's done, and I am healing fine. I chose the Bovine soft tissue (didn't want to be on anticoagulants for the rest of my life) and at 62, I'm happy with it, I'm hoping this will outlast me cuz, fortunately, this is my only surgery ever and I don't care to have another surgery like this. I also have quit smoking after 27 years due to this surgery; I don't have cravings or a desire and don't think about smoking. I can breathe a lot better and according to a lot of people, I have good coloring in my face.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Inverness, FL
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My surgery date is:
September 19, 2023
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Aortic Stenosis
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Peter Kim
