About Me (In My Own Words)
Bicuspid valve; ended up with a staph infection due to getting cleated in the calf while coaching football. This caused a blood clot, while in the hospital got a staph infection. (1994) In 1999 went to doctor and had a heart murmur. Found Dr. Gorton and he invited me to visit him in KC at his office. After a series of tests it was discovered my aortic valve was leaking severely, and I had developed an aneurysm on the aorta. The staph also had attacked my mitral valve. Dr. Gorton scheduled me for surgery; had an AVR tissue valve replacement, mitral valve repair, and aorta patch to fix the aneurysm. March of 2000 (age: 34)
2nd surgery 12/01/2012 (age: 46) ... tissue valve had started leaking; Dr. Gorton had moved on and so I had surgery done at KU Med by Dr. Gregory Muehlebach; 2nd surgery was bit rough due to scar tissue build up along the breastbone and attaching to the heart. Dr. Muehlebach suggested and performed a mechanical valve replacement due to scarring and not thinking having a potential 3rd surgery to be a good idea for my body. He inserted a St. Jude's valve and I am currently on warfrain for the valve. So far everything has been good and working well. Thanks to the good Lord, I am alive and trying to raise kids number 4 and 5 as well as enjoying two grand kids from oldest 2 kids.
In June of 2000 during my annual check up, it was determined that my tissue valve was failing and I needed another valve replacement. Dr. Greg Muehelebach of the KU cardiac center did my second surgery. It was complex and there was a lot of scar tissue he had to work through, but he successfully completed another heart valve replacement but this time it was with a mechanical heart valve. I am know on blood thinners but things for the most part have gone excellent. I am a bit border line high blood pressure, and testing for INR can be a pain, but I am not much different. I did have a stroke (They believe, but they can not prove it happened during or after surgery) which caused me to become epileptic. I have had 7 full seizures since this surgery but I am managing these with medication and I am seizure free for almost a year.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Hays, Kansas
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My surgery date is:
March 14, 2000
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Michael Gorton
