Wayne's Profile

In August 2017, after a trip to Japan and Iceland, I had a palpitation that I thought I should get checked out. Being an avid runner and conscious eater, I never thought it would be heart disease. My cardiologist recognized a severe mitral regurgitation. I had a stress test and TEE and confirmed it was a mitral valve prolapse. While waiting for tests, I went into Atrial Fib, which was pretty scary. Apparently one of my Cordea ruptured. Not fun. This sped up the tests and I was to undergo minimally invasive surgery on October 16, 2017. After surgery, I ended up having post operative cardiac depression. This was tough. There wasn't a lot of pain, though it was there to be sure. On my first week out of hospital my heart went into a junctional rhythm and AFib. This sent me to and from hospital for the next 4 weeks when finally I had an echo. It showed I had severe regurgitation again and required another surgery. I went into surgery December 5, 2017. My lung was attached to the original scar from my first surgery, so the surgeon did a full sternonomy. Apparently I had my right lung collapse and my heart bled, causing me to require blood products. But thanks to a great surgeon and top-notch medical science and technology, I pulled through. The second recovery went so much smoother than the first. No issues with pain at all and no depression. I had low blood pressure, so I couldn't have morphine this time, but I didn't need it. I felt great. I went home, enjoyed Christmas and am now getting better. I still can not run, but I am hoping that will change after I get my next stress test coming up in March. This experience has shown me that you never know what can happen in the future. Live in the moment and be happy. I feel very lucky to be here today and I hope to enjoy many more years to come.