Brad's Journal

Marie Myers  I feel your pain.. I am 5 weeks out from the aneurysm resection and AVR. I am a petite 5'5" 110 lbs, so when my aneurysm reached 4.8 cm, I was advised by 2 cardiac surgeons locally to get it fixed sooner rather than later.. My bicuspid aortic valve (which was functioning fine) was also replaced , presumably to save me another surgery later on. It was a tough decision, but I feel I had to get the aneurysm fixed. I worry less about the aneurysm now obviously, but it is a huge surgery to recover from. The choice of mechanical verses tissue valve was also a very difficult one. If you have a history of sudden cardiac death in your family, I would get it done. If you don't have that history, I think many docs would say to check it every 6-12 months, and fix it at 5- 5.5 cm. Just my 2 cents. I wish you peace. It is a tough thing to accept!

Tyline Scholle  When I was making up my mind as to what I wanted to do about my newly diagnoses of server aortic stenosis I was scared and in denial about how bad my situation was. I tried to down play it until my doctor told me the reality that I do something or die in three years. I still did not believe him and did a whole lot of research on line and found that my doctor was not lieing to me. This is serious and I needed to see it for what it was. I still hoped that somehow this diagnosis was wrong and I would not need surgery. It was when I went in for my echo that I asked the techican to be honest with me and tell me what he was seeing. He was great and explained and showed me the reality of my situation. I indeed had severe aortic stenosis but at that time my heart was functioning well even though the pressure in my heart was way to high. Then he gave me words of wisdom. "If I where you I would allow your doctor to fix your problem. If you allow them to fix it now than it will go better for you, but if you wait than the prognosis of three year will become a reality for you." I knew what he was saying was coming from the heart. I felt a calmness after that and I knew he was right. I told my husband that we were going to have to have the surgery because I chose life over death. As far as the bills of the surgery goes the insurance took care of a good portion of the procedure and you can always make payments on the rest. In fact when I called for an appointment with my surgeon and asked if they excepted our insurance she said they where not worried about insurance. I guess what I am trying to say is you have to ask yourself, do I want to live or die. Insrance should never be the deciding factor in your decision. Chose life and trust that God will provide the rest.

matt berry  Hi, Brad. Im in the same boat as you BAV, 4.8 aneurysm. Mine has been stable for 6 months so my surgeon doesn't want to image it for another year . I don't know about you, but not a minute goes by that I don't think about this stupid thing. My consolation is that I've probably had this thing for 10 years, all while doing lots of heavy lifting. If it was going to dissect, I gave it plenty of opportunities, haha! Best of luck to you.

Pat Bluemel  Ahhh the watch and wait! I went about 9 years watching and waiting from a 4.7 and they finally dove in at 5.3 cm via my latest MRA in November '14. It's so hard to not think about and waiting for those yearly tests. I worried about dissection now and again but kept on going. On the other side it's weird to get myself out of that worry phase. My Anny is fixed but the thoughts are still there. I'm 42 and am glad I waited until the experts decided it was time. They tried to repair but that wasn't to be so I have a bio valve and feel great.

Terry Shermeister   Hi Brad: Thanks for your post on my journal. Yes, the surgery is coming up in 10 days. I'm a bit anxious with the impending surgery. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time. Tomorrow is the Pre-op at UW and the educational. It should be interesting. I'll have a better idea of things then.

Clare Auten  Welcome. I am 46 year old mother of 3, ages 5,8 and 14. I had my bicuspid valve and aneurysm repair in January of 2014 with 10 days notice. Feel free to read my journal. Ask all the questions you want. The people here are great with answers.

Jim Kelly-Evans  Welcome, Brad. It can be scary contemplating the need for OHS, and that's the benefit of a site like this. Lots of us are in the same boat. We all have loved ones and we want to be healthy for our sake as well as theirs. So you're in the right place. Keep posting and let us know the results of your MRI and post all of your questions. Best wishes!

Daniel Spurgeon  Brad, I was in a similar position in late 2013 when I was 34. Although I had a healthy tricuspid aortic valve my aortic root had enlarged to 4.7. Having a wife and small children I didn't like the idea of waiting when surgery was inevitable and the waiting period held some risk of dissection. I'm glad I went ahead and had the David procedure performed.

Adam Pick  Brad, welcome to our family. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It's great to meet you. I'm hopeful the Information and caring people in our community will help you along your journey to a healthy heart. If you need anything, please let me know. Adam

Brad Swanson  Thanks to everyone that has responded. Its uplifting to hear others' success stories and reassuring to know this great support community is there. So many emotions to get sorted out. Much more to follow I'm sure.

Daryl McCallum  I too understand what your going through, but don't let that brain of yours take over. I found my long lost love from high school and college 8 years ago and I wasn't going to lose her again. stay in touch with your doctors as things do go fast once its discovered it seemed like to me. Once I found out that the operation needed to happened we shopped for the best of the best up her in the Pac NW, and I can say my surgery team was very alert and stellar. All of us post op are here to help you so don't be shy in asking question. SEMPER FI