Cindy's Heart Valve Journal

Hello everyone, it's Lori (Cindy's sister-n-law). We have some very sad news to share. As you might have known, Cindy was expected to be discharged yesterday. However, she suffered some complications. At approximately 11:30 pm Thursday night it appears she suffered a severe heart attack and was in critical condition in ICU. She under went 2 surgeries and her condition never improved. At 12:15 am today, while surrounded by her family, Cindy left us to be with her Lord. Love never dies and her love will live on in our hearts. We will miss her very much.

Hi everyone it's me, so hard to believe just 2 days ago I had OHS, the first 2 days have been hard but today i'm sitting up and took my first walk, it felt good. Thank you all for your prayers, kind words. My family has been wonderful I can not think my beautiful husband enough he has been by my side this whole time. I love you so much honey!!!!

I'll write more later, thank you all and Selma good luck my prayers are with you this Friday you can do this!!!

Hi everyone this is Cindy's husband, Peter.

Well day two is coming to a close and we couldn't be happier with how well Cindy is doing.
The doctor came in around 6pm and talked to us. He said everything was looking good. He told the nurses to take out the catheter and pickline. He explained to us how he corrected her coronary artery abnormality after performing the Ross. He even drew us pictures to illustrate what he was talking about.

She is still in ICU but only because there were no open rooms to move her too. The nurse says they expect to have her in a room around midnight.

She has been sitting up in a recliner and performed some minor exercises with the physical therapist.
She is still in a lot of discomfort and pain but it's great to see her little by little become more lively and alert.

Thanks for all the kind words and wishes.

Hello All,
This is Peter, Cindys husband. I just wanted to update you all on Cindys progress. She is doing well. The doctor said the surgery went smoothly and they even corrected some coronary arteries. She is coming in and out of anesthesia but is responsive to us. Thank you all for your prayers and posts. Cindy and all of us truly appreciate it. We will keep you updated.

-Peter

We just received our second surgery update. Cindy has been in surgery since 8:10 this morning and surgery is about 90% done. Surgery is going very very well. Thank goodness. God is great. The surgeon will be coming to speak with us very soon. Will post more updated info soon.

Just received our first update. Surgery started at 8:10 am and so far all is going well. Thank you for all your continous support and prayers.

Prepping for surgey

Hello All,
My name is Lori. I am Cindy's sister in law and I will be taking over Cindys journal. Just wanted to let everyone know she was taken into surgery at 730 am. Surgery is expected to be about 4hrs long. She (along with her husband and children) was extremely nervous but had high spirits. The nurse said they will be giving updates throughout the surgery. We will keep you posted! Thank you all and please keep her in your prayers.

One final thank you to all my HVJ friends before I climb that mountain.....I'm now turning things over to my sister-n-law Lori and to my wonderful husband Peter.....I'll talk to you all in a view days!!!!

Hi everyone, so Monday is quickly approaching and I'm trying my best to not let my nerves get the best of me (it's hard though). Pre-op was not so bad, signed all my papers so I'm official, got my X-Rays, EKG, Blood Work and Urine, fun times. So all that is left is for me to show up Monday morning and check-in. I did not get to meet the rest of the team like the anesthesiologist because they do not reside at the hospital where I'm having surgery so I will be meeting with them right before we start, little nervous about that but it will be okay, right??

I think I have everything in order, my chair will get delivered on Monday my son will be here when it comes, got some new PJ's (might as well get a few new things) :)). I'm going to back a little bag tomorrow with the things I think I'll need. I didn't ask but I guess I should take off all my jewelery the morning of surgery and probably not bother with any makeup, perfumes, lotions?? I should have asked but I forgot.

I'm as ready as I'll ever be so even though I am very nervous I'm ready to climb that mountain, thanks to all of you for your support, Chris, Jeff, Linda H and Linda D, Selma and so many others, ya'll are all great!!!

Have my pre-op this afternoon, only getting X-Rays, blood work, EKG that I know of anyway.....Will post this afternoon on all of that. My son Sean will be taking me today since my husband needs to go into work.

Today was my last full official day at work and what a strange feeling that was, not sure why but felt emotional throughout the day. Some of the girls took me to lunch which was so sweet, if ya'll are reading this....Thank You!!! Heading out in the morning to Lubbock for our son's ring ceremony, looking forward to the trip and the distraction. It feels like I'm on a roller coaster of emotions, hoping the calmness start to take hold soon.

To all of my new friends on here Thank You All for the support and I hope that I have been able to give back to each of you!!!! While I am nervous I know that I will get through this, We Will get through this!!!!

Cindy

So I have been making jokes, poking fun at the fact that I need to have OHS, I've felt very light about the whole thing and then I don't know what happened but Monday was just how can I put it, Terrible!!! I just kinda lost it, maybe it was a combination of the dental work I had last week which wasn't so bad except now I'm on this soft food diet for the next 2 to 4 weeks, haven't been able to brush my teeth since Friday (Yuck) and calling the surgeon's nurse to ask a few questions and it just hit me, OMG I'm gonna have OHS in 21 days. So I did the one thing that I knew I needed, I called my mom and just cried for a good 10 minutes.

I must say that I am back in a better place now, not as light as I had been but not feeling so lost and scared. I am getting anxious as the date nears, I only have until April 30th at work and then let's call it vacation time begins!! So many things to do at work to get my staff ready for me being gone so my days are flying by.

I know I'm going to get through this but that ugly little feeling of fear creeps in there from time to time.

Today though was a good day, my daughter turned 18 today, so a nice family dinner out at PF Chang's, life continues on.

Until next time my HVJ friends,
Cindy

My boys Cory & Sean w/ Eileen

Peter & I with Cory, Sean & Eileen

Tomorrow morning my dental torture begins, and if anyone is a dentist I do so apologize. I am going in at the crack of dawn to get an extraction and then an implant, which from all the instructions I get the funny feeling there will be some pain involved after this little adventure. Has anyone had this done, is it as bad, worse or not so bad? I think I am more afraid of this than having OHS, crazy huh??

So limited talking and nothing but cold liquids for me for the next 48 hours, how will I survive without talking?? A vacation for my family I think. :))

The things we have to do before surgery, everything else seems like it will be a piece of cake compared to this.

Now just 3 weeks away, my day draws closer!!

Cindy

Hello to all my HVJ friends out there, tonight I am asking for special prayers for my 14 year old niece who is battling Anorexia and is having a relapse that could find her back in the hospital by Thursday as she continues to lose weight again, and prayers for my brother, sister-n-law and my younger niece.

Many thanks,
Cindy

Finally have a date set in stone, May 7th I will be getting my aortic valve replaced via the Ross Procedure. Trying to settle in on a date was stressful I have so much taking place over the next 2 months that no dates seemed good. My two oldest sons are both in college one up in Lubbock and the other here in San Antonio and of course Semester Finals start on May 7th but I think they can get that worked out. I am just hoping that I will be better and feeling great for my daughters graduation on June 5.

So it is real now, no more wondering now just waiting but while I am nervous I'm excited, excited to start a new chapter of my life without restrictions, how great is that going to be!! My big goal is to be able to do the half Marathon in November here in SA and if all goes well I'm going to run it, I can't wait.

This site has been so fantastic for me and for everyone that comes here, big thanks to Adam for putting this together for us it helps so much and I am forever great full.

So time to get ready for my big day, I'll be asking a lot more questions now so thanks in advance to everyone.

Cindy

Met with my surgeon today all I can say is wow, so much information, he spent almost 2 hours with me and my husband Peter going over everything with me. He wants to schedule the procedure as soon as possible so I need to make an appt. with the dentist and get my dental clearance. Still feeling overwhelmed with everything, now it feels all too real, I have opted to have the Ross Procedure and I feel really good about my doctor and the choice now to just calm my nerves a bit.

Thanks to everyone on here for the words of encouragement and just the overall feeling of warmth that I have gotten from everyone here, it helps so much.

Until my next post,
Cindy

I finally saw my cardiologist today to go over my heart cath which seems like such a long time ago and it's official I need a new heart valve and soon. So the plan now is to meet 2 to 3 different surgeons and see who I like the best. I told my doc today I really did not want a mechanical valve and he agreed with me, love that guy....

I'm expecting a call tomorrow to make an appointment with the first surgeon, he does the Ross Procedure which I am interested in having. Anyone who's had the procedure already let me know how you are doing, I know Jeff had that done just a week or so ago.

Anyways, glad to have this site cause I have to admit I'm pretty nervous now, I was expecting it but still doesn't completely prepare you for hearing you have to have the surgery.

Cindy

So my follow up appointment is coming up on Monday and I have read Adam's book (really good) and trying to think of what questions I should ask on Monday. One thing that was noted on heart catherization was that I have mild pulmonary hypertension, has anyone else had this situation and if so is it something that I should be concerned about?

Thanks everyone for the insight.

Cindy

Had to go back to the doctor yesterday regarding my cath procedure, I have developed a marble size knot where they went in and 6 days later still having pain in the area. Luckily they did an ultra sound and it is a hema/something, a bad bruise that is wide spread. Never had that happen to me before.

Still try to be patient and wait for my follow up to discuss my options and got my book yesterday, Yahoo!!! So interesting I'm loving it.

Until next time....

Had my heart cath done today, not too horrible but much different than I remember. I can not believe how alert I was through the whole thing. So I have a follow up with the doctor on March 19th to discuss my options. He spoke with my husband and said that my valve needs help but that he wants to try maybe a balloon procedure first but that he would consult with a surgeon first. I guess I was right to get a second opinion, the feeling tired, the little dizzy spells.

Not sure if they will recommend replacement or not yet. What should I be asking when I have my appointment, the big issue seems to be worrying about my age (i'm 44) and going on Coumidin.

Thanks everyone, I guess I'm getting closer.

I have a question for everyone out there, I went to another doctor yesterday for a second opinion and they did a heart echo, their echo indicated that my valve is now severe, they also called my other doctor's office to get the results of my stress test and this morning they are calling to schedule a heart cath. Do they need the heart cath to decide if the time is right for the replacement? My husband and mother-n-law are concerned that I will just have to have all these procedures done again by the surgeon. Any responses would be appreciated.

On Monday I went in to have a stress test done since I had mentioned to my doctor that I feel tired a lot and I feel like I can not exercise the way I used to, 10 or 20 minutes on my tread mill is all I can stand. Plus I have noticed that I feel out of breath quite a bit going up the stairs in my house. So here I am holding my breath until my appointment on the 20th of this month to hear how I did....