Emily's Posts

Hello all! It's been 1 year and 7 months since my aortic valve replacement and aortic aneurysm repair, so I thought it was time for an update. As you can see from my new picture, I am 2 weeks away from giving birth to my first child! As "my story" tells, part of why surgery was recommended was because I wanted to have children. Since my aneurysm measured 4.7, my cardiologist, surgeon and ob/gyn all recommended having surgery before I even thought about getting pregnant. The consensus was that a pregnancy would put too much strain on my already strained aorta. So I opted to have surgery, and to go with a bovine valve. The bovine valve will have to be replaced much sooner than a mechanical valve, but with the potential for pregnancies, I decided it was the best choice for me since it does not require blood thinners. I've heard of many women who had perfectly healthy babies with a mechanical valve too, but bovine was right for me. But my surgeon, Dr. Ryan, was very clear that my window to have children was small — my valve will need to be replaced again in 7 to 10 years. So I needed to get serious about trying to get pregnant as soon as I felt back to normal after surgery. We waited 6 months after surgery before we started trying and I found out that I was pregnant on my one year anniversary of surgery. It was a wonderful way to celebrate. When I had my one year surgery follow-up, I was able to tell Dr. Ryan that I was pregnant. His response was, "I love it when a plan comes together." My pregnancy has been very uneventful. In addition to my regular OB appointments, I have been followed by a perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor). The upside is that I was able to have a sonogram every month to check that the baby's heart was forming correctly. Because I was born with a bicuspid valve, there was a slightly higher risk that the baby would also have a bicuspid valve or a different congenital heart condition. But all evidence thus far is that his heart is perfectly normal. My heart is also functioning perfectly normal. I had an echo at the beginning of the third trimester and the bovine valve was still performing exactly as it should. I am so glad that I went ahead and had surgery when I did. It was by far the hardest decision of my life, but the upside is that I was able to have a regular pregnancy and the chance to become a mother. I want all the other young women out there who are facing surgery to not give up the dream of motherhood. I am living proof that it is possible! Good luck to all the upcoming surgeries!

Hello everyone! I just heard from Kim's husband who said she is out of surgery! Dr. Ryan repaired the aneurysm with no problem. He was also able to repair her leaking aortic valve instead of replace it. So that's the best news that they could've hoped for. I will keep you updated as I hear more!