Eric's Journal

I’m 28 days post op for an AVR and two steel bars installed for my sunken chest. Dr Pajaro replaced my valve and it went smoothly so Dr. J put the two steel bars for my sunken chest in right after. Hi spent one day in ICU and then four days in recovery. I felt OK for a couple of days after getting discharged but then I started getting a fever and my wife said I was acting strange. So she took me to the ER and it turns out I had some micro strokes in my brain.. And I had some kind of infection. They checked me back into the hospital and did a CT scan and then an MRI. And gave me antibiotics for the infection that I had. They showed me a picture of the MRI which was interesting because it showed a couple of small white dots near the back of my brain. Turns out that was where the strokes were. But I seem to be fine now so my brain must have re-wired itself. The anabiotic‘s took care of the infection and I was discharged for the second time after four days. Now I seem to be feeling fine and I am walking every day in the Beautiful desert in Scottsdale. We are very fortunate to have a family member to stay with down here. I have worked up to walking 3 miles now in the morning because it gets up to 100° here now. But we are thankful that everything seems to have worked out great. And I am also thankful for everyone who has posted on this site and help prepare me for what to expect!

So April 16th I get a new ON-X Aortic valve installed at Mayo in Scottsdale. Then most likely the next day if the heart looks good I will undergo Surgery to repair my "Pectus Excavatum" and have 2 steel bars inserted under my ribs to expand my chest. I'm actually excited and looking forward to it all. I am thankful that the Dr's know what needs to be done and that it's fixable. Plus I know I will be having it done at one of the best Hospitals in the country for these procedures. I also realize that the recovery will be a challenge. But I'm prepared for most anything after reading all the posts on this site and others that I belong to.

Just got back from another visit to Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Met with the surgeon that is going to fix my "Pectus Excavatum" or sunken chest. After having another echocardiogram it turns out that the right ventricle of my heart is compressed enough that it's only putting out 50% of what it should. If you're interested here's a link describing the procedure: drjpectus.com She said that the heart surgeon will 1st repair my aortic valve then put me back together. Then when they are sure there are no complications she will do her procedure of inserting the bars later that day or the next day. So YAY! 2 procedures for the price of 2. My heart surgeon is out of town until March 9th and he will decide when to do the surgery. I would hope in the next few weeks. Fortunately Scottsdale is a wonderful place to visit this time of year!

Okay, so my question is about money. I haven't seen anything in these posts about that. So if it's a forbidden topic then ignore this. But part of our stress is how much we will owe after the surgery. I have ok insurance but OHS is expensive. So that along with the rehab must add up. Plus some people have had OHS 2 or 3 times. No one has mentioned anything about the bills. I would appreciate some feedback.

So I still don't have a date for my AVR. I also have a condition with my chest called "Pectus Excavatum" which means it's sunken in. It's never been a big issue in my life other than being self conscious when I take my shirt off. But it does put pressure on my heart and lungs. Fortunately at Mayo Clinic they have a specialists in repairing the pectus problem. So I go back down at the end of February for another test and to meet the Pectus surgeon. Then she will consult with my heart surgeon to see what the next step is. Not sure if they will do the procedures together or separate. So, that adds a complication to my surgery.

Well I had a profile on here but it disappeared. So I'll do it again . I'm 54 years old and an avid cyclist. I've been riding for about 10 yrs. I've done my bike races up to 8 yrs long and currently (until my heart started acting up) cyclocross racing. A little over a year ago I had a sudden decline in my performance. After seeing my cardiologist and having various tests done i found out I have a regurgitating biscuit aortic valve. And the mitral valve is also leaking. I felt pretty good other than numerous heart palpitations. So my Dr said let's wait and monitor. About 2 months ago I started feeling pressure in my chest and shortness of breath once in awhile. So during my 6 month check and more testing my cardiologist said it's time to get it fixed. This week we are at Mayo clinic in Phoenix to meet with a heart surgeon. I guess he didn't receive all the imaging results from my cardiologist so he didn't have all of info. But he said he would like the testing to be re done here anyway. We are here for the week and hopefully they will be able to get them all done. So far everyone here is great. And they take care of all the scheduling which is great. So hopefully by the end of the week we will know for sure wether the surgery needs to be done sooner than later.