Lisa's Journal

Yesterday started out good and went down hill from there. Had another fight with A Fib in the afternoon they tried one kind of drug for three rounds which worked. Then her heart jumped into A Fib again and they tried another drug with no affect. The afternoon drug into night and they moved her to a private room which actually is a step down room, so that was a set back. They started her on a IV drip of a drug, I can not remember thename, which did the trick but not till after a full night of urges in and out, blood tests, X Rays, getting new IV lines put in and I scan not remember what all else. The good news is she has been A Fib free for the whole day so far today. She has done three walks and has been feeling better ever since they removed her vacuum bandage this morning. They also removed her bandage from her drain tube incisions. All that she has left is her lidocaine IV for pain. All in all a better day than yesterday.

Lisa has been moved to a step down unit. They got the irregular heartbeat under control last night. She walked from ICU to her new room was like a walk through the mall. She will be getting the last drain tube out as we speak.

Well we have a little hitch in our journey. Lisa has developed some afib. She will be staying in ICU for at least another night for now or until they get it straightened out.

11:45am Thursday 26th Lisa is sitting up in the chair that seems to be more comfortable for her. Still no projected time for when she will be going to a step down unit I am sure there are still some things to be done here first like some walking. All is progressing well here for now.

Lisa is fine surgery went well she is in recovery will be in ICU by 7:15 then I will probably get to see her about 8:00. This is her spouse Larry posting this. She was only in the OR for 2 hours! Praise the Lord!

I got a call this morning from my surgeon's office. He has a more emergent case for surgery tomorrow, so my surgery will now be on Wednesday February 25th.

I woke up last night (probably due to my sleep apnea) to the most extreme sense of foreboding that I have felt since I found out about my aortic stenosis. It seemed like every little bit of stress and fear that has been building up just all hit me like a ton of bricks at one time. All I could think was that I am in a fight for my life that I didn't even know about last month at this time. I knew that I had health issues that even include an unknown heart attack that shows up on my EKG, but I had no idea that I had serious heart problems. I have a lot of fear, and no amount of counting of my blessings seems to be taking it away. Fear and anger go hand in hand, and I am also angry that others in my life that I feel should be helping me right now seem to have abandoned me. My loving husband is right there by my side, and may lose his new job because of this. He just started there nine months ago, so he is not covered under FMLA. I have a few friends who have stepped up to the plate, but even they have their limits as to how much time they are willing to give me. My grown Son is disabled himself, so although he will spend the night in the hotel in a room close to me the night before the surgery, he can't help once I come home. My boss called me from work, but it was only to ask me the combination to the key box to get keys for my office.....they moved someone in the day after I called in to say I wouldn't be back for a while. After 25 years with my company, it seems I have already been forgotten. I have been feeling so bad today that I actually called my company's employee assistance program to see if someone locally could see me for counseling, but alas, I waited too long....I would have to travel in order to talk to a counselor. She did give me a website address to visit so I could find information on meditation to help me relax though, so I will check that out later. I had already scheduled a hair appointment today, so I kept my appointment, and I barely made it through because I got one of my ocular migraines and felt faint while in the stylist chair. I just keep wondering how much of this anxiety is from not being able to breathe right from my illness, and how much is from what is in my mind. I am really trying to wear my big girl panties, but they aren't fitting very well.

I spent a couple of hours on the phone today with my insurance company getting my preauthorization for surgery set up. I had to laugh when at the end of the conversation the nurse said, "You are preapproved for four days in the hospital." She did go on to say that I would get more time approved, but the hospital would have to provide more information at the four day mark in order to get more time approved. I really don't understand why anything would have to be explained, but I am not going to concern myself with monetary issues at this point; I am more concerned with surviving the surgery and starting my road to recovery. This waiting is driving me crazy with anxiety.

My story started about six months ago when I started having vague chest pains and some dizzy spells. I consulted with my internist about this and my overall feeling of malaise and she advised me that I have a heart murmur and that my EKG showed evidence of a previous heart attack. She set up an appointment for a stress test, but in the meantime, I ended up at the emergency room with more chest pains. I had the stress test done, but it was inconclusive. She advised me that the problem was probably my acid reflux causing the chest pains, and that losing weight would help with my overall health. A few weeks ago I was getting ready to go to work and felt the sensation that my body was completely out of sync. I actually thought I was having a stroke, but didn't exhibit all the classic signs. I did feel very uncoordinated though, and I was able to get an appointment with my internist that day. She saw me that afternoon and said that she was concerned that my aorta was narrowing. I was unaware before that time that the heart murmur and my aorta were connected....duh! She set up an appointment for an echocardiogram for a few days later, and in the meantime, I saw my neurologist who thought my symptoms were migraine related. The echocardiogram revealed the truth though (aortic stenosis), and within a week I was seeing a cardiologist, having a cardiac catheterization, and then being referred to a cardiac surgeon. I will have my surgery on February 24th at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville VA by Dr. John Kern.