The Results

Only 10 days until I have open heart surgery...

I know that I must have left all of you (or both of you) hanging, but in my defense I was at my parents' house. My sis, Lynn, is in from LA with my adorable nephew and I've been hanging out with them. And my parents have this great computer, but the Internet is practically inaccessible because of the security system and firewall they have. Even the CIA couldn't hack this sucker.

Okay - I was at my regular doctor's office...

We talked about the results from the echo that I never got. Apparently they mailed them to me, but I never received them. The echo showed that I had "moderately severe pulmonic insufficiency." (What the ^%@# is that?!) My doc explained that my pulmonary valve was leaking. She said that I most likely will need to have it replaced within the next 1-3 years. I was reeling. (Incidentally, she did recommend that I see a cardiologist in the echo results I never got.)

So it was on to my next step. I scheduled my visit to the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. My appointment was with the clinic director, and scheduled for 5 LONG weeks from when I called.

When March 22 finally came around, RobbieMx and I headed to Rochester for a full day of testing. Mayo runs like a well-oiled machine. I checked in and got my itinerary for the next two days. They left enough time between tests for me to get from place to place.
I started with a blood draw. The waiting room for this was much like an airport terminal. All of the chairs were in rows facing the same way, toward a wall that had several openings covered with curtains. A lab tech would appear through the curtains and call your name, and you had to follow them into a little hallway with rooms on either side. These rooms had chairs in which you are supposed to sit. Of course, immediately when I sat down I started crying and hyperventilating. She moved me to another room that had a dentist chair so I could lay down (obviously I am not the only one with needlephobia). She was so good, I never even felt the needle. I'll be requesting her next week...

After that I had chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram (which took a grand total of 11 seconds), and an echocardiogram (which took two long and uncomfortable hours).

The next day I met with my cardiologist and she examined me (she could tell the right side of my heart was severely enlarged just by pressing on my sternum and feeling my heart beat).
She told us (RobbieMax and my mom were there too) that I needed to have my pulmonary valve replaced, that there was not really any functioning tissue left at all. Then she sent me on to my exercise test to make sure.

Here I am walking on this treadmill with a scuba thingy in my mouth (to check my oxygen levels while I'm walking), and electrodes stuck to my chest, side, and forehead. They kept making it harder by inclining the track and I made it to my peak in less than 6 1/2 minutes. Apparently I can do 59% of what a healthy woman my age and size can do. That reinforced my cardiologist's decision to recommend surgery WITHIN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS.

So here I am...10 days away from having my pulmonary valve replaced. Apparently since this valve is not functioning, the right side of my heart has enlarged and thickened. They will also be shaving some of the muscle to help the regression of my heart (reduction in size) and my tricuspid valve may also need fixing because it has been stretched. Fun, huh?

But this surgery is supposed to improve my quality of life - I'll be feeling much better than I am now. Truthfully, I hadn't realized that I was feeling very bad until I went to Mayo. Now I can't wait until I'm no longer as tired, short of breath, or swollen (ankles, feet, and hands), among other things.

So that's the story.