L
lopearredlady
Hey Friends,
I arrived home in Abilene about 4:00 today. It is good to be home, even though the lake was a wonderful place to recover.
I saw Dr. Oswalt yesterday, and thought a few of you would be interested.
Wow; I was blown away by my unique heart. I was born with a bicuspid valve, but when they got in there I had no Superior vena cava; instead, a
persistent left vena cava that runs diagonally all the way across my heart.
I also had an enlarged aorta, a portion of which he excised and banded, which I think happens to quite a few people. My heart apparently stopped about 5 times in ICU. I guess the Lord isn't finished with me yet!
I am so thankful I had such a gifted surgeon to know what to do with these abnormalities.
We are still unsure of the status of my conduction system below the nodes.
The nurse who saw us in the Cardiologist's office said he turned down the pacemaker and there was a signal, but he couldn't be sure if the signal to the lower chambers was coming from the nodes or the damaged area.
They have the pacemaker set very tightly, so there is less than one millisecond before the pacemaker clicks in, not waiting for recognizing whether or not there is a signal in the ventricles.
So, I see them again in 3 months. I have two more weeks of the most critical period, and I have some medication issues to balance out. He wants to maintain my blood pressure at a pretty low level for a bit, but doesn't want my systolic going over 110. He wants me to take 1/4 of a blood pressure pill if I hit 110.
Anyway, I feel as though I am doing very well, all things considered. I hope this helps someone else, and if anyone has any other ideas, I always welcome them. Meanwhile, he wants me to walk "with gusto"---I have to wait until it cools off tonight! And of course--open those air pockets!!!!
Everyone hang in there; we are all in this together!
Terry
I arrived home in Abilene about 4:00 today. It is good to be home, even though the lake was a wonderful place to recover.
I saw Dr. Oswalt yesterday, and thought a few of you would be interested.
Wow; I was blown away by my unique heart. I was born with a bicuspid valve, but when they got in there I had no Superior vena cava; instead, a
persistent left vena cava that runs diagonally all the way across my heart.
I also had an enlarged aorta, a portion of which he excised and banded, which I think happens to quite a few people. My heart apparently stopped about 5 times in ICU. I guess the Lord isn't finished with me yet!
I am so thankful I had such a gifted surgeon to know what to do with these abnormalities.
We are still unsure of the status of my conduction system below the nodes.
The nurse who saw us in the Cardiologist's office said he turned down the pacemaker and there was a signal, but he couldn't be sure if the signal to the lower chambers was coming from the nodes or the damaged area.
They have the pacemaker set very tightly, so there is less than one millisecond before the pacemaker clicks in, not waiting for recognizing whether or not there is a signal in the ventricles.
So, I see them again in 3 months. I have two more weeks of the most critical period, and I have some medication issues to balance out. He wants to maintain my blood pressure at a pretty low level for a bit, but doesn't want my systolic going over 110. He wants me to take 1/4 of a blood pressure pill if I hit 110.
Anyway, I feel as though I am doing very well, all things considered. I hope this helps someone else, and if anyone has any other ideas, I always welcome them. Meanwhile, he wants me to walk "with gusto"---I have to wait until it cools off tonight! And of course--open those air pockets!!!!
Everyone hang in there; we are all in this together!
Terry
