natedrums
New member
Hello from a new member!
I feel very fortunate to have found a group like this that can provide support and information when no one around me but doctors, who may be accessible once in a blue moon, has any advice or kind words about my condition.
A bit about my heart and myself, and then what's going on:
I am 26 years old, with a bicuspid aortic valve diagnosed at birth. I underwent a valvuloplasty last February with the intent of possibly preventing altogether the need for valve replacement. The procedure was largely unsuccessful, and now I am facing a valve replacement. My cardiologist (at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX) has told me that I have ~10-15 years of time with my heart, as-is, before I absolutely need the replacement...So it may not seem so urgent, but here is the predicament:
I am a professional musician (and teacher) by trade, and am extremely fortunate to not have my playing limited by my heart, especially considering I am a drumset/percussion player--probably the most "active" of instruments. I take as much freelance orchestra work as possible, but almost all of my gigs are on drumset, so I am often lugging drums and heavy hardware around (on a rolling cart of course), playing with 4 or 5 bands regularly. I graduated with my master's degree last year, and since grad school have been a part of an intense audition culture, where lots of people in my position go out for what probably adds up to about 8 or 10 "jobs" (full-time positions in professional orchestras, bands or chamber groups) per year for my instrument.
A couple of months ago I heard about a few positions opening up in US Air Force bands, and on a whim submitted a CD and was invited to one in California (I live in New Jersey), and about two weeks prior to the audition began speaking with a local recruiter about prospects for getting approved to join the Air Force. ALL USAF jobs require basic training before the real job can begin, regardless of how physically active/inactive. Performing in a band is hardly flying a plane or ground combat, etc., so basic training is really the only physical activity in question in my case. I understood going in that getting my valve replaced would be required to complete basic training, as I am limited on what physical activity I can do (no high-impact cardio, i.e. running or heavy weight lifting).
Fast forward to last week, I went out to the base, took the audition, and won by unanimous panel vote. A huge victory, on one hand: an amazing opportunity, well-paying, government benefits, a massive improvement over spotty freelance playing and teaching. On the other hand, the band wants me to deploy for basic training in October or November. This almost certainly puts me out of the running for this job, HOWEVER--in the event I can get cleared for enlistment, if I can't take this job (which could only happen if the deployment could be delayed several months), there will be others that arise, and based on my performance at this one, I hopefully would be able to win another and take it...even though California is beautiful and I would love to live there. You can enlist until age 34, so it gives me some time.
I have now had all my records from my hospital at home (Texas) and from where I currently live (New Jersey) sent to the local recruiter, who (according to the sergeant I spoke to at the Pentagon) will forward them to MEPS (the first level of red tape required for health clearance), who will say no if for no other reason than my irregular heartbeat, at which point the records will be sent to the Surgeon General, who will hopefully be able to answer the following questions, which, in the interest of being incredibly impatient and anxious, I kindly pose to this forum:
A. is there a precedent for being approved to enlist in the USAF (or other military), post-aortic valve replacement (or other open-heart surgeries)?
B. is there an explicit risk factor for heart patients going through something as intense as basic training (8 weeks of lots of running, carrying heavy body armor/packs full of soldier gear, little sleep, etc.) after the required waiting period? A surgeon I may utilize in NJ has told me, having never dealt with this situation, that by his guess a 6-month waiting period post-surgery would be reasonable--incidentally, from what I'm told, MEPS also requires 6 months after an intial "no" to be re-evaluated. http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/airforcejoin/a/afbmt1.htm for more basic training information.
My would-be-surgeon's best guess is that an artificial valve would land me a permanent "no," because of the blood thinners required (fatal scenarios wouldn't require much imagination), so I am looking at a tissue valve, and am beginning to consider my options, but the time frame is up in the air as of now.
If anyone has any experience with this situation, advice or information, it would be incredibly helpful. Places like this are why the internet exists!
Thanks to everyone,
Nate
P.S. another reason the internet exists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDV31QipSek
I feel very fortunate to have found a group like this that can provide support and information when no one around me but doctors, who may be accessible once in a blue moon, has any advice or kind words about my condition.
A bit about my heart and myself, and then what's going on:
I am 26 years old, with a bicuspid aortic valve diagnosed at birth. I underwent a valvuloplasty last February with the intent of possibly preventing altogether the need for valve replacement. The procedure was largely unsuccessful, and now I am facing a valve replacement. My cardiologist (at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX) has told me that I have ~10-15 years of time with my heart, as-is, before I absolutely need the replacement...So it may not seem so urgent, but here is the predicament:
I am a professional musician (and teacher) by trade, and am extremely fortunate to not have my playing limited by my heart, especially considering I am a drumset/percussion player--probably the most "active" of instruments. I take as much freelance orchestra work as possible, but almost all of my gigs are on drumset, so I am often lugging drums and heavy hardware around (on a rolling cart of course), playing with 4 or 5 bands regularly. I graduated with my master's degree last year, and since grad school have been a part of an intense audition culture, where lots of people in my position go out for what probably adds up to about 8 or 10 "jobs" (full-time positions in professional orchestras, bands or chamber groups) per year for my instrument.
A couple of months ago I heard about a few positions opening up in US Air Force bands, and on a whim submitted a CD and was invited to one in California (I live in New Jersey), and about two weeks prior to the audition began speaking with a local recruiter about prospects for getting approved to join the Air Force. ALL USAF jobs require basic training before the real job can begin, regardless of how physically active/inactive. Performing in a band is hardly flying a plane or ground combat, etc., so basic training is really the only physical activity in question in my case. I understood going in that getting my valve replaced would be required to complete basic training, as I am limited on what physical activity I can do (no high-impact cardio, i.e. running or heavy weight lifting).
Fast forward to last week, I went out to the base, took the audition, and won by unanimous panel vote. A huge victory, on one hand: an amazing opportunity, well-paying, government benefits, a massive improvement over spotty freelance playing and teaching. On the other hand, the band wants me to deploy for basic training in October or November. This almost certainly puts me out of the running for this job, HOWEVER--in the event I can get cleared for enlistment, if I can't take this job (which could only happen if the deployment could be delayed several months), there will be others that arise, and based on my performance at this one, I hopefully would be able to win another and take it...even though California is beautiful and I would love to live there. You can enlist until age 34, so it gives me some time.
I have now had all my records from my hospital at home (Texas) and from where I currently live (New Jersey) sent to the local recruiter, who (according to the sergeant I spoke to at the Pentagon) will forward them to MEPS (the first level of red tape required for health clearance), who will say no if for no other reason than my irregular heartbeat, at which point the records will be sent to the Surgeon General, who will hopefully be able to answer the following questions, which, in the interest of being incredibly impatient and anxious, I kindly pose to this forum:
A. is there a precedent for being approved to enlist in the USAF (or other military), post-aortic valve replacement (or other open-heart surgeries)?
B. is there an explicit risk factor for heart patients going through something as intense as basic training (8 weeks of lots of running, carrying heavy body armor/packs full of soldier gear, little sleep, etc.) after the required waiting period? A surgeon I may utilize in NJ has told me, having never dealt with this situation, that by his guess a 6-month waiting period post-surgery would be reasonable--incidentally, from what I'm told, MEPS also requires 6 months after an intial "no" to be re-evaluated. http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/airforcejoin/a/afbmt1.htm for more basic training information.
My would-be-surgeon's best guess is that an artificial valve would land me a permanent "no," because of the blood thinners required (fatal scenarios wouldn't require much imagination), so I am looking at a tissue valve, and am beginning to consider my options, but the time frame is up in the air as of now.
If anyone has any experience with this situation, advice or information, it would be incredibly helpful. Places like this are why the internet exists!
Thanks to everyone,
Nate
P.S. another reason the internet exists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDV31QipSek
