avatar pjmomrunner

[hensylee]

pj, I am intrigued by your egg. Mine's not rocking (because my computer doesn't rock, for some reason). Is it Humpty Dumpty? Inquiring minds, and all that, you know........

 

[Ross]

Hensylee you have irfanview right? If so open it and go to options/properties and on the first tab at the bottom, be sure there is a check in the box to animate .gif files.

 

[PJmomrunner]

Hi Ann-

My avatar is a character named Weebl (or it could be Bob...they differ only in size) of Weebl and Bob fame. (All right, maybe "obscurity" would be a better word than "fame". Google on Weebl and Bob if you're interested in seeing some very odd flash videos.) Anyway, the only significance I attach to it is that when I was a little kid there were play toys called Weebles and their advertising catch-phrase was, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." I was looking for something to use as an avatar and I thought that sentiment fit rather well with the notion that all of us on this website are figuratively wobbly, but we don't fall down. I'm sure Humpty Dumpty would be quite envious of Weebl!

P. J.

 

[Mary]

Hi Ann-

My avatar is a character named Weebl (or it could be Bob...they differ only in size) of Weebl and Bob fame. (All right, maybe "obscurity" would be a better word than "fame". Google on Weebl and Bob if you're interested in seeing some very odd flash videos.) Anyway, the only significance I attach to it is that when I was a little kid there were play toys called Weebles and their advertising catch-phrase was, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." I was looking for something to use as an avatar and I thought that sentiment fit rather well with the notion that all of us on this website are figuratively wobbly, but we don't fall down. I'm sure Humpty Dumpty would be quite envious of Weebl!
P. J.

Gotta love it! I've got a Witch Weeble (its all black). I kept the Haunted House Webble set after the kids got older, and now my 2 year old granddaughter plays with it.

 

[hensylee]

that is really interesting. I'll bet we get lots of responses from Weeblers. I found a weeble school bus with a few of the occupants - at a garage sale about 9 yrs ago and bought it for my baby great granddaughter (who is now 10) and she and her brother played with it for years. It's still in their toybox here at my house; their mother forbade me ever getting rid of it. It's the original Weeble family; probably many years old. Bought a new set for the newer greats; of course they are not wood.

We get an avatar from time to time that we wonder about (you will see a bunch of Ross' - - as time goes on)- check out some of the avatars. All have a story behind them. Yours is very fitting for VR. My current avatar is Granbonny and me. We met last summer and took pictures. She's the only VR member I have met in person. A couple of yrs ago, many of us put in our childhood pictures - it was such fun.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[PJmomrunner]

I love your avatar, Mary. Clearly you're a swimmer. What's your VR story if you don't mind my asking?

 

[PJmomrunner]

I think I saw a post of yours, Ann, that intimated that you live on Key West. Is that correct? We just got back from spring break in Cocoa Beach a few days ago. It really got us ready for some nice weather.

 

[hensylee]

My mother was a Key West native - born in 1909 when KW was only a tiny town and the only connection to the Florida coast was via railroad - before the bridge was built. Mother really had some interesting stories about how they lived. No fresh milk, only canned - no real medicines except aloe. Fish was the meat of the day; every day. Mother went swimming every single day in those lovely waters. Atlantic was on one side, Gulf of Mexico on the other side.

I live in NW Fl. Grew up in Miami.

Cocoa Beach is really nice, too. I remember when it was only a dot on the map - well, maybe not even a dot. Now all towns on the east coast of Fl run into each other. Nearly all the west coast of Fl, too.

 

[Mary]

I love your avatar, Mary. Clearly you're a swimmer. What's your VR story if you don't mind my asking?

GP first heard a murmur in 2000; echo initially showed moderate aortic stenosis of a bicuspid valve. We've watched it ever since. My last echo showed progression of between .7 and.9

I've taken really good care of my heart since I was in my early 30's. I followed a low fat diet and swam a mile every day, six days a week for 18 years. My dad died of a massive MI when I was 19 and I vowed I would not put my own children through the same heartache if I could possibly prevent it.
The diagnosis of aortic stenosis came as a huge shock, but the good news is my heart is in excellent condition. I just have a lousy valve.

I've talked to Dr. Stelzer in NY about having the Ross procedure, and he is ready for me to set the date for around the first of June. I'm starting to hedge a little, and I'm considering having a St. Louis surgeon replace with a tissue valve. I have had experience with warafin after a mild embolic event last May (a piece of calcification from the valve broke loose) and I know I don't want to be on it. I spent four days in the hospital trying to get INR regulated.
One of our boys was diagnosed with a bicuspid valve last summer, so that influences my thoughts about surgery. He will be faced with similar decisions at some point in his life.

I was a skydiver for awhile but I don't intend to resume it. I'll be happy with being able to again swim my mile. I joined VR last April, and I thank my lucky stars everyday that I found it. Some of the best people in the world reside at VR.com I'm glad you've decided to join us.
Mary

 

[PJmomrunner]

GP first heard a murmur in 2000; echo initially showed moderate aortic stenosis of a bicuspid valve. We've watched it ever since. My last echo showed progression of between .7 and.9

I've taken really good care of my heart since I was in my early 30's. I followed a low fat diet and swam a mile every day, six days a week for 18 years. My dad died of a massive MI when I was 19 and I vowed I would not put my own children through the same heartache if I could possibly prevent it.
The diagnosis of aortic stenosis came as a huge shock, but the good news is my heart is in excellent condition. I just have a lousy valve.

I've talked to Dr. Stelzer in NY about having the Ross procedure, and he is ready for me to set the date for around the first of June. I'm starting to hedge a little, and I'm considering having a St. Louis surgeon replace with a tissue valve. I have had experience with warafin after a mild embolic event last May (a piece of calcification from the valve broke loose) and I know I don't want to be on it. I spent four days in the hospital trying to get INR regulated.
One of our boys was diagnosed with a bicuspid valve last summer, so that influences my thoughts about surgery. He will be faced with similar decisions at some point in his life.

I was a skydiver for awhile but I don't intend to resume it. I'll be happy with being able to again swim my mile. I joined VR last April, and I thank my lucky stars everyday that I found it. Some of the best people in the world reside at VR.com I'm glad you've decided to join us.
Mary

So, we're both BAV people. Lucky us! I also have taken good care of my heart with a low fat diet since I was 22 (except for brief hiatuses) and pretty consistent running (except for during pregnancies and an inconsistent stretch of 5 years when the kids were young). Before I had kids I wanted to skydive but I never did. Now I'm completely over that desire.

My valve is purely regurgitant, no stenosis. Maybe that's why I'm not familiar with the measurements you state.

I had scheduled surgery but have pretty much decided, for now at least, to wait and watch the valve as well as the aneurysm every six months. Neither requires immediate surgery. The combo gets me more restrictions than the valve would alone, which stinks. But the cardio activities could resume after surgery.

Both my kids have been screened for BAV and do not have it.

Have you been to Cedars Sinai's website? It's www.csmc.edu/pf_3893.html.

Good luck with your valve decision. Why a doctor in NY? I've not heard of him, but I did limit my search to the drivable midwest.

P. J.