Headed to the Mayo Clinic

[psalmist]

Hey,
I had my surgery at the Mayo Clinic. They were great. Dr. Sundt was my surgeon. Not much on personality but great doc. Hope all goes well
Seth C.

 

[Maryka]

Best wishes on your trip to Mayo! You know, if they know you have to pay out of pocket they sometimes give you a more reasonable charge. I have done what you are doing (paying out of pocket to get an other opinion). It will be worthwhile. I hope you get some answers that will help your heartbeat situation.

I have to laugh at your fellow Californian who thinks that Minnesota is "back east"! I have lived on both coasts and grew up in Ohio. Believe me Minn. is a long way from the East! Still, it is a long way from L.A., so it will feel East to you. Just don't try to dip your toes in the Atlantic, ha ha!

(You know, sometimes when I wake up in the wee hours and all is quiet, I hear my St. Jude heart beating loud-and-clear and I think of you, Seth. Then I say a prayer, roll over and go back to sleep.)

 

[Maryka]

Oops! Your fellow Californian did NOT say Minn. was the East Coast. However, I have heard plenty of Californians call anything East of Calif. "the East Coast"! One friend told me that Montana was the "East Coast". I guess I read more into the "East" statement than was there.

 

[kfay]

Seth, you know I'm pulling for you. I hope they are finally able to provide you with some answers. You definitely deserve some. Please keep me posted as your trip plays itself out.

I don't know if you were able to reach Hiafa, but you should try and meet her while you are in Minneapolis.

Kim

 

[Tbone]

I wish you the best of luck & hopefully you will get the info/fresh ideas & help that you need to put your heart & mind at ease. Good luck & God Bless.

 

[terodac]

Good luck and please let us know what you find out. I also had the bentall procedure and would really like to know. God Bless hope you get some answers!

 

[gustaf]

I wish you the very best luck on your excursion to the Mayo Clinic.

As you know, I am curious on these problems myself as well, but have not made any progress lately.

I had hopes that the enlargement of my constricted part of the aorta would help, but so far it has not when it comes to the pounding. The BP is almost perfect now however, without medication, but this is nothing I am noticing really. Generally, such an alteration of the fluid dynamics should have had an effect if it was the water hammer effect, a theory I have also subscribed to. Or?

I am thinking a little bit about if there is anything relating to the heart sack and possibly scar tissue in that area? This is quite vague for now, but I have now had a second experience of pericarditis (not yet diagnosed this time, but everything is the same) after being to eager to start training after infections. This has increased the pounding quite dramatically to an inside sledge hammer effect.

Again, the best of luck!

::gustaf

 

[Cozycat]

Maryka, you are correct. I was referring to Seth's trip eastward, not to the east coast. I was raised in Illinois and my first child was born in a small town between Philly and Allentown, PA so know Minnesota is no where near east. I, too, think many native Californians refer to anything the other side of the Rockies as the "East". I love the East Coast and some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen is back there. Many, many, many years ago, before security got to be a problem, even went kayaking on the Potomac....and we were able to get pretty close in to D.C. Have forgotten the details of the trip but it was an exciting trip with my first husband's uncle who lived and worked in that area.

Midge

 

[seth]

Hi everyone, I had a good visit with family in Minnesota over the weekend before driving down to the Mayo Clinic. I want to offer a sincere thanks for all your posts, prayers and encouragement. It would be so lonely and discouraging going through this without all of you who have personal experience in matters of the heart and have a caring spirit. When I got to Rochester and checked into my hotel room I logged-on and reread your messages which made me feel better, like I wasn't there all alone. Not long after that VR.com went "poof" gone, so I have not been able to post.

I'll share the results of my Mayo visit in another post, but here I just wanted to say thank you and bless you.