Hello to so many wonderful, compassionate posters to my thread! This means so much to me...well, I was going to say "you can't possibly know"--but in fact, you surely
do know!
At this point, I know nothing more than my echo results (done in May) and the fact that my last EKG, done in March, showed a PR interval of 108 milliseconds--which my PCP did not tell me about at the time (I learned that it was something to watch out for only in April, when I had surgery to remove a cyst and the anesthesiologist pointed it out).
I have two cardio appts. (one Wednesday) and another that I'm about to make, after which I expect to choose from among the three (each refers to a different surgeon in NYC, all good, but I have to make sure they're aortic specialists, if possible, and also amenable to both minimally invasive surgery and ON-X valves--even if I choose not to go that way).
After the tests I expect to have run on me--and that I will ask for--I hope to have a clearer idea of my condition. And monitoring will proceed from there.
Al, this certainly made me go cold all over. I have been weight lifting for years--always as heavy as I can, with all due respect and caution for the weight, of course. I would be very sorry to have to let go of this activity, although I will, naturally, if my cardio says the same.
I also jog, and do body weight cardio exercises (you know, push-ups, chin-ups, lunges and squats) in a circuit designed to get my heart rate up--called tabatas. I wonder if this would be something to avoid as well...? I will ask.
Evelyn, thank you so much for the Roslyn hospital suggestion! I grew up on Long Island (Freeport), and my mom still lives there, so I know the hospital, naturally. At this point, though, I think I might try to focus my research and contacts on NY Presbyterian (either Cornell/Weill or Columbia) and NYU Med, since I live in NYC most of the year. My husband would be happy to fly us to the Cleveland Clinic, if it came to that, but I'm a bit nervous about having a team so crucial to my health and particular situation so far away from where I will be spending the majority of my time, once I'm recovering--should that time come. (And man, do I hope it never does. Please.) Evelyn, I see you have a springer! So do I--Melanie. She's the love of my life, a liver-and-white good-natured bundle of love.
Ruth, thank you so much for the kind words. Everyone's been so kind and helpful! And every kindness, every understanding post, feels like warmth. Which I very much need.
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