Met with KU Med Cardiologist yesterday

[big_L]

My wife and I met with Dr. Matthew Earnest at the KU Med Center yesterday (Actually - we were in the KU St. Joseph, MO office - as it's an hour closer). Wow - we really like him. He spoke to us like we were educated. He seemed compassionate and upbeat. I am very comfortable with him.

His plan is to repeat the echo, then do the cath for gradient.

They repeated the echo after the visit. It wasn't any better than the last one, a bit worse. AVA under 0.7, mean gradient ~6.0. So, the last high gradient numbers (Feb) were real. I had been mentally preparing for that.

He actually called me at 8 last night to give me a preliminary report on the echo. Unbelievable!

He wants us to come down and meet with the surgeon. Then pick a surgery date. Then do the cath for gradient and andiogram on one day and surgery the next. He wants to do it soon, but there's not big rush. I'd say we're considering June/July. He says they can do a mini-sternotomy if all they're doing is the valve. This would be easier to recover from. If they need to do any bypass, then the full stenotomy.

We're struggling with the drive. My wife has fibromyalgia and some arthritis and sitting/driving just kills her. To try and do this after being the "nurse/oversee-er/etc" for 4-7 days while I'm in the hospital is a huge hurdle for us. I need to start researching options for getting me home. KU is where we want to do this, as we have more of a support network there. Plus, the Dr visit was so positive yesterday.

 

[Jkm7]

Good to hear you are so comfortable with your cardiologist. It is so much easier/confidence boosting when we manage a good relationship with our doctors.

Sorry to hear your struggle about travel to and from the hospital but a few suggestions that come to my mind are:
You say you have a support network near KU. Could someone in that group manage the drive home for you? How long a drive is it?

Is it too far to consider hiring a car company to drive you? Perhaps if you explain the circumstances they may work with you a bit? You likely want someone present with you when they give you discharge orders and instructions. You will find concentration may not be sharp immediately post op and it is good for someone to be present as another set of ears. If you hired a car company, perhaps a relative, friend, neighbor could ride with the driver to the hospital. They would come to your room to escort you and help you with discharge instructions and they could ride home with you.

Sorry if these suggestions would not work for you but perhaps might trigger another workable plan you might think of.

Let us know how things go as you move along toward surgery.
All best wishes.

 

[kimcdougc]

Glad you found a Dr. you like. That is hard. Do you have a neighbor that might be willing to drive you home. You could contact your local community center, I know the one I volunteer at has drivers for seniors. You might also contact a local church and ask. Always offer to pay them and that should help.

Keep us up to date about your upcoming surgery.

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In the waiting room for AVR on May 23, 2013 Dr. Barnhart, Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill, Seattle, WA. On-x 23mm valve.