A few months ago, I posted a thread concerning my older brother and how he might be facing OHS: http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?39676-Now-my-brother-needs-OHS!&highlight=.
Well, the time has come and it's a lot more serious than we could have imagined! He met with the surgeon this morning, and, the surgeon told him that neither he nor any other surgeon in this area would be willing to tackle the surgery!
Apparently the infection he had this summer was indeed endocarditis; and it hid in his heart causing extensive damage. The doctors here just don't have the expertise to deal with it! And on top of that, he's got an artery that is 70% blocked, so that needs to be addressed too along with the valve issues. So he is being sent to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and his surgery will take place apparently this coming Thursday.
I had dreaded this scenario in my mind so many times when he had that infection and the fact that the doctors here could not find it and kept giving him massive doses of antibiotics and still could not arrest it! If only he had listened to me and gone to either Phoenix or Houston liked I had told him to!
A dear cousin of ours will be traveling with him to Phoenix so we have comfort in that, but it's going to be very stressful for the next few days. Please keep him in your prayers!
And when it rains it pours, my friends ..... my DH will have to undergo a heart cath on Monday of next week. The stress test that he had two weeks ago, showed that he may have some blockage on the left side of his heart! So I'm being torn apart right now! (My poor hubby didn't want me saying anything about his situation and I've tried to keep it within myself.....please, please keep him in your prayers too! Thank you~!)
One more note -- I just spoke to my brother again and he told me that the doctor (surgeon) told him that they were going to have to go with a cadaver tissue valve instead of the mechanical he had hoped for. And the reason for that is because the infection (endocarditis) had eaten away at the surrounding tissue where the aortic valve is. The first thing that came to my mind, although I didn't say it, was the possibility of rejection!
Well, the time has come and it's a lot more serious than we could have imagined! He met with the surgeon this morning, and, the surgeon told him that neither he nor any other surgeon in this area would be willing to tackle the surgery!
Apparently the infection he had this summer was indeed endocarditis; and it hid in his heart causing extensive damage. The doctors here just don't have the expertise to deal with it! And on top of that, he's got an artery that is 70% blocked, so that needs to be addressed too along with the valve issues. So he is being sent to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and his surgery will take place apparently this coming Thursday.
I had dreaded this scenario in my mind so many times when he had that infection and the fact that the doctors here could not find it and kept giving him massive doses of antibiotics and still could not arrest it! If only he had listened to me and gone to either Phoenix or Houston liked I had told him to!
A dear cousin of ours will be traveling with him to Phoenix so we have comfort in that, but it's going to be very stressful for the next few days. Please keep him in your prayers!
And when it rains it pours, my friends ..... my DH will have to undergo a heart cath on Monday of next week. The stress test that he had two weeks ago, showed that he may have some blockage on the left side of his heart! So I'm being torn apart right now! (My poor hubby didn't want me saying anything about his situation and I've tried to keep it within myself.....please, please keep him in your prayers too! Thank you~!)
One more note -- I just spoke to my brother again and he told me that the doctor (surgeon) told him that they were going to have to go with a cadaver tissue valve instead of the mechanical he had hoped for. And the reason for that is because the infection (endocarditis) had eaten away at the surrounding tissue where the aortic valve is. The first thing that came to my mind, although I didn't say it, was the possibility of rejection!
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