PairoDocs
Well-known member
Hello all,
I'm writing in the Significant Others category because I really have a SO with OHS. My mother, Jeannette, started having difficulty with aerobic activity about six months ago, and decided to have things looked at. It turns out that after over 70 years since she had rheumatic fever as a girl, the heart damage finally made itself manifest. She developed aortic valve stenosis, and it was progressive. I advised her to get her surgery done as soon as possible rather than wait for serious symptoms to develop. Thanks to the insights I've gathered here over the years, I knew that a heart in heart failure would not recover completely as a heart operated on *before* heart failure started. I convinced my mother in a 'heart-to-heart'--so to speak--discussion to proceed sooner than later. Her cardiologist agreed, too, as did her cardiothoracic surgeon. So the originally scheduled surgery had been for January 2015, but instead they rescheduled her for December 8th. I'm glad she did as her symptoms had started to rapidly progress in the past few weeks. Her heart is very fit and so should heal very nicely.
She went in this morning about 5 am Pacific time--she lives in California near San Francisco, so her surgery was there, and first incision was at about 7 am. They did a medial sternotomy like they had on me, so we'll have matching scars. The procedure went really well. My sister stayed for the duration of the surgery, but had to return to Petaluma this afternoon. At her request, due to frequent and sometimes serious nosebleeds, she didn't get a mechanical valve, but a bovine valve instead, so she won't have to have nearly the anticoagulant load that a mechanical valve recipient would have had to have. Mom is intubated as I type this, but they'll see if she's ready for extubation tomorrow. Please keep Jeannette in your prayers for speedy recovery. I'm driving down the weekend of December 13-14th so I can be there to watch her for a week or two as she takes her first steps toward recovery. She came up to Idaho and did it for me seven years ago, so I guess it's my turn to help her out in the same manner. I guess we'll have a deeper relationship as we shared this 'counting coup on the Pearly Gates' experience of OHS. I will try to keep everyone apprised of the situation and her progress. She told me she doesn't think she is up to joining the community here, but maybe in time she'll change her mind.
Chris
I'm writing in the Significant Others category because I really have a SO with OHS. My mother, Jeannette, started having difficulty with aerobic activity about six months ago, and decided to have things looked at. It turns out that after over 70 years since she had rheumatic fever as a girl, the heart damage finally made itself manifest. She developed aortic valve stenosis, and it was progressive. I advised her to get her surgery done as soon as possible rather than wait for serious symptoms to develop. Thanks to the insights I've gathered here over the years, I knew that a heart in heart failure would not recover completely as a heart operated on *before* heart failure started. I convinced my mother in a 'heart-to-heart'--so to speak--discussion to proceed sooner than later. Her cardiologist agreed, too, as did her cardiothoracic surgeon. So the originally scheduled surgery had been for January 2015, but instead they rescheduled her for December 8th. I'm glad she did as her symptoms had started to rapidly progress in the past few weeks. Her heart is very fit and so should heal very nicely.
She went in this morning about 5 am Pacific time--she lives in California near San Francisco, so her surgery was there, and first incision was at about 7 am. They did a medial sternotomy like they had on me, so we'll have matching scars. The procedure went really well. My sister stayed for the duration of the surgery, but had to return to Petaluma this afternoon. At her request, due to frequent and sometimes serious nosebleeds, she didn't get a mechanical valve, but a bovine valve instead, so she won't have to have nearly the anticoagulant load that a mechanical valve recipient would have had to have. Mom is intubated as I type this, but they'll see if she's ready for extubation tomorrow. Please keep Jeannette in your prayers for speedy recovery. I'm driving down the weekend of December 13-14th so I can be there to watch her for a week or two as she takes her first steps toward recovery. She came up to Idaho and did it for me seven years ago, so I guess it's my turn to help her out in the same manner. I guess we'll have a deeper relationship as we shared this 'counting coup on the Pearly Gates' experience of OHS. I will try to keep everyone apprised of the situation and her progress. She told me she doesn't think she is up to joining the community here, but maybe in time she'll change her mind.
Chris
