Soooo many questions....

[gadgetman]

And to answer Cort's question... while I work at CNN, I'm no personality Just another one of the little people pulling an oar belowdecks to keep the galley moving! Pat

Pat,

Everyone is a "personality". Just ask Ross or Mary

Welcome aboard. With you and Cindy our Georgia contingent continues to grow. I had planned on showing up at St. Joseph's Hospital's doorstep when my time came (I had an ablation done there previously and was impressed with the facility) but my Cardio in Columbus said due to my condition he would only send me to Dr. McGiffin at UAB. When he said that would be were he would send a family member with my problems the discussion was over.

Again welcome aboard. As you have seen already, there are a lot of "been there, done that" and "pending" folks here that can offer plenty of advice and guidance. As my sister lives in Atlanta, she may have seen some of your "oar work".

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[Ross]

About time the president of the Great Continent of Georgia shows up!

 

[Mary]

Pat,

Everyone is a "personality". Just ask Ross or Mary .
. .As my sister lives in Atlanta, she may have seen some of your "oar work".

May God Bless,

Danny

Pat,

May I borrow your oar to smack Danny with? I have a little "oar work" to do myself!

*Oops, I'm guilty of thread hijacking*

It's all Danny's fault!

 

[gadgetman]

Ross,

That is "SIR" to you. At ease.

Mary,

Just don't put a "WH" in front of that or you will bring the family channel down.

And I DIDN'T START IT!!! Not me, no way!!!!

THREAD RELEASE BUTTON PUSHED

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[twinmaker]

Pat, just wondering if your doctor is at Emory or Emory Crawford Long. We moved here to Florida a couple of years ago but lived in the Atlanta area for almost 5 years, and I had some great doctors at Emory Crawford Long. Dr. Byron Williams was my cardiologist there and I also had an electrophysiologist there. Just curious. Linda

 

[Guest]

Lyn,

That'd certainly be nice ... and refreshing for a change .


Pat,

So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you do for CNN, then? I'm curious on a couple levels ... first, on the level that Lyn wrote of...doing a story on CHD and two, job information. I currently _strongly dislike_ my job and, while I'm looking at a job that involves my love of traveling, would also love to get into the field for which I went to school ... communication studies ... radio, newspaper, writing, etc....

 

[Lynlw]

see Cort we are always thinking especially right now since Atlanta just lost Jason Collier to from what I can gather , apparently another undxd CHD. I often wonder how many players the NBA will lose or be affected bu CHDs before THEY decide it is a cause worth helping, it's just sad. Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw
ps Justin and you may have another thing in common he is looking at going to college for mass Communications, are you sure you're not a log lost relative?

 

[joanne6]

Hi Pat

Hi Pat

I am in Maryland so I can't tell you about docs in Georgia. I was diagnosed with MVP in 1960-approximately. I was told it would never progress or need surgery. I have lived a very active life as a busy nurse and mother.
This past summer, July 21st to be exact at about 9:45am that changed. I went for a routine ECHO and was then told I now had severe mitral regurg and needed surgery "in the next few months:. I did much research after stopping the hysterical crying. Found Dr. James Gammie at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He has a 95% repair rate with Mitral Valve surgery. That attracted me and he almost always uses a minimally invasive approach.

August 15th I had my surgery and did have a repair with minimally invasive approach. There are different types of robotics. They used a camera as has been mentioned to go inside the chest and project the images on "plasma screen TV's throughout the OR" At Johns Hopkins they are doing surgery with the robot actually performing the procedure. I did not want that.
The suggestion is good to research people in your area. I had heard of Dr. Cosgrove but didn't seriously consider Cleveland. I also hadn't found this site yet.
I wanted to be in Baltimore and am lucky we have 5-6 hospitals here doing MVR with minimally invasive approach. I would not have been upset if I had to have a sternotomy, though.
I have been out of work for 3 months because I am changing jobs. Except for a bump in the road this past week, I have done well.
Good luck and stick around. You will get much support and questions answered.
Joanne

 

[samiam]

Greetings from Florida...

My Mitral Valve Prolapse was diagnosed in 1982 and slowly worsened until my cardio suggested we do something before symptons set in. (He was surprised I didn't have any symptoms.)

My mitral valve was in bad shape. Sorry I don't have any numbers, and the left atrium was slightly enlarged.

I went to Cleveland Clinic Ft Lauderdale/Westin Florida for my surgery. Repair was the first option. The surgeon, Dr Boyd, is the Chief of the Cardiothoracic and Robotic Department. He said he didn't want to do robotics since my valve was in bad shape. If he couldn't repair me robotically, he would have to "sew me up, then roll me over" to do the replacement. In other words, two surgical procedures at the same time.

So we decided on minimal invasive, with a repair the first option. It turned out my valve and chords were too far gone, and now I moo whenever I see a grassy area!

Good Luck.

 

[Guest]

*grins*

Yes, Lyn, great minds think alike ... now do you wish you and Justin had had time to meet me while I was in NJ this past August?

Your post is a great "segue" for me to ask Pat this... Any chance that you or someone you know could do a story on CHD and health insurance and other related issues? I'm envisioning a multi-part series.... I ask because the more I think about my situation (currently looking at a job that does not offer health insurance ... and attempting to figure out how I can get health insurance...and running into roadblock after roadblock) ... the angrier I get that those of us with health issues are "punished" further by having tons of red tape to cut through and, in some cases, never making a dent in the first layer.....

*sighs*

Anyway....Lyn, yes we might be a long-lost relative. Sadly, I haven't done much with my Communication Studies degree . But, I could talk to Justin about that, too...heh.

 

[AtlantaPat]

Emory doc

Emory doc

Linda... I'm seeing Dr. Randy Martin at Emory. I've seen him in his offices at the main campus, but I'd guess he probably sees patients in midtown at Emory Crawford Long. I couldn't be more impressed by Dr. Martin. He's extremely thorough and very patient with someone completely new to all this.

And Cort, I'm planning to talk with a couple of producers in CNN's Medical Unit. Partly for selfish reasons (they may be able to point me to some information resources that'll help make my choices easier when it comes to surgeon, hospital, etc.) and partly so I can sort of be on their radar and it won't be a surprise if I occasionally let them know what I'm finding in my journey trying to deal with CHD's effects. All I can do is suggest; it's up to the unit to decide what they end up doing. I CAN say the producers I know work 60 weeks doing probably one or two percent of the story possibilities that come their way. So while they have (and will again) do stories about CHD, it's hard to say when the next one wil be or what will prompt it. I'll definitely make sure to update them periodically on what I'm seeing!

 

[bouteloa]

I had a complex repair of my mitral valve

I had a complex repair of my mitral valve

The anterior and posterior leaflets were rebuilt around a stabilizing ring. They used gore-tex strings to replace the chordae. After that, I got the Maze procedure. I feel perfectly normal now.

The mitral valve repair is such a commonly done procedure that I would recommmend that you look into your local situation. Surely there are some excellent surgeons in Atlanta.

The last thing I would want to do after such major surgery is to get on an airplane or take a long car ride.

Also, it is possible to see the entire surgery if you look for it online. I think this is not a good idea.

Prior to the surgery, I was anxious, naturally. I lightened up by watching comedy DVDs and making sure all my affairs were in order.

 

[Lynlw]

Pat, good luck w/ your getting answers about your heart and who to operate, I don't know if it works this way for others, but i talked to a few docs and when I found the "right" surgeon, i just knew it, I felt at peace.
as for CNN and CHDs if I can help in anyway just ask. I don't know if you found www.tchin.org but they have alot of info as well as links to alot of useful things, from adults chd centers to support groups, Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw

 

[Guest]

Pat,

While I was thinking of CHD's effects ... I was also thinking of a story regarding how health insurance (or, rather, lack thereof) is a deterrent to achieving goals/the type of life that people want/deserve. I know that is probably not big on "news radar", but I think that we have enough "experience" here on this board with "red tape" ... that we could build a formidable story....

*shrugs*

But, that's just my opinion. Frankly, I really think that we need to find a way to direct more attention to health issues in total ... because I'm sick'n'tired of hearing about (and experience, for that matter) instances where people have had to give up their dreams because the red tape of health insurance is thrown back in their faces as if the health issue was something they themselves caused.... And, yes, I'm speaking a wee bit personally here .

So...in short, if you need others to "back you up" ... let me know what I need to do.....

 

[Guest]

Heh...as if on cue...this thread from acha:

http://www.achaheart.org//boards/viewtopic.php?t=1469


I'll keep an eye on it, Pat ... perhaps we can build a feature from that as well ... depending on the replies.....

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Welcome Pat,

Mitral Valve REPAIR is a subspecialty that is highly dependent on the SURGEON so I would suggest interviewing Surgeons with LOTS of experience in this area. Most likely, they will be found at one of the Major Heart Hospitals. I'm not familiar with the Atlanta Hospitals, but two other regional centers you might consider are Duke and UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham). You are right, Cleveland Clinic is known as one of the better REPAIR centers.

I suspect you are beyond the point where your cardiologist can do much for you other than give you a referal to surgeon(s) he is familiar with. You could also do your own research and refer yourself to surgeons of interest. Many of us believe that "Sooner is Better" to avoid further damage to the heart muscles and walls, especially when it comes to getting a Repair. Success rates for first time surgeries in patients under age 60 run 98% or better.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Rebecca]

Hi Pat and welcome to this wonderful web site. Atlanta has more than one good hospital. Seven years ago my cardiologist told me I could get a good surgery at Emory Crawford Long. That was when my health insurance did not cover St. Joseph's Hospital. Most of the entire cardiologist surgeons at St. Joseph?s Hospital were trained at Emory. St. Joseph? Hospital is not a teaching hospital. Is your cardiologist Dr. Randy Martin from WSB TV?