Hello everyone!
First of all, I would like to say that this is my first post and I am speaking on behalf of my father. I am sure that he would love to talk to all of you personally, but he does not speak English very well. He is 59 years old and is currently in the hospital awaiting his third aortic valve replacement for this year. I wanted to share his story with you.
Initially, my father was in good health condition and didn't have an apparent reason to have an aortic valve replacement. However, one day he went to the hospital to get checked because of a nosebleed and this is where it all began. The doctors found something in his heart that they diagnosed as Papillary Fibroelastoma - a benign tumor that might cause complications if it is not removed. At that point, it was not clear if the aortic valve would need to be replaced, but in either case, my father would still have chosen to go through the surgery rather than worry for the rest of his life. He stayed in the hospital for more than a week before the actual surgery was done which was very stressful for him, but after all of that, the surgery went well. He got a mechanical aortic valve. When he got home, he had lost a lot of weight and was getting tired easily, but gradually he was getting better. At the 3-month mark after the surgery, he was doing daily walks of 1-2km and he looked great. However, one morning he woke up and started having double vision and was easily getting tired again so he went to the hospital to get checked. The doctors told him that he had to undergo a second surgery because he has weak heart tissue that is not able to hold the aortic valve in place. He was devastated because he had to go through all of this again, but this time he didn't have any choice. He had his valve replaced with a new mechanical one, and the surgeon reinforced it because of the weak heart tissue. When he got home, he looked way better than after the first surgery. Also, the recovery was generally going better, at least until last week when he got sick with a fever. This is happening at around the 2-month mark after the surgery. It turned out that he has pneumonia, and not only that, he is also in need of yet another surgery because the heart tissue is still not holding the valve well enough even with the reinforcements. This time the surgery is a lot more complicated because the doctor will have to add additional tissue(not sure what is the correct term), that will support the valve.
He is currently in the hospital getting his pneumonia treated, but the aortic valve is also causing complications. So he is currently in a situation where his pneumonia needs to be treated as soon as possible, and his aortic valve needs to be replaced as soon as possible, but not before the pneumonia is treated. I am also worried that things are getting worse because he started experiencing delirium. Anyway, that is all for now. I know that it is a long post, so thanks to anybody that have read it.
First of all, I would like to say that this is my first post and I am speaking on behalf of my father. I am sure that he would love to talk to all of you personally, but he does not speak English very well. He is 59 years old and is currently in the hospital awaiting his third aortic valve replacement for this year. I wanted to share his story with you.
Initially, my father was in good health condition and didn't have an apparent reason to have an aortic valve replacement. However, one day he went to the hospital to get checked because of a nosebleed and this is where it all began. The doctors found something in his heart that they diagnosed as Papillary Fibroelastoma - a benign tumor that might cause complications if it is not removed. At that point, it was not clear if the aortic valve would need to be replaced, but in either case, my father would still have chosen to go through the surgery rather than worry for the rest of his life. He stayed in the hospital for more than a week before the actual surgery was done which was very stressful for him, but after all of that, the surgery went well. He got a mechanical aortic valve. When he got home, he had lost a lot of weight and was getting tired easily, but gradually he was getting better. At the 3-month mark after the surgery, he was doing daily walks of 1-2km and he looked great. However, one morning he woke up and started having double vision and was easily getting tired again so he went to the hospital to get checked. The doctors told him that he had to undergo a second surgery because he has weak heart tissue that is not able to hold the aortic valve in place. He was devastated because he had to go through all of this again, but this time he didn't have any choice. He had his valve replaced with a new mechanical one, and the surgeon reinforced it because of the weak heart tissue. When he got home, he looked way better than after the first surgery. Also, the recovery was generally going better, at least until last week when he got sick with a fever. This is happening at around the 2-month mark after the surgery. It turned out that he has pneumonia, and not only that, he is also in need of yet another surgery because the heart tissue is still not holding the valve well enough even with the reinforcements. This time the surgery is a lot more complicated because the doctor will have to add additional tissue(not sure what is the correct term), that will support the valve.
He is currently in the hospital getting his pneumonia treated, but the aortic valve is also causing complications. So he is currently in a situation where his pneumonia needs to be treated as soon as possible, and his aortic valve needs to be replaced as soon as possible, but not before the pneumonia is treated. I am also worried that things are getting worse because he started experiencing delirium. Anyway, that is all for now. I know that it is a long post, so thanks to anybody that have read it.
