S
South Sound Sailor
(I wanted to give everyone an update but I'm really lazy tonight and instead of writing an original post, I've copied and pasted an email I just sent to a fellow member of VR.COM. So here's the latest on what's going on out here in or near the waters of South Puget Sound (where, by the way, in the hills of West Olympia, we had a beautiful 2 to 3 inch snowfall last night. Called in late to work and took my 4 year old son for a walk in the snow this morning))...
Thanks for staying in touch. I met with the CTS, Dr. Dennis Nichols yesterday. He's the surgeon directing the On-X trial out here in WA. I'm happy to report that I immediately connected with him. Within a few minutes, I knew he was REALLY listening to me, not just telling me what he thought. He gave me all the time I needed and I never once felt like he was rushing me out of the office. He's a marathon runner so we have that connection. He's the dad of 5 kids and I have 4 so we have that in common. I also spent time with his lead research nurse and another assistant.
Everyone gave me their full attention and allowed me plenty of time to ask questions. I signed the paperwork that entered me into the clinical trial and tomorrow morning I start taking Plavix and aspirin to see if I have any undesired reactions. I've not set a surgery date but if I had to guess, I'm betting it's going to be by the first week of February. Dr. Nichols assured me that he can conduct the surgery within 30 days from now.
He kind of echoed my Cardio by telling me yes, I could wait but he was very supportive in my decision to do this now. From that point forward, he was nothing but optimistic and he even introduced me to a patient in another exam room, a woman who was 4 weeks post-op from her AVR using an On-X. She looked like the picture of health and I had a hard time believing that she was just 1 month out of her AVR surgery. I didn't ask if she was in the trial but I'm going to assume she's in.
So the way the trial works, I'll be on coumadin for 3 months after AVR and then at that point a random decision is made to put me on Plavix & aspirin therapy or reduced INR/coumadin dose. I'll know, of course, which category I'm placed in. I believe the trial has a number of years left to run, 7 I think.
I feel very fortunate to get this opportunity. I understand the risks. Life is certainly full of risks and on some level, I have to ask myself why am I adding risk to my life to help a corporation sell more of their product? That's admittedly a pretty pessimistic attitude!! My prevailing attitude is that this is a great opportunity for me to participate in a program that could potentially benefit thousands of people undergoing VR surgery. And if the risk of having a fatal or significant health problem was that great, the clinical trial would have never been allowed.
I walked 1 mile this morning and halfway through it was the same old thing... pounding heart and a mild case of SOB. That's walking about 17 minutes a mile. Pitiful. I can't live this way and I'm more than ready to take the risk to get myself out of this rut! Thanks for reading and I'll keep you posted on what happens next.
Thanks for staying in touch. I met with the CTS, Dr. Dennis Nichols yesterday. He's the surgeon directing the On-X trial out here in WA. I'm happy to report that I immediately connected with him. Within a few minutes, I knew he was REALLY listening to me, not just telling me what he thought. He gave me all the time I needed and I never once felt like he was rushing me out of the office. He's a marathon runner so we have that connection. He's the dad of 5 kids and I have 4 so we have that in common. I also spent time with his lead research nurse and another assistant.
Everyone gave me their full attention and allowed me plenty of time to ask questions. I signed the paperwork that entered me into the clinical trial and tomorrow morning I start taking Plavix and aspirin to see if I have any undesired reactions. I've not set a surgery date but if I had to guess, I'm betting it's going to be by the first week of February. Dr. Nichols assured me that he can conduct the surgery within 30 days from now.
He kind of echoed my Cardio by telling me yes, I could wait but he was very supportive in my decision to do this now. From that point forward, he was nothing but optimistic and he even introduced me to a patient in another exam room, a woman who was 4 weeks post-op from her AVR using an On-X. She looked like the picture of health and I had a hard time believing that she was just 1 month out of her AVR surgery. I didn't ask if she was in the trial but I'm going to assume she's in.
So the way the trial works, I'll be on coumadin for 3 months after AVR and then at that point a random decision is made to put me on Plavix & aspirin therapy or reduced INR/coumadin dose. I'll know, of course, which category I'm placed in. I believe the trial has a number of years left to run, 7 I think.
I feel very fortunate to get this opportunity. I understand the risks. Life is certainly full of risks and on some level, I have to ask myself why am I adding risk to my life to help a corporation sell more of their product? That's admittedly a pretty pessimistic attitude!! My prevailing attitude is that this is a great opportunity for me to participate in a program that could potentially benefit thousands of people undergoing VR surgery. And if the risk of having a fatal or significant health problem was that great, the clinical trial would have never been allowed.
I walked 1 mile this morning and halfway through it was the same old thing... pounding heart and a mild case of SOB. That's walking about 17 minutes a mile. Pitiful. I can't live this way and I'm more than ready to take the risk to get myself out of this rut! Thanks for reading and I'll keep you posted on what happens next.
