We're back from 10 great days in California for vacation plus 3 in New Jersey for a Krahe-Buettner family reunion. All fun.
I've been feeling great, but I do know my lungs are still recovering. Had a small amount of discomfort during a chest cold I had early in the month, then felt a bit if restriction bicycling this weekend (riding moderately fast).
Next appointment is September 4th.
Today was amazingly one of my longer appointments. Almost 4 hours.
We saw Dr Ringel twice. After the first time when all seemed well, he heard a murmur through the stethoscope that he heard just after the Melody valve insertion a few weeks back. At the time he had written off the sound as coming from the leaking tricuspid valve, but now that the leak is gone, he wanted an explanation. A second echocardiogram was needed.
The murmur, it turns out, is coming from my Aortic valve. It is not a cause for immediate concern. In fact it is likely this murmur has been there for some time (after my surgery in 2008), but was masked by the big sounds of the pulmonary craziness.
We will watch this over time. The question, less important than the sound made, is the valve's performance. The valve has been categorized as mildy insufficient (leaky) since it was replaced , and may have slipped into the early stages of moderate. Time will tell.
My echocardiogram this morning thankfully shows pressure across the Melody valve where it belongs, or at least nearly so! While they can no longer measure the right ventricle pressure, they are comfortable that it too has improved since my tricuspid valve is no longer leaking.
This is all a dramatic improvement from just 2 weeks ago, and a wonderful feeling. Next appointment is September 4th. Until then I'm free to start exercising as long as I keep in mind the right lung is still recovering.
Smiles all around :-)
