Anesthesia kinds sucks

I am with Chris in recovery as he continues to wake up.  He is still kinda in and out.  Though in no pain from his procedure, he is feeling just generally icky from the anesthesia.  He has to lie still for 4 hours to let the leg wounds heal some before adding movement.  Once he gets over the affects of the anesthesia thing, it will be the lying still that will be the hard part.  He just put in his tunes and is going to try to sleep it off.

They keep saying they have a room for him, but we are still waiting for them to prove it...

It's All Good

Chris just finished up and is now in recovery.  Things went well.  It was a little longer than expected as after each step they measure and monitor before continuing on.  Not surprisingly, his existing stent needed to be reinforced with another before inserting the Melody Valve, which is also attached to a stent.  So now he is triple reinforced :-)

As the pop culture idol from the early 2000s would say - he's like an onion. Because onions have layers.  (500 points will be awarded to the first caller to name the reference correctly)

I am waiting to see him in recovery.  Could still be a while...

Thanks to Nika and Luke for coming down to sit with me, to Eddie for being Alli's taxi today, to Alli for taking care of Laney, and to the rest for your thoughts and prayers.  

Let's get the party started

Chris just put on his 'party hat', as his anesthesiologist called it, and rolled into the OR.  Though his procedure started 30 minutes behind schedule, it is all for the best.  Instead of sharing a team of anesthesiologists covering three rooms, he ended up with his own team that will be with him throughout his whole procedure.  

His doctor said the length of the procedure is hard to predict, but will be somewhere between 2 - 4 hours.  I'll let you know more when he's all done.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support. It means the world to all of us.

Earlier start, earlier finish

My procedure just got moved to 7:30am (from 11am).  Seems there was a mixup with scheduling the right anesthesiology team.  I'm glad they figured this out now!

Follow me here

If you're interested to hear how my procedure goes this Wednesday, watch this blog. For now, here's a preview of the day.

I go into Baltimore around 9am (nice, not too early) and the procedure is scheduled to begin at 11.  It can last as long as 4 or 5 hours, and I'll need to lay on my back in recovery for an additional 4 hours afterward (to let my leg wounds heal). I'll be under general anesthesia so will be out of it for most of that recovery time, but when I'm able (probably in the evening) I'll be sure to update you here :-)

Here's to all the hard-working medical professionals, scientists, and doctors who came up with this futuristic heart valve option. I am eternally grateful!

If I can do well without a pulmonary heart valve ...

After Touring Dem Parks!

Looking back on my four and a half years without a pulmonary heart valve, I consider myself pretty lucky.  My condition hasn't slowed me down much, and, if anything, I've been more active since 2009 than at any time before.  Strength, cardio, core, biking, yoga, indoor rock climbing, racquetball, and a bit of running.  Today I even biked 40 miles through the parks of Baltimore City.

Alas, a routine echo cardiogram and cardiologist consultation this past Thursday uncovered an issue.  Because of a small tricuspid valve leakage that has developed, my doctors are now able to estimate the pressure inside my right ventricle.  If you want the details, the tricuspid valve connects the right ventricle to the right atrium, the speed of the leakage is carefully measured with the echo, and Bernoulli's principle is used to calculate the pressure differential. The point is, it's a reliable estimation and the pressure is too high; about twice that of a healthy heart (even higher under intense exercise).  Leaving this untreated would risk entering an arrhythmia and, I suppose, other things I didn't care to ask about.

The solution?  First, I've halted intensive exercise, taking it easy on the ride today, for example.  Then, on July 16th I'll be getting a new pulmonary heart valve in a short procedure that requires a one night hospital stay.  The product is the Medtronic Melody Valve, which about 2,500 people in the US have received since it was approved by the FDA in early 2010.  The product and procedure are amazing.  The Melody Valve is made from a cow's jugular vein valve that is sewn into a small metal stent, and like my 2009 procedure, is inserted through my artery (via my leg) to the heart and expanded in place.  The valve will start working immediately, and after ~four hours of laying still to allow my leg wounds to heal, I'll be able to get up and walk around.  I should be able to work the next day, and resume all normal activities within a week!  Not a bad deal.

If the procedure goes well, the Melody should do its job for the next several years.  Maybe 4 years.  Maybe 10.  Maybe longer.  Time will tell.  When it stops doing its job, my doctors should be able to insert another, smaller, Melody inside the first to get another reprieve.  And once that one wears out, or if the July procedure doesn't go well, it'll be another open heart surgery with a more traditional pig tissue valve sewn into place.  I'm expecting July to go well, but will do some planning should a full surgery become necessary.

While I'm admittedly a bit disappointed I didn't reach my 5 year goal, I'm definitely psyched to see how I can perform with my new hardware in place.  Hopefully better, faster, and stronger.  And no more excuse to rest along the way!

Minimally-invasive aortic valve replacement

I love to see advances like this, where aortic heart valves can be replaced without traditional open heart surgery.

Granted, it's worth remembering the new valves have risks of their own. My hunch?  Medtronic's CoreValve, discussed in this article, is like their Melody valve, in that it doesn't last very long.  As such, they are in use for patients who can't handle the risks of a big surgery (i.e. usually very old) and, from what I've learned, as a stopgap for a young person whose body needs to mature before something permanent is put in place.

But medicine marches on!  Thanks to the medical community for watching out for us.