Surgical Clearance

[tomkanis]

Saw my cardio yesterday for ?surgical clearance?. He wanted to go over my decisions, so I presented my case, showing my choice for surgeon, hospital, valve, and surgery type. He agreed with me on all points and said that I?d ?really done my homework?. Kudos to this group for their help!

Couple of things came up:

-I have chosen a tissue valve for a large number of reasons. The one he agreed with most is my ulcer and GERD problem.

-He was astounded that the USAF has a pilot flying with a tissue valve.

-He said that he has a number of patients he follows with the bovine valve, all of varying ages and valve-service times. None have shown any SVD!

-He said that if I can get thru the valve operation, everything would go back to normal. This is the first time in 6 months that I have been able to contemplate a normal life span.

-He said that I have a high white-coat factor. My BP (on meds) was 175/90. ?Normal? is 120/70 for me. I felt this way only once before, when I got my first set of orders for Vietnam.

He?s going to call the surgeon and get me scheduled in the second week of October. I?ll let you guys know the exact date when I get it.

By the way, if anyone in Cincinnati needs a Cardio, I heartily recommend Drs. Robb Coith and Simon Jung.

Tom in Cincinnati
Looking at the Big "O" in October
"Make Mine Bovine"

 

[Phyllis]

Congratulations, Tom - Looks like you have all your ducks in a row and are looking forward to your new "healthy" life. Be sure to let us know when you get your date so we can cheer you over the mountain.

 

[RandyL]

Good Going! I bet you feel likme a million bucks now that you have made all your decisions final.Good Luck with your surgery.

 

[bvdr]

Don't be surprized if you initially feel a little shaky when you have a surgery date set. When I called to schedule my date with the surgeon's secretary it seemed so casual...like make a hair appointment or something...but when I hung up the phone my hand was shaking and I shed a few tears. It moved everthing from maybe somewhere off in the future to yes, it is happening. It didn't last long but I had a few weeks wait and I got antsy just to get it over and behind me.

I'm glad you have done your homework. I'm real proud of you too!

 

[StretchL]

Great Post

Great Post

-I have chosen a tissue valve for a large number of reasons. The one he agreed with most is my ulcer and GERD problem.

-He was astounded that the USAF has a pilot flying with a tissue valve.

-He said that he has a number of patients he follows with the bovine valve, all of varying ages and valve-service times. None have shown any SVD!

-He said that I have a high white-coat factor. My BP (on meds) was 175/90. ?Normal? is 120/70 for me. I felt this way only once before, when I got my first set of orders for Vietnam.

Couple of questions, Tom:

What's GERD?

What's the story with the USAF pilot?

What's SVD?

Interesting story about getting orders to deploy.

Honestly, you sound stoked to get this done. Which I think is totally cool.

 

[Marguerite53]

Stretch, GERD is gastro-esophogeal reflux disease...or thereabouts. I also do not know what SVD is...significant valve disease??

Tom, I'm sure you feel relieved now that you've made a decision and had it okayed by a surgeon. I know what Betty is saying about the odd feeling when you get your surgical date. I had been a stoic trooper up until that moment and then I completely lost it and burst into uncontrollable sobs. Lucky no one was around.

October isn't far off. That's good! I bet you will be surprised at the outcome...they are amazing magicians in the operating room!

Good luck and keep us posted. FLood us with questions if need be.

Marguerite

 

[CathyK.]

Good Luck Tom. I am looking forward to getting to that point. Hopefully mine won't be too much longer.

 

[catwoman]

What's SVD?

I'd like a memory prompt on that one, too.

Here's what I found at wikipedia.com

Singular value decomposition
Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova?a sniper rifle
Society of the Divine Word (Latin: Societas Verbi Divini)
Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery
Svenska Dagbladet (SvD)
Swine Vesicular Disease

Of these, I don't think it's the 4th one.

 

[Mary]

Tom,
Glad to hear you got the go-ahead for surgery. I'm with Betty and Marguerite on hearing the actual surgery date; I had been waiting a long time, and when the surgeon suggested, "next week" I almost flipped out.
I'm guessing SVD is something-valve-disease, but don't know what the something is!

 

[davidfortune]

SVD - Structural Valve Degeneration - (i.e. a broken artificial valve needs replaced)

Thanks for the reminder - I need to change my signature line.... Set my hair appointment for December 12, 2006. I figure that's a Tuesday gives my hairstylist a chance to recover from the weekend - "get back in the swing of cutting again" - i.e. Not MONDAY - EVERYBODY HATES MONDAYS!!!

NOT Friday - so he's not worried about making plans for the weekend. NOT Wednesday - that's HUMP day so everyone is bummed and worried that it isn't Friday yet. NOT Thursday - which is almost Friday so people are starting to make weekend plans and wish it were Friday.

Not too close to the holiday so hopefully no vacation plans imminent. His secretary was surprised when I asked for that date - she said they usually don't book that far in advance. Really????!!! DIDN'T ANY OF YOU PEOPLE PLAN THIS STUFF????????

Hopefully surgery on Tuesday gets me out of the hospital on the weekend so I can process payroll for my staff the on Tuesday 12/19! Plus 12/12 kinda has a ring to it - doesn't it?

So that's my plan.... Hopefully God agrees

 

[Mb]

Hello:


"Man plans, God laughs." - Just remember this old Jewish idiom!!

Marybeth

 

[tomkanis]

Thanks for reminding me!

Thanks for reminding me!

-Right-Mondays are out! The fleet buyers back in the day wouldn't buy cars built on Mondays (or Fridays!).

-Saw the article about the F-16 pilot on this website someplace.

-SVD: Structural Valve Damage-gotta re-do a valve if this gets bad.

-GERD: Gastro-Esophogeal Reflux Disease. I have a hietal hernia that allows acid to come back into the 'ol downpipe. No after-dinner naps.

-Orders: first set were to 1st Cav Div, got changed to First Field Force. Be careful what you wish for. Retired from USAR in 96.


Tom in Cincinnati

 

[Marguerite53]

Since I had time to plan ahead, I chose a Tuesday, also. Why? My surgeon said it was the best day to choose!! Don't know and don't care what they do on the other days!! Tuesday worked well for me. Don't count on being home for the weekend......a teeny infection kept me in hospital until sunday afternoon......and I had the textbook, everything "rockin" and perfect kind of surgery..... You control freaks out there need to just relax and "let it be". It's all good, but somewhat out of your control.

Tom. Interesting about the cars! And seriously, you survived Viet Nam (and thank you for your service, by the way). This is a walk in the park compared, I should think.

Get back to us with the date!

Marguerite

 

[davidfortune]

Nope - can't just let it be. I'll make my plan (hope God agrees as I said) and adjust the plan as needed. Sorry spent too many years running very large technology projects to just wing it. We may end up winging it in spite of the plan, but always start with a plan. How do you know if you exceeded your goals if you didn't have a plan to start with? The same years as a project manager taught me that nothing ever goes exactly according to plan, so you adjust as needed and adapt the plan, and if the Sh*t really hits the fan (ie. SNAFU, FUBAR, etc... ) THEN you wing it!

 

[bvdr]

I like that "Man plans, God laughs". I do think planning is good though when you know in your heart that it is not set in stone. I think part of your plan whould include a period of time in which you calender is cleared for some recovery time. Open Heart does pretty much zap you for a bit. In addition, so many drugs are used during surgery that slowly leave the body. Many people have some night sweats, vivid dreams, insomnia, and some fogginess of thought until a few weeks at least has past. I would suggest pre-paying bills, making no social committments or business conferences or the like until you see how YOU actually feel. Recovery isn't loafing but requires work. Hopefully you are one of the ones that everything goes perfectly for and has no glitches but for most there is a little glitch here or there that should be taken in stride.

I do like the attitude here though. I had my surgery early Monday morning and I was home for the week-end. My surgeon promised me he would go to be early and getplenty of sleep the night before my surgery.

 

[mtkayak]

I'd like a memory prompt on that one, too.

Here's what I found at wikipedia.com

Singular value decomposition
Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova?a sniper rifle
Society of the Divine Word (Latin: Societas Verbi Divini)
Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery
Svenska Dagbladet (SvD)
Swine Vesicular Disease

Of these, I don't think it's the 4th one.

I was hoping he didn' have Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery. If so, he's got a lot more problems that just OHS.

Good luck with the surgey. I'm sure you'll do great!!!

 

[Karlynn]

Tried to post my good wishes yesterday, but my post didn't make it on.

Good luck! Let us know when the date is set. I know that you'll do just fine and will have a wonderful post-op life.

 

[temp69]

Good luck! I have a mechanical, but I know bovine works well, too. Hope your sugery is sucessful as it possibly can be and you're a new man afterwards! You WILL BE FINE!

The statistics and odds and all of us are on your side!

 

[marky]

tom..sounds like you did your homework..and have a great attittude..you will do fine.

You can only plan so much then the rest is up to God.
My surgery was on Friday.. I don't recomend that b/c the surgeon doesn't make rounds Sat/Sun.. I felt a bit alone.

Keep us posted on the date..Sometimes just having the date makes you feel better..no more waiting!