Recent content by csutherland

In Jan, 2005 Jerry's ascending aorta was measured by echo & CT at 5.3 cm. He was almost 68 at the time and doing well after his AVR in 2002. The local surgeon who had performed the AVR and Dr Kouchoukas in St Louis agreed that he needed to wait until 5.5, based on risk of surgery. He had CTs...

I was really nervous before Jerry's AVR as he is naturally a nervous, anxious person and did go through a serious period of depression 7 yrs before his surgery. Medication made short work of that episode, then a year later his mom died. Since she was 102 yrs old he realized she had lived a...

I always sit at the breakfast bar when filling Jerry's pill boxes every Sat night. The warfarin is easy to break in half but there is residue left on the bar that I've never worried about; what I have worried about is dropping one on the floor and a toddler grandchild picking it up. Those days...

This is interesting thread. When Jerry's aneurysm was accidentally discovered 6 yrs ago it was measured at 5.3. The surgeon who had done his AVR 3 yrs earlier basically said it was too dangerous to operate and he needed to wait until it measured 5.5. He also said not to lift over 50 lbs. We...

About 8 yrs ago my brother, who was 56, was diagnosed with lung cancer. The day they did the biopsy to determine what kind of lung cancer they were dealing with I received a call that the biopsy revealed that it was not cancer. but Sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is not good, but it's better than...

Jerry hasn't had aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen etc, since his AVR. He now has a nasty head cold and Alka-Seltzer Plus has always worked for his symptoms. The box that we had on hand had Tylenol in it & expired in 2008 with one left in it. I gave it to him anyway and yesterday he went to Walmart...

I've had this trouble a couple of times over 48 yrs of marriage. The first time it nearly drove me nuts because I just kept finding them, even in a can of cinnamon, chili powder, and on & on. As everyone else has said, I just threw everything out and started over. I cleaned the shelves, used...

How about "I had heart surgery"??? I guess I just don't get the problem. I'm afraid I'd be the one asking the question. There's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. My 7-wk old great-nephew has a zipper down his chest from the first of at least three heart surgeries he'll be having...

I'm almost finished with "True Blue" by David Baldacci. Here's what the inside of the jacket says: "A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation's capital collides with the dark side of national security in David Baldacci's new, heart-stopping thriller." No kidding. I've read so much so...

Oh, my. Please don't bring up the fungus. We hadn't thought of that. Hmmm....I'll need to do some research.

Jerry's AVR was over 8 yrs ago and his sternum has been healed up forever. For a few weeks he has complained of terrible itching around the upper part of the incision. I can't see any sign of a rash of any kind, and today he said, "could this be right in front of my ascending aortic aneurysm?"...

I posted a few weeks ago about my niece's unborn baby being diagnosed with Double Outlet Left Ventricle and needing surgery shortly after birth. Through repeated ultrasounds it has been determined that it's actually Double Outlet RIGHT Ventricle, which is not quite so rare, but still quite...

My grandson is in college there at Belmont Univ. From his posts on Facebook yesterday it looked as if it took him from 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get home from church, and it's a 10 minute drive normally. He posted once that he felt like a "mouse in a maze" trying to find his way. Thankfully, his...

Thanks, Lyn. I was able to follow the link to the site you recommended. It was great EXCEPT that even with a search of the site there were no results for double outlet LEFT ventricle, it's so rare. I love the last sentence of your post, though. Thanks for the encouragement. As a side note...

Anyone have any experience/information on a condition called Double Outlet Left Ventricle? My niece & her husband are expecting their 1st baby in Aug. They just found out today that their baby boy has this condition and will have to be delivered in St Louis or Kansas City so he can be taken...