John & Joann
Well-known member
Joann Bos 42nd Anniversary of 2 mechanical valves
For those of you that have been around for a few years, this report will be a repeat of the history of my wife and her medical experiences. For those of you that are new, this is written to give you hope and encouragement that your future can be productive and that there is hope for a life that is perhaps different, but still worth living.
The story starts back in June of 1959. I was in my second year of teaching school and Joann worked in a local bank. 3 months after we were married, the local family doctor confirmed that she was pregnant and that she also had heart murmur. They suspected that it was a result of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, our son was born in Feb. and survived only a few short hours. This is a memory that still returns every February.
The doctors performed 5 cardiac cath. Procedures and determined that she had 2 valves that were leaking. The directions were to not get pregnant and let them experiment on other patients that must have the surgery. Approximately 7 months later Joann was pregnant again. The cardiologist said that this will probably be our only opportunity for a child and that he had many IOU’S that he was going to collect. We had the very best OB, GYN, Pediatrician, and Cardiologist. We were so fortunate to have a healthy daughter that has been the pride of our life.
In 1971, everything came to a crisis. Her lungs filled with fluid and she was in major cardiac failure. This time there would be no “wait and see”. My father had a college roomey whose son was a Cardiovascular Surgeon at UCLA (Dr. Donald Mulder). He talked to us in the family living room for a long time and gave us recommendations. John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and UCLA. He also mentioned Houston, but they were so busy giving lectures that they were not high on his list for follow up care.
We selected Cleveland Clinic. In 1971 they were doing 8 bypass and 1 valve surgery four days a week. We had to wait 9 months for our slot. The surgery went fairly well,, but were we ever dumb and lucky. No one ever talked about Coumadin and protime. We were not told about the need for medication when dental procedures were planned. We were not told about the risk of bleeding if other surgery was required. We were never told that the Starr Edwards Vales would make LOUD CLICKING sounds. They were so loud that our dog and Joann would play hide and seek. The dog would listen for the clicking and find Joann EVERY TIME. We were not told about the Pump Head and emotional issues that are so common. Through it all, we went forward with life. Career changes for me and continual medical care for Joann. Life was good.
In 1999 Joann was transported to the local hospital with stroke issues. All of the classic signs.. Speech, not able to move one side, etc. They discovered in about 24 hours that the stiching had started to unwind that held the Starr Edwards valves in place. Fortunately, the symptoms all went away except for a small muscle on the lip. Cleveland Clinic did a cath quickly. The same doctor (Dr. Hoppler) who did her cath in 1971 did the cath again in 1999. He discovered that she also had 3 cardiac arteries that were closing. He was so kind to all of us when he described the problem. He also admitted that his language was much better in 1999 than 1971. At that time, the equipment was not small enough for Joann. She only weighed 88 lbs.
We were quickly assigned to a surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. The wait was only a few days. We researched him carefully and were so pleased. The day that we arrived, we were told that he would not be able to do the surgery since he was leading a seminar on cardiac transplants. We were most disturbed, but were told that the new surgery was also well qualified.
Gosta Pettersson, M.D., Ph.D. was assigned to Joann. He had only been in the USA for about 6 weeks and will still learning about Cleveland Clinic. When he came to her room and talked, we knew immediately that God had answered our prayers. He said that he expected to see someone frail, on oxygen, bedfast, and a complete invalid. He also said that this surgery was as big as it gets and that he had done these before will success.
The surgery was 12.5 hours and she was on the pump for 6 hours. She had multiple TIA’S that wee caused from the scraping of the existing scar tissues. At first they did not believe the nurses, but the chief neurologist saw an event, the cardiologist saw and event, and the famiy saw many of these events. There was NO PERMANENT DAMAGE!
Today Joann is in atrial flutter 100% of the time. The pacemaker and 320 mgm of betapace keep the pulse low enough to allow her to function. We have been to 48 states, most of Eastern Canada and many cruises. We spend 3 months in Florida (Port Charlotte area) and 9 months in Lima, Ohio.
The circle is now being completed. Our oldest grandchild is a Grad. Assistant in Speech Pathology. Our middle grandchild has already been accepted at 3 medical schools and is waiting for notification from other prestigious institutions. She has worked for 3 years in spinal cord regeneration, taught small group chemistry and physics, and is currently teaching a seminar for other students to raise their MCAT score. The youngest is majoring in environmental studies. He may get a law degree and specialize in environmental issues or he may also explore medical school options. All 3 had academic scholarships and have been involved in other activities. THEY ARE NOT NERDS!!!
We give thanks for God for directing us to great doctors. Dr. Harry Lever, Cleveland Clinic has been OUTSTANDING!!!! He has worked very hard to avoid a crisis. We know that additional surgeries would be very difficult and would be a high risk. Therefore, we do everything possible to maintain good health..
I hope that this narrative gives those of you facing surgery to learn more about the issues of the 60’s and 70’s. Joann lives today because of the experiences that the doctors learned on other cases.
Merry Christmas from our home to your home.
John, Joann, Holly (a Border Collie) and Ms. Murphy (a feral cat that Joann trained to trust our family
For those of you that have been around for a few years, this report will be a repeat of the history of my wife and her medical experiences. For those of you that are new, this is written to give you hope and encouragement that your future can be productive and that there is hope for a life that is perhaps different, but still worth living.
The story starts back in June of 1959. I was in my second year of teaching school and Joann worked in a local bank. 3 months after we were married, the local family doctor confirmed that she was pregnant and that she also had heart murmur. They suspected that it was a result of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, our son was born in Feb. and survived only a few short hours. This is a memory that still returns every February.
The doctors performed 5 cardiac cath. Procedures and determined that she had 2 valves that were leaking. The directions were to not get pregnant and let them experiment on other patients that must have the surgery. Approximately 7 months later Joann was pregnant again. The cardiologist said that this will probably be our only opportunity for a child and that he had many IOU’S that he was going to collect. We had the very best OB, GYN, Pediatrician, and Cardiologist. We were so fortunate to have a healthy daughter that has been the pride of our life.
In 1971, everything came to a crisis. Her lungs filled with fluid and she was in major cardiac failure. This time there would be no “wait and see”. My father had a college roomey whose son was a Cardiovascular Surgeon at UCLA (Dr. Donald Mulder). He talked to us in the family living room for a long time and gave us recommendations. John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and UCLA. He also mentioned Houston, but they were so busy giving lectures that they were not high on his list for follow up care.
We selected Cleveland Clinic. In 1971 they were doing 8 bypass and 1 valve surgery four days a week. We had to wait 9 months for our slot. The surgery went fairly well,, but were we ever dumb and lucky. No one ever talked about Coumadin and protime. We were not told about the need for medication when dental procedures were planned. We were not told about the risk of bleeding if other surgery was required. We were never told that the Starr Edwards Vales would make LOUD CLICKING sounds. They were so loud that our dog and Joann would play hide and seek. The dog would listen for the clicking and find Joann EVERY TIME. We were not told about the Pump Head and emotional issues that are so common. Through it all, we went forward with life. Career changes for me and continual medical care for Joann. Life was good.
In 1999 Joann was transported to the local hospital with stroke issues. All of the classic signs.. Speech, not able to move one side, etc. They discovered in about 24 hours that the stiching had started to unwind that held the Starr Edwards valves in place. Fortunately, the symptoms all went away except for a small muscle on the lip. Cleveland Clinic did a cath quickly. The same doctor (Dr. Hoppler) who did her cath in 1971 did the cath again in 1999. He discovered that she also had 3 cardiac arteries that were closing. He was so kind to all of us when he described the problem. He also admitted that his language was much better in 1999 than 1971. At that time, the equipment was not small enough for Joann. She only weighed 88 lbs.
We were quickly assigned to a surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. The wait was only a few days. We researched him carefully and were so pleased. The day that we arrived, we were told that he would not be able to do the surgery since he was leading a seminar on cardiac transplants. We were most disturbed, but were told that the new surgery was also well qualified.
Gosta Pettersson, M.D., Ph.D. was assigned to Joann. He had only been in the USA for about 6 weeks and will still learning about Cleveland Clinic. When he came to her room and talked, we knew immediately that God had answered our prayers. He said that he expected to see someone frail, on oxygen, bedfast, and a complete invalid. He also said that this surgery was as big as it gets and that he had done these before will success.
The surgery was 12.5 hours and she was on the pump for 6 hours. She had multiple TIA’S that wee caused from the scraping of the existing scar tissues. At first they did not believe the nurses, but the chief neurologist saw an event, the cardiologist saw and event, and the famiy saw many of these events. There was NO PERMANENT DAMAGE!
Today Joann is in atrial flutter 100% of the time. The pacemaker and 320 mgm of betapace keep the pulse low enough to allow her to function. We have been to 48 states, most of Eastern Canada and many cruises. We spend 3 months in Florida (Port Charlotte area) and 9 months in Lima, Ohio.
The circle is now being completed. Our oldest grandchild is a Grad. Assistant in Speech Pathology. Our middle grandchild has already been accepted at 3 medical schools and is waiting for notification from other prestigious institutions. She has worked for 3 years in spinal cord regeneration, taught small group chemistry and physics, and is currently teaching a seminar for other students to raise their MCAT score. The youngest is majoring in environmental studies. He may get a law degree and specialize in environmental issues or he may also explore medical school options. All 3 had academic scholarships and have been involved in other activities. THEY ARE NOT NERDS!!!
We give thanks for God for directing us to great doctors. Dr. Harry Lever, Cleveland Clinic has been OUTSTANDING!!!! He has worked very hard to avoid a crisis. We know that additional surgeries would be very difficult and would be a high risk. Therefore, we do everything possible to maintain good health..
I hope that this narrative gives those of you facing surgery to learn more about the issues of the 60’s and 70’s. Joann lives today because of the experiences that the doctors learned on other cases.
Merry Christmas from our home to your home.
John, Joann, Holly (a Border Collie) and Ms. Murphy (a feral cat that Joann trained to trust our family
