Mitral valve replacment

[evie]

I need a mitral valve replacment but my husband dose make enough money for me to be off work any length of time. I am the main breadwinner and take care of everything. My valve is 1.2 cm open. I need another year to save money. I feel so alone .
I had baloon surgery two years ago and had to return back to work in a week. I also have fibromylgia and fight pain consantly.
I have no one to talk to over this. I am a very strong person and usually carry the load alone so everyone in my life expects me to continue .Dose anyone know where I can get the less invasive surgery done in central illinois or indiana ?

 

[Ross]

Hello Evie and welcome

Do you have insurance through your or your husbands employer i.e., health and disability (Short Term)? If so, see how long it takes for the short term disability to begin paying benefits.

One thing is for sure, if you have to have it done, get it done. Meanwhile, check in to state aid and see if you may be eligible while your off work, if all else fails. It's not a picnic, I realize that, but rousting up funds while your off work seems to be the main thing.

If the less invasive surgery is an option for you, you might want to ask your Cardiologist to help you locate somewhere for you. I know there are a couple members from your neck of the woods, that might be able to help here.
Maybe someone will be able to answer this shortly.

Try to relax and not get uptight about it.(Coming from one who gets uptight about everything)

 

[joy]

Hi Evie, welcome to our site! I had my mitral valve replaced about 10 months ago. THere's a couple of questions for you... Does your employer give time off for this kind of stuff? Some employers do give paid time off for major surgeries. There is also SSI, though it is hard to get, it's worth a try. I have been out of work for about two years, and although it's been tough, we had to work through all this. I got lucky and had all this happen now since my husband is in the navy, and all this is paid, and he's been the main bread winner. One thing is for sure, you are definately not alone. You've found a wonderful site. Everyone here is so supportive. Good luck!

 

[Christina]

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi Evie,

Welcome to our wonderful VR.com web page. You will feel at home here, and you will know right away that you are amongst friends who truly care. There is a wealth of information here and the support you'll receive will bring you to tears at times. Evie, most of us have been where you are today. Some of us are still waiting just like you, and some of us wait because surgery was posponed for some reason or another, so please know we understand the anxiety you feel.

I have had two valve surgeries in 2000 (Aortic Valve), and although it was no picnic it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The waiting period before surgery is the absolute worst, so if you know you need the surgery than just get it done and over with. You'll start feeling so much better.

I am sure many of our friends will follow after me and will tell you their experiences with the surgery. Everyone has something different to say, but isn't it nice to know that we are never alone in this!
I do not live in Indiana or Illinois so am unable to help you find a place that does the less invasive surgery. But again, someone will come along soon and give you that information. Just keep checking back every day

Hope I've helped you a bit. Please come back often.

Christina
Congenital Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St. Jude's Mechanical

 

[Nancy]

Hi Evie-

Welcome to this wonderful valve replacement home. You already have a lot of friends here who "get it" when it comes to this surgery.

My husband has an aortic mechanical, and a mitral mechanical. Both were implanted through the sternum. He then had to have a paravalvular leak repaired in the mitral and that was done using the Heartport method through his side. There are also other minimally invasive methods. You really need to get together with your cardiologist and discuss your situation. He can then guide you to the best resource for you.

Even though it might be possible to do the surgery in a minimally invasive way, that doesn't mean that you won't be going through major, major surgery and will need time to recover. The amount of time can vary from person to person. Most people can go back to work on a limited basis in about 6-8 weeks, if everything goes as expected. But if you have a very physical job, and I see that you're a nurse, you won't be able to do much in the way of lifting, over a small amount for quite a while because your body needs to heal. You will also not be allowed to drive for a while.

If you need the surgery, it would be better to bite the bullet and get it done sooner, rather than wait until things get worse. Ross and Joy have given you some avenues which could be pursued to try to get some help for your recovery period.

You also should have a heart to heart talk with your family and tell them that you're going to need help soon. Heart problems don't go away, there's nothing you can or could have done to prevent it, and there is just so much that can be done with minor surgeries and medications, that rest has to be corrected with major surgery, otherwise, you'll end up being very sick. Once you have the surgery and are done with the initial healing, you'll be feeling better than ever, and will be able to work to full capacity. It's worth the relatively short amount of time, if you view it in the concept of a whole lifetime.

I wish you the very best of health.

 

[evie]

mitral valve replacment

mitral valve replacment

Thank You everyone for your support.To answer some of your questions I do have insurance that covers a small hospital here in Illinois. They have two surgeons that do only the old open heart.
I work for a school dist that dose not have disability and terminates me every summer to protect themselves. Dont get me wrong the job is a blessing as it dose not require heavy lifting. I also work part time at a nursing home but have no benefits there.
My husband is a good man but dose not handle adversities very well. He was very angry with the world the last surgery and I do not want to go through this again. I do try to talk with my husband and daughter but my husband has no reply and my daughter that is 15 pushes me away because she is afraid i will die.So I just keep acting like everything is fine.
I spoke with my cardiologist yesterday and he said he did not know where I can get the less envasive procedure done and he did not know if my HMO would ok it. He did agree that it would be best for me due to the fibromylagia that acts like tha princess and the pea when it comes to any kind of pain.

 

[Ross]

You sure do have some stressful things happening.

Your husband has to realize that this isn't something to ignore. It may set you back, but the set back will be short compared to an indefinite set back if it isn't done. As for your daughter, If she's capable, you need to ease her fears. Try to talk openly and discuss the possibilities with her. The reality is that yes, there is a risk, but in todays medical society, the risk is greatly minimized.

My boys are older, but even they have a hard time comprehending the possibility of the risk. They don't know how I'm dealing with it. I've had to learn to let go of the control and place my trust in a higher power or God. This is one time that we don't have control and it bothers us that it is taken away from us.

I'm hoping someone will show up and give you some tips on where you might have this done. It'll happen soon. Until then, I'm trying to think of every avenue that I haven't thought of already, to keep some finances running while your recovering.

Hang in there.

 

[Zipper]

Evie,

Please try to contact your hospital Social Worker..they so often know of resources and can lead you to people that handle these types of problems often. I hope you can reach out and find solutions and some peace of mind with your situation.

Best of luck to you,

Zipper

 

[joy]

Hi Evie, Zipper was right. Maybe there is some sort of State health insurance that could help you out. Like I said, I was very fortunate, but I have two small children, (3 &1), but my mom and grandma came out to help. You could try to apply for medicaide, they have that in all states I think. SSI isn't with an employer, it's through the US government.

Although you can die from heart disease, science and medicine has taken this country to unbelievable places. My grandmother had the same disease I have, and a valverplacement was not available back in 1962. She had a valvotomy done, but that was all that was available. She lived 12 more years after having her procedure done. Now 40 years later, I plan to live a very long time(another 50-60 years). Maybe you could bring your daughter to one of your appointments with your cardiologist? Call a family meeting or something. There is no reason that your husband should be angry at the world or anyone else because you need surgery. It's just something that happens. Evie, I wish you all the luck in the world. We are all here for you!
Joy