Hi Martha
Hi Martha
Hi Martha-
I did get your last post. Thought I replied, but may not have done it right.
Anyway, Joe is scheduled for surgery July 18. The mitral valve will be replaced and the tricuspid will be looked at. They probably won't know what they'll do until they get in there. The surgeon said that sometimes that valve leak will go away when the mitral valve is fixed, and sometimes not. I'm sure they'll try to fix up all the questionable plumbing while they're in there because this will be the 3rd heart surgery for Joe.
They plan to do it through the ribs to avoid as much scar tissue as possible.
Joe's not terribly excited about this proposition because he's just recovering from a thoracotomy (4 months ago to remove scar tissue from his lung) on the same rib side that they'll go into.
Ouch, ouch and double ouch. He thought the lung surgeries hurt worse than his heart valve surgeries.
Joe also had another lung surgery on the other side 5 years ago for a benign tumor. Funny thing is that he never in his life ever smoked. Go figure!
How are things with you?
Nancy
