liza
Well-known member
Hey everyone!
Well, I had an appointment with my cardiologist this past Tuesday. Just one week after my one-year anniversary. They said everything looked good and not to come see them until next year! Woohoo! I'm supposed to wean myself off of the beta blocker since they don't see any need for it anymore. The repair looks good, except that my mitral valve is now slightly stenotic. It could be a problem in the future, but I don't have any symptoms now. The nurse practioner was teaching a new resident about the symptoms of mitral valve stenosis after examining me. It was a little weird to have them talking over my head like that, but the the nurse practitioner looked at me and said "But Liza doesn't have any of that, her heart sounds normal!"
If anyone had told me a year ago everything that I would've done this past year, I wouldn't have believed them. I was only in the hospital for 2 1/2 days following my OHS. I was back at vet school full-time in less than 2 weeks. Heck, I took an on-line test five days after my surgery and got an A on it! I did have problems with pericardial effusion that required another surgery 2 months after my OHS, but I was back to my summer job in less than a week after that. I started classes full-time again in September, worked out regularly at the gym, and went hiking in the rainforests of Belize 10 months following my 1st surgery. Now I'm in my senior clinical rotations and looking forward to the light at the end of the tunne (aka graduation)l!
I tend to forget that I'm a "heart patient" anymore. Recently my surgery has been on my mind since I had my one year anniversary and my one year check-up. This past year was rough, but it really gave me a new perspective on life. I'm happier than I've ever been before in my life...I guess it takes having a big, scary event like OHS to do that to you. I'm so lucky to be alive and well. It all seems like a bad dream sometimes.
Well, I just wanted to give everyone an update, and hopefully have some of those in the waiting room read this. I was lucky to be young and healthy and have everything go so well and am probably not typical...but OHS isn't as bad as it seems! It's no walk in the park though, it's not something I'd jump at the chance to experience again. But I survived, and for the better. Life is great!
Thanks for being there for me everyone, I appreciate this place so much!
Liza
Well, I had an appointment with my cardiologist this past Tuesday. Just one week after my one-year anniversary. They said everything looked good and not to come see them until next year! Woohoo! I'm supposed to wean myself off of the beta blocker since they don't see any need for it anymore. The repair looks good, except that my mitral valve is now slightly stenotic. It could be a problem in the future, but I don't have any symptoms now. The nurse practioner was teaching a new resident about the symptoms of mitral valve stenosis after examining me. It was a little weird to have them talking over my head like that, but the the nurse practitioner looked at me and said "But Liza doesn't have any of that, her heart sounds normal!"
If anyone had told me a year ago everything that I would've done this past year, I wouldn't have believed them. I was only in the hospital for 2 1/2 days following my OHS. I was back at vet school full-time in less than 2 weeks. Heck, I took an on-line test five days after my surgery and got an A on it!
I did have problems with pericardial effusion that required another surgery 2 months after my OHS, but I was back to my summer job in less than a week after that. I started classes full-time again in September, worked out regularly at the gym, and went hiking in the rainforests of Belize 10 months following my 1st surgery. Now I'm in my senior clinical rotations and looking forward to the light at the end of the tunne (aka graduation)l!I tend to forget that I'm a "heart patient" anymore. Recently my surgery has been on my mind since I had my one year anniversary and my one year check-up. This past year was rough, but it really gave me a new perspective on life. I'm happier than I've ever been before in my life...I guess it takes having a big, scary event like OHS to do that to you.
I'm so lucky to be alive and well. It all seems like a bad dream sometimes. Well, I just wanted to give everyone an update, and hopefully have some of those in the waiting room read this. I was lucky to be young and healthy and have everything go so well and am probably not typical...but OHS isn't as bad as it seems! It's no walk in the park though, it's not something I'd jump at the chance to experience again. But I survived, and for the better. Life is great!
Thanks for being there for me everyone, I appreciate this place so much!
Liza
