Meeting The Doctors

So I’m thinking if I ever decide to make this story into a rock opera, it would have to include the 1990’s Extreme hit, “Hole Hearted.”

And there ya go. For those of you who don’t know me personally, (or my husband) yes, I was part of the hairband movement of the ‘80’s.

Back at a time where your boyfriend’s hair was most likely longer than your own.

(For those of you who are under the age of thirty and may not understand parts of this blog, ask your parents).

It was January, the holidays were over, and our visit to Cleveland was here.

I had researched the one surgeon in particular, and come to find out, he was THE expert (in the world, mind you) in mitral valve surgery, as well as, ASD/PFO repairs.

He wrote a book, a thick book, about the heart and heart health. I skipped around and read the parts that pertained to me. He knows the heart like nobody’s business. He is indeed “The Heart Master.”

His hands + My heart = Perfect Match!

Prayers were already being answered.  Thank you, Lord.

Our son was home from college for Christmas break, and since my husband has family in Ohio, we made a mini vaca out of it.

Bright and early on a Monday morning was our first appointment, which happened to be with Dr. Cleveland, in the flesh.

He had taken well over an hour to discuss my issues and the remedy for them. He answered any and all questions we had. It is clear that he is a doctor that truly cares for his patients. Dr. Cleveland clarified that this surgery should be done sooner than later. I think he could tell I wanted to put it off as long as humanly possible.

The scheduled diagnostic testing appointments were next, some easy-peasy, like yet another echo and bloodwork. Others not so much, particularly the ear-nose-throat appointment and the examination that checked for intubation clearance. The doctor stuck this horribly long tube up my “numbed” nose and down my throat.

I think I can safely say that this took the prize for the WORST test by far! Totally didn’t see that one coming!

But otherwise, everything was very organized and went smoothly.

Cleveland day #1 was a wrap! We then went and had a nice dinner and visit with my husband’s family.

The following morning brought snow and sleet.

Our appointment with “The Heart Master” (aka the surgeon) wasn’t until noon and thankfully temperatures warmed up and the roads turned to slush just in time.

We arrived about thirty minutes early for the surgeon’s appointment but didn’t get to see him until several hours later due to a hold up in the OR. This was something I was totally fine with! If it were me on the operating table, I would want his professional, skilled hands to make sure they had all the time they needed to complete the job!

Once we saw him, he was very professional and to the point. He stated that he was confident (95-97%) that he could, in fact, fix the valve vs replacing it, along with fixing the hole. He could sense my hesitation and saw where I was not onboard with having the surgery done later in the month. He stated if I insisted on waiting, I would need to have a repeat echo in six months. He was then out the door and onto another surgery.

I left feeling a sense of relief (false, twisted relief-again it was my own wishful thinking).

I told my husband I would just wait the six months. After all, six months was six months, and at least it wasn’t NOW! Exactly six months would mark “THE YEAR” my cardiologist had suggested when this whole rat race started.

Wow, time flies when you’re putting off surgery!

We got back to the hotel to pick up our son and head out to dinner when I got a call from, none other than, yep,

Dr. Cleveland!

He wanted to know why I had not scheduled the surgery…

I felt like a teenager getting caught sneaking out of the house at midnight (not that I’ve ever done that).

I didn’t have a good answer other than…. I liked the six months idea!

He reiterated the need for surgery and that the more time I waited, the greater the risk of irreversible heart damage occurring.

“Well gosh, if you put it that way…”

Doing all but slapping me in the face with a salami (which I probably needed), Dr. Cleveland made it crystal clear, that this surgery was all but, inevitable.

Dang it!

I tried my best to avoid doing this, on all avenues, but how stupid of me if I DID wait and things got bad…

Everyone was hungry, and it was time to eat.

On a different note, we did have some of the best Thai food that evening I’ve ever had in my life!

Good food does a lot for the distressed soul.

It was late and we stayed another night in Cleveland and figured we would try and make the most of it. We took a quick swing by Ralphie’s house, then hit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before heading home.

Ok, so since this was a “for-sure thing” and there wasn’t any obvious way of getting out of it, I began to research again.

My nightly readings soon switched from horror and suspense fiction to heart surgery manuscripts, often times producing more fear in me than any King novel ever did, but overall I gained more knowledge about the process of repairing my heart and the recovery ahead.

I also found Adam Pick’s website.

Adam is a heart valve surgery patient himself who decided to share his story by writing a book. Adam also took it a step further and created a website where heart valve surgery patients around the globe can set up their own personal profile and share with other patients, kinda like a “heart Facebook!”

The information that I have gained from the patients on Adam’s site has been invaluable to me! To hear firsthand from individuals that have gone through it has been far more helpful than anything.

I also started networking.

The more I opened up about my surgery to friends, the more I found out about people all around me having had the same experiences-and surviving, too!

There was a friend of a friend who actually had two open heart surgeries for valve replacements. He is an avid runner and hiker and was back to business in a few months! He called and spoke to me giving me an endless supply of information because he had both a tissue valve at first and now has a mechanical one.

Another friend’s cousin my age also had a mechanical valve replacement. He too is very active and was back to his regular lifestyle very quickly. He shared with me about his experience too!

The more I talked to people I knew, the more I found out that many even had heart surgery themselves and I never knew it!

I read about celebrities that had similar surgeries, some being fixed by these same Cleveland Heart Masters!

While reading a magazine in the waiting room, I learned that even one of my favorite hairband rockers from back in the day, Bret Michaels himself, underwent a surgical procedure to repair a hole in his heart! Wow!

“Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” right?!

I was beginning to feel less doom and gloom for fear of “Bad Medicine” and yes,

I was indeed acting like a bit of a “Runaway.” Feeling more optimistic, I was “Living on (many) a Prayer,” thanks to the good Lord and the many special people in my life! And that’s what it is: “It’s My Life”, and if I wanted to have “Nothin’ But a Good Time” I needed to be responsible and take care of it! This is just “The Way It Is.”

I’ll be “Getting’ Better” and “Honestly” I needed to start trusting the One (my Lord and Savior) who has me in His hands!

Let’s do this Docs! Go on and “Kickstart my Heart!”

(You didn’t think I could start off this blog the way I did and not end it with an even heavier dose of 80’s cheese, did you?!)