Living with Aortic Stenosis

The company I am am fortunate to work for has a program for their employees, in the event you have a serious health problem and elect to go to their designated place for treatment the Company will pick up the tab including flying you and your spouse to the designated facility for treatment as well as furnish accomindations to stay during the treatment process. I chose to take advantage of this benefit.

The facility was the Texas Heart Institute located in Houston Texas. My test results from our local hospital were sent there, reviewed and were deemed that I did in fact need a heart valve replacement. I had a host of family as well as friends that wanted to travel and be with me during the first week of the procedure. Since I was contacted on a moments notice informing me of the procedure date, I couldn’t get all of them on the same flight and several had never flown, we ended up driving. I was to arrive on July 14th for a pre-op doctors visit. Upon arrival the doctor ordered his own test to confirm the diagnosis. After the test was ran and the Doctor had reviewed it, he came in and introduced himself and almost emediately told me I did not need surgury!

I was shocked as well as stunned! After a few moments I informed him I had waited on and dreaded the surgury and was scheduled the next day for the procedure and had just wanted to go on and get it over with since I had come this far. The Doctor reintegrated that I did not require surgury! I said lets talk about it and convince me you are right. We talked for about an hour and a half. I was begining to see what he was trying to tell me when it hit me to ask what was the things I was feeling and experiencing the past few weeks? He asked me to tell him what I was feeling so I left no detail out. He looked at me and said those things don’t have a thing to do with your problem. He said son if I had been told you were going to split me open to work on my heart that he would feel the same things I was feeling. Thats when it hit me and I said you know Doc I feel better already!!

I do have a heart valve problem but the problem is not bad enough at this time to warrant replacement of the valve. I was taken off the restriction on lifting and released to go back to work with no restrictions what so ever. I made an appointment to be checked a year from now to keep tabs on the condition with this same doctor. The whole thing that gets me is that if I hadn’t took advantage of the opportunity to go to Texas where they were ranked #7 in the nation out of 170 plus hospitals, I would have been cut on locally and would never had known the difference. I asked the doctor when I would need replacement and was told next year, ten years or I may never get to the point to where the valve would need replacement!

I have returned to work with some hot 8 to even 14 hour days at times and fell great. The Doctor did tell me to pay attention to what my body was telling me. If I got hot, set down and cool off, if I got tired to set down and rest, if I needed a drink to stop and get it. As long as I am steady with what I am doing and don’t have to get extremely active for extended periods I do great an feel great, thank God for second opinions! Greg