Even though I was frozen, all through the procedure, my leg ached where they were working and fishing wires up to my heart. The doctors were happy with the pictures they were getting, and everything was going well. There were 4 cardiologists in the room, one doing the procedure, and 3 observing. I was in good hands...lots of good hands! At one point, they took a break to discuss what they were seeing. They discovered that what they thought was going on in my heart, wasn't actually what was going on. That's why an angiogram is so good. It leaves no question as to what's going on. Very detailed.
It turns out that both of the vessels coming off of the aorta, feeding my heart with blood, are in the right spot and fine. The problem is that I have an extra vessel, attached to one of the vessels that is feeding my heart with blood. This vessel empties into the pulmonary artery (the artery that goes to the lungs). So, the vessel is stealing some of the blood intended for my heart and pumping it to my lungs.
Overall, the problem is much simpler than they thought. It is still possible that they will do surgery to fix it, but the surgery would be less complex. Instead of moving a vessel, they would be tying off an extra one. However, there is another way that may work. It is experimental, so I don't know if they will go for it. They would go in through the groin, like the angiogram, and place a plug in the extra vessel, sealing it off. The decision of what to do will be made by the team of surgeons in Edmonton. There is also a group of cardiologists from all over western Canada that meet by video conference, once a week, to discuss rare or complex cases. They will be meeting about my case and offering opinions and discussing options.
They closed my PDA during the angiogram, so one problem down, one to go!
They were finished everything around 10:30. They need to put a lot of pressure on the artery after the procedure to stop the bleeding. This is very important, since it's a main artery, and if you bleed, it can quickly lead to trouble. They stopped the bleeding and sent me up to my room around 10:45. Just as they were wheeling me out of the elevator, I started to bleed. They rushed me in and put more pressure on. It was all fine, but it's amazing how quickly I bled!
To make sure that your artery clots and starts healing properly after an angiogram, you have to lay flat on your back and still for 4 hours. They said I could go at 4:00. What a long day! At about 3:45, they got me up to walk around a bit and see how I was feeling. I walked a bit and started feeling light headed, so sat down, then laid down. The feeling subsided, but a few minutes later as I was still laying down, it got worse. I told the nurse. She checked my leg and said I was swelling (which means internally bleeding from the artery). I was feeling worse by the second at this point. The nurse started yelling for people, and I remember a lot of people running and working on me. They started an IV and took a blood sample to check my hemoglobin level. As soon as they started pumping me with fluid I started feeling better. Phew!
Since I bled again, they kept me in another few hours to make sure I was ok. I got up about 6:45 and felt much better. We arrived home at 7:00 with instructions for me to lay flat all night...just in time to watch Sara open her birthday gifts!
I took it easy the next few days, and now am feeling pretty good. A little sore and stiff, and I have one huge nasty bruise...but other than that not bad. I am not allowed to lift anything over 10lb. for 7 days, which is interesting...Jacob is definitely over 10lbs.! Derrick's Mom and my parents were here through the weekend, which was a huge help! My parents left on on the 11th, so now during the day I'm on my own. I'm managing pretty well...figures that at the same time all of this happened, Jacob came down with bronchitis...blast! So, he's a little more needy right now.
I don't expect to hear anything before Christmas about the surgical team's decision. I will let everyone know any news as soon as I hear.
Thanks for all your prayers!!
1 comment:
Thanks for the education. I never really knew what was involved in an angiogram! Happy to hear that the surgery may be less complicated. Will be thinking of you and I will be checking back for updates. Take care, Shawna.
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