from long lost me

I haven't posted for ages, so it's time!

I am doing very very well. I still have occasional aches in my chest, but other than that, I feel totally recovered. As of October 16, I am now able to lift Jacob again. Yay!! It feels like that was the last step in my recovery. You don't realize how much strength you lose in 3 months! He feels like he has doubled in weight! When I do day to day activities, I don't feel weak. But when I lift him up, it's a strong reminder of the muscle I lost.

Derrick starts a new job on Monday. I can't remember if I posted the he had lost his job as of mid-June. Major restructuring...his position was eliminated. He got a severance package, was able to look after me post surgery, and ended up with a job that pays more starting than the one he left after being there 9 years...and it starts at over 4 weeks of holidays. God is good, very very good!!! Jacob and I will really, really miss him during the day...it will be an adjustment for us!

We are now cleared to have another baby. We are praying that God will continue to bless us and I will be pregnant soon!

Happy All Saints Day!!!! There must be a huge party in heaven today!!!

the latest

I haven't posted for awhile, so I should let everyone know what's up.

Let's see...I have officially passed the 6 week my-breastbone-is-healed mark! It has been 8 weeks as of today. How time flies!! Even though I am all healed up, my chest is still a bit achy. All is going very well still.

Last week I went for my first bike ride since surgery, and have been on one more since. It feels great, and is very comfortable. Yay! I will try to squeeze in many rides before the snow flies!!

I have been working on stretching and some core strength building. It is going well, and feels so good to have some flexibility back again!

Sara started grade 1 this year. Wow. She is enjoying it very much. I think she is tired at the end of the day, although she would never admit it!! The kids will be starting fall activities soon...swimming, and Sara will be starting tap dancing. Should be cute...

and my cardiologist says...

...that all is well!

I had an appointment with Dr. Akhtar yesterday. I had an echocardiogram also. Blood is flowing down the newly moved coronary artery, which is great! There was a bit of abnormality on my ECG, so they want me to come back in 3 months to check it out again. Dr. Akhtar thinks the abnormality is only there because it is so soon after surgery, and it will correct itself.

A list of great things Dr. Akhtar had to say:

• I can drive again

• we can try to get pregnant in October

• blood is flowing down the moved artery

• I have massive coronary arteries. This is good. The chance of ever developing heart disease (which runs in my family) is very small. They usually measure these the main coronary arteries in mm. Mine is 1cm!!

• random days of fogginess are normal. I have been having random foggy days. This is a result of being on the heart and lung machine, and will improve over time.

• the echo tech, the ECG tech and Dr. Akhtar all said that my incision looks great, and will heal very well. The ECG tech said that she sees patients whose incisions look like mine, but they had surgery a year ago!

After going for an ECG in 3 months, I will see Dr. Akhtar every year for an echo and check up, to monitor the moved artery. It may narrow over time (unlikely), which is fine, but they want to monitor it anyway.

I am back working already. The magazine I design each month is ready to go to press for the September issue. So, work I must!! I have lots of help here, so working hasn't been too bad...

here we are...

...we are home.

We drove home yesterday. The kids were great, which was super. They usually travel really well, but I was a bit worried since I wasn't even able to reach around and grab toys after Jacob chucked them. But it all went very well! Yay!

Now, we are slowly unpacking. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all, but we are slowly chipping away. I just want everything done at once...everything unpacked and organized!

I am still feeling very well overall. I am feeling a bit more stiff in my upper chest/collarbone area. I don't know why. It's not terrible, just a bit more uncomfortable.

So, another chapter in this adventure is over. We will have a lot of help the next couple of weeks as I continue to recover at home.

strong and clear

As each day passes, my body becomes stronger, and my head less foggy. I am still healing at a great pace!

I have to make myself walk slower...I feel up to walking quickly, but I know my recovery is supposed to be gradual...so I will work up to a quicker pace. I'm not shuffling along...my Mom is thankful because I am now walking at her pace...but I have had open heart surgery! Pre-surgery I had to slow my pace a bit when walking with her...I am just a naturally fast walker. I think she will be sad when my pace increases again!

We took the kids to the Legislature grounds yesterday. They have beautiful pool and fountains to play in. I love taking the kids there in the summer. It is so much fun! And it's not stressful...a great place to go while in recovery! We went on a Saturday, so there were lots of weddings to check out (a lot of people go there for photos). My sister is getting married next spring, so we were looking at dresses and hairdos. Sara is going to be a flower girl, so she had fun looking at all the little flower girl dresses. The day went very well. I wasn't tired at all. My Mom is now saying that I have made the transition from recovering patient to tourist....I want to plan all these fun things to do. Back to my old self, I guess..I like to get out, see and do things. Don't worry, I won't push myself too hard...

one week ago...

...about this time, I was waking up after surgery. I'm amazed at how far God has brought me in my healing process, and how much I have been blessed with a swift recovery. I'm sure that a big part of this has to do with the many prayers that have been offered up for me from all of you. Again...thank you so much. The Body of Christ is so connected, and so powerful!

I'm supposed to be sleeping...

...but I'm just not tired...so I thought I would write a quick update.

Then I thought...hmmm...maybe I should post a photo of what I look like now...the new and improved me...then I thought, well, that might be too eeew for some people...then I remembered that our laptop has a built in camera...so then I thought I would just try and take a picture and see how it looks...then I remembered that the camera software has all these cool effects...so I had to play with those...I had so much fun that now it would be a shame to not share the photos...

And after all is said and done I will probably get in trouble for not napping...

still healing well

Hi all! I have been home for one full day now, and things are going well. It's still crazy to think that the only pain meds I'm on are regular tylenol...and I haven't even taken any since this morning...how can my body go through all this and only need tylenol??

I think we are going to venture out tomorrow. The weather is cooling a bit, so we will have a break from +30. We may take the kids to the zoo or a small amusement park...just get out for a bit. For the past week Derrick has been here at my parents' place, or at the hospital...he's itching to get out. 

I am feeling slightly less foggy today, which was nice. We are starting to form some plans for our time here. I am being treated to a mom and daughter pedicure this week which will be fun, and I will be going out to a movie with my sisters. Derrick and I would like to get out on a date while we have free live-in sitters! So, all is well.

Yes, I am resting and relaxing too...and taking an afternoon nap everyday. I'm not pushing it...

Take care everyone!!

home sweet home

Ahhh...home...well, my parents' place, not my home...

I was let out this morning and arrived home at 11:30. Dr. Ross and his resident popped in to see me after breakfast, answered my questions, and gave me the official ok to go home. Hooray!!

My day has been nice. Relaxing, hot and sunny. Along with relaxing, I am getting used to having the kids around full time again. I forgot how crazy and busy they are...and I forgot how funny and sweet they are. Being away has made me appreciate them just that much more. I am able to tolerate their whines and demands easier...but that could also be credited to my general feeling of fogginess left over from the anesthetic! Dr. Ross said that I would feel foggy and may experience some short term memory loss for 3-4 weeks. So, I will get used to my fog. It's not that I feel totally out of it...just that I couldn't handle planning or being really organized. Anyway...it will pass..

The good news is that I am home and still doing very very well. Yay!!

And...no more hospital food!!!!

released

I'm sure Shawna will want to write more later, but I just wanted to let everyone know that she was released from the hospital today. Sara and I went in to pick her up and she was waiting in her room, all dressed and ready to go. Amazing that 4 days earlier she was still in the OR. We are very happy that everything has gone incredible well so far. Let's pray things continue to go this well.

getting better every day!!

Hi everyone! It has been 3 days since surgery now, and I can't believe the difference each passing day has made. As far as I know, I will be going home tomorrow, and will be coming back in soon for an echocardiogram, to monitor how my heart is doing with the new blood flow.

Yesterday I flet much much more awake, and I couldn't even really sleep at rest time. Still good to rest though...it's not called sleep time, just rest time. My roomie and I have been sharing meals together and chatting alot. She and I are the only women on the ward right now. She's 57, and still quite young compared to others here. We are the party room!! She went home today though...sigh...so I will have a new roomie tonight. I went for a lot of walks yesterday, and ventured outside the hospital to enjoy the weather. I felt like I was playing hookie...sneaking out!! But, I am allowed out...I wasn't sneaking. No worries! It was great to enjoy some sun and sit at a picnic table! I went out again for an evening stroll last night. Ahhhh...getting out makes such a difference!

Today, Derrick, the kids, Joelle and my parents came to visit, along with Tanya, a friend of mine. We went outside again, chatted and had a picnic. It's so good to feel almost back to normal. I showered completely alone today, standing up, and washed and combed my own hair. It wasn't hard or painful at all...I was expecting it to be quite hard.

So, I think I will need very clear instructions when I go home about what I can and cannot do. You are not allowed to overdo it, and judging by how I feel now, I can see myself leaning towards overdoing it, without meaning to.

One thing that I heard can hapen, and I have noticed, is a bit of short term memory loss. Not really huge...but I just feel scattered...like I'm not all there! I was thinking of it as we were eating our picnic today...I can't fathom having my wits about me to plan a picnic!! So, that will take getting used to, and hopefully won't last long. I was laughing, thinking of anyone who might overhear mine and my roomie's converstions...we probably repeat the same stories over and over to each other!! Maybe that's a taste of what happens when you get old and are in a home... hee hee

It was so nice to see the kids. Jacob came up and hugged my legs, and they both wanted to site beside me. It's cute to see them express their affections in their own little ways.

So, next time I write, I will hopefully be home in Sherwood Park. Thanks again for all the prayers and kind wishes. I'm open to visitors, so I hope to see some of you soon!

from my hospital bed to you

Hi everyone! I thought I would write a quick note to everyone to let you all know how I'm doing. What crazy couple of days! It's so hard to believe that I was in surgery only 2 days ago, and am now comfortably writing to you all. I am recovering quickly, and so far with no problems. I tire fairly easily, although today even that is much better. The only pain I have is my general chest area. I thought the pain would be sharp, incision related pain, but it's not. It's just a general ache over the whold front of my chest...caused by the surgeons cutting muscle and pulling apart my rib cage. Eeeew!!! Sorry, that's kinda gross. I have all my tubes and bandages off. My chest incision has no bandage, so it's healing in the open air. I have one small bandage over the stitch where my chest tube came out. Also, I have one precautionary IV still started in my arm, in case of emergency meds. I am able to get out of bed and walk on my own, and have gone for short walks. I took a shower this morning...hooray!!! and I was able to wash and comb out my hair alone. So, small steps...but considering I was in surgery 2 days ago, these small steps are pretty big and impressive....not to brag!! ha ha

Well, I should sign off. My afternoon nap is calling me. Thanks sooooo much for all your prayers and encouragement. It has certainly helped!! I still have a long road ahead, but each day gets easier! I look forward to reading all the nice messages! Keep them coming!

I will post again when I'm able...

FAQs

Thank you everyone who has kept Shawna and the family in your thoughts and prayers. We very much appreciate everything! Thanks also for your well wishes and comments via email, through the guestbook, or blog comments. As I'm sure you can appreciate, I have not had an opportunity to go through everything, and may not have the opportunity to respond to everyone individually. I hope you understand.

In an attempt to respond to common questions, I'll do it here. Again, sorry if I missed anything, please be patient.

How long will Shawna be in the hospital?

Ideally, only 4-5 days. Average is 4-7 days, but we just have to take things day by day and see how she is doing. She is young and healthy, so that is a definite advantage. If the last day and a half is any indication, we should be on track of the 4-5 day range.

Are we able to visit Shawna?

The number one priority right now is recovery. This means she needs lots of rest. She gets tired very easily and very quickly, so all visits are quite short. I'm sure she would love visitors, but the reality is she needs some time for herself right now. We'll see how things go the next day or two and if she can see more people than immediate family. We plan on being in Sherwood Park for a while, so please be patient. If a hospital visit isn't prudent, I'm sure there will be time for a visit at the Alexanders.

How long will we be in Sherwood Park?

Probably a couple weeks, but like everything else right now, that depends in how recovery goes.

Thanks again for all your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers. May God bless you all for your support.

no more tubes

Shawna had a less than perfect sleep last night. I can only imagine how hard it is to sleep with 9 other people in the room, all hooked up to machines that beep and make other noises, and all that needs to happen in ICU to ensure the patients are doing well.

The morphine (to help with pain) was pretty hard on her stomach, so she is off that and on tylenol 3 (with codeine). Throughout the morning they were removing wires, IVs, tubes etc. The breathing tube came out yesterday (shortly after I saw her in the afternoon). As of about 2:00 pm she is out of ICU and into the cardiac ward in a semi-private room. We are hoping to get a private, but they are at a premium and we probably won't get one. With any luck she won't be there long enough for it to matter a whole lot. By the time she was moved to her room all she had was one line in the wrist for an IV in case they needed to give her anything - no machines, wires, tubes... anything. Her colour is good in her face and there is only a little bit of swelling in her hands in wrists - none in her feet or legs, which is a very good sign.

The kids got to come and visit a bit today. Sara was happy to see Mommy; Jacob was happy, but has a shorter attention span and just kept saying, "Go." Shawna went for a very short walk around the ward this evening, but she is doing extremely well for one day after surgery.

that's a long 3 1/2 hours

After what was a surprisingly good (albeit short) sleep last night, we were up before 5 am and at the hospital for 5:30 am. Some final prep, some waiting - just so you can think more and get more anxious about the surgery - and then Shawna was wheeled away to the OR.

I decided to go for a walk and get out of the hospital for a bit. I have no idea where anything is, all I know is I'm on the U of A campus. So I just walked, hoping it would be easy to find my way back. After a few blocks, I noticed a building with stained glass windows - it turned out to be St. Joseph's college, so I went inside, found the chapel and spent some time with the Big Guy. Very nice surprise to be able to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament while Shawna was in surgery.

A couple loud cracks of thunder got my attention and I thought I had better get back to the hospital before it started to rain.

About three and a half hours after being wheeled into the OR (~ 11:10 am) Dr. Ross came out and said everything went very well. They were able to move and reattach the artery, and blood flow was normal in the artery. He mentioned Shawna's heart is slightly enlarged, but that will correct itself now that she has had surgery to correct the artery position.

After a couple hours I was able to go and see her while she was being warmed up (they lower the body temp to about 25 C for surgery, so they have a little air mattress over her that has warm air pumped into it to warm her back up). She started to regain consciousness and desperately wanted the breathing tube out, but she had to wait. It's quiet time at the cardiac ICU unit right now, so I'm back in Sherwood Park. I'll get back to the hospital later.

Well, part one is done, now it's recovery. Dr. Ross figures she should be able to come home in 4-5 days - hopefully he's right. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! Keep them coming please!

T minus 10 hours and counting

We spent pretty much the whole day at the hospital today for the pre-admissions clinic. We watched a video about cardiac surgery, got a lot of info, spoke to the surgeon, respiratory therapist, and anesthetist, had an ECG, blood tests, chest x-ray,... pretty much the full meal deal to prep for surgery.

Shawna got the first slot for surgery, so that means we have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am and surgery is at 7:20 am. Yes, that is early. But, like the anesthetist said, it doesn't matter if you get a good night's sleep, it's important that Dr. Ross, and all the doctors and nurses get a good night sleep.

We did find out that the surgery will be a little bit different than we were lead to believe. We were under the impression that an extra vessel that was stealing blood from the heart into the pulmonary artery (going to the lungs) would be tied off. Well, as we learned more from the surgeon, that is not really what will happen.

Warning: The following is our understanding of what will happen. If anyone (aka Dr. Booker) is offended by our inaccuracies or improper use of terms, or if you don't get the little bit of anatomy, we apologize.

The aorta that supplies blood to the heart splits into two sides - left and right coronary arteries. Subsequent arteries "split" off of these to supply the whole heart with blood. In Shawna's case, a "secondary" artery coming off the left artery called the left arterial descendent (LAD) is not attached to the artery at all, it is attached to the pulmonary artery that takes blood from the heart to the lungs. This is essentially robbing the heart of blood since the pressure in the pulmonary artery is lower. Shawna's heart has compensated for this to an extent by forming little vessels that come from the left and right arteries to ensure the heart gets enough blood, but over time the defective (or rather incorrectly located) artery will most likely enlarge and steal more blood from the heart, causing damage over time.

So, they are going to detach the LAD from the pulmonary artery and stretch it over to the aorta and attach it there (if it cannot stretch enough they will "tunnel" over to it). Ideally, blood will flow through the newly moved LAD and all will be great. If blood does not flow through the newly moved artery (which may be the case because Shawna's heart has kinda adapted to supply the heart with blood without it) it may clot and the artery would essentially block itself off. This is also a very good thing because it would no longer be stealing blood from the heart and siphoning it to the lungs. Either way would be considered a success, but the former is preferred over the latter.

Well, we had better call it an early night. Please keep Shawna, the Dr.s and nurses, and our family in your prayers.

greetings from long lost me

Wow, is time ever flying! I can’t believe it has been so long since my last post. Sorry to keep you all hanging…

Surgery is booked…for July 16th…Jacob’s 2nd birthday. So, yes that is only 2 days away! We are on our way to Edmonton right now. Tomorrow I have to attend a pre-admission clinic at 8:00am. I will be there most of the day. Then, July 16th I go in for the big slice and crack…sorry for anyone who is squeamish!

The past month or so has been a blur. I was busy with design work right up until we left for Ontario on June 21. ..after a flurry of packing… Ontario was great. We visited my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was nice to see everyone and do a bit of sight seeing iin the area. The main reason for going to Ontario was to visit my grandparents, who aren’t able to make it out west anymore. I treasure my time with them so much, and it was so nice to see them for a good chunk of time and to be able to take them out on outings.

When we flew into Toronto, we drove north of Toronto to visit Derrick’s cousin and aunt and uncle. We went to Canada’s Wonderland..woo hoo!!!! (well, it would have been an even bigger woo hoo if my cardiologist had said it was ok to go on the huge coasters…sigh…) I did go on some smaller ones that Sara was able to go on…so I had some slight coaster satisfaction…sigh again…

We took a trip down to Erie, PA to visit friends that we knew when we lived in California. Back in those days, these 2 girls were my housemates, and one was my roommate. Now, we are all “grown up”, married with children…and there were lots of children!! We stayed in house with 6 adults and 10 kids. It was busy, but sooo good to see them again and meet all their munchkins!

We flew home on July 9th. Friends of ours visiting from Calgary stayed with us the nights of July 9th and 10th. They left the morning of the 11th, and then Derrick’s Mom came the afternoon of the 11th and left the 13th afternoon. It was nice having the company when we came home…a nice transition from holidays back to life at home. It was a busy few days, and I found myself frazzled last night…hardly having packed anything yet. The laundry was done, that was good. I also wanted a good nights sleep, which I hadn’t been getting much of. Need to stay healthy, or no surgery for me! Jacob woke up with a fever the day we flew home. We hoped it was teething related, but now it has developed into a cold. So, I really need to be careful!

So, that brings me to today. Driving in the car to Edmonton…anxious, but thankful this is all coming to an end and it’s finally getting taken care of. Hopefully all goes well, and that I bounce back from the effects of the anesthetic quickly…and that I heal swiftly…and that feeling my chest “click” when the broken bones rub together doesn’t creep me out too much!!!

Derrick will post on the blog to let everyone know how I am doing. Feel free to leave comments or sign the guestbook if you want to contact us.

Thanks for all the prayers and kind thoughts!

I'm so glad that I'm the type of person that makes decisions easily

Anyone that's reading this that knows me well is probably sniggering at the title of this post. I am so not the person described in the title of this post. That is precisely why the beginning of this week was rough...that's an understatement!

I called Dr. Ross' secretary on Monday and told her that we had pretty much decided to go with the plan of having a cut off date for surgery, and if I wasn't called, postponing till july and going to Ontario as planned. 

She said that actually she just had a date cleared by Dr. Ross 10 minutes before. A date that she could offer to me...a date...for me...but then she said it would be tight for me to still go to Ontario as planned. The day was May 21. 4 weeks and 3 days before we were scheduled to go to Ontario. Wow. That is tight.

She assured me that she would not give away that date until I called back to let her know what I had decided. I had until Tuesday afternoon to decide. Wow.

The end of that call signaled the start of a flurry of pros, cons and what ifs that would plague me through the rest of the day, evening, overnight and all day Tuesday...until literally I picked up the phone to hand over my decision. Derrick and I chatted and chatted and flip flopped about dates Monday evening. All night long I dreamed about weighing the pros and cons and trying to make a decision. I never did make a decision in my dream...

If I didn't take the May 21 date, there was no option at this point for even a cancellation to happen any earlier. So basically, take May 21, or schedule the surgery when we are back in mid July.

We were starting to lean towards the July date. There were no huge reasons why, but there seemed to be a lot of small reasons pointing that way. The biggest reasons for having it in May were that simply, it would be done and over with, and we could try for another baby earlier. Going the July route...we know for sure I will be healthy enough to travel (we had also considering moving our trip to later in the summer), we can use the cheap flight we already have booked and consider that in itself a blessing and gift, we will be able to visit with friends from the US that are only available if we keep our trip as planned, Sara won't miss school at all...the list goes on...

In the end we decided to wait until July for surgery. It may slightly taint my trip because I know what I will have to face when I come home...but surgery has been dwelling my mind for months now, so that would be nothing new.

Dr. Ross' secretary doesn't have the schedule for July yet, but in past years Dr. Ross has concentrated on pediatric surgeries in the summer, so as far as she knows he will only be doing my type of surgery once a week, on Wednesdays. To give us time to fly home, do laundry, pack up and go to Edmonton, the first Wednesday I will be available is July 16...Jacob's birthday. I had my angiogram on Sara's birthday, and probably surgery on Jacob's birthday. Weird!

I will post when I hear any more news about a for sure date. It's so nice to be able to plan our trip now!!

ahhh...lime

Me, my honey and the color lime...how can I not post this??

maybe...

Derrick and I have been thinking the past couple of days about something.

In order to be well enough to go to Ontario after surgery, I will need to have surgery about 5 weeks before hand. That means anytime before May 17th. We are thinking...maybe...that if I don't get called before then, we will take my name off the cancellation list, go to Ontario and have a nice trip, and schedule my surgery for when we come back...beginning to mid July. The only downfall is that trying to have a baby is postponed a couple of months.

That's our thoughts. I will have to make up my mind soon. We'll see how the next few weeks play out...hopefully I will get called and just get it over with!!

to the girl who had surgery april 9th

I don't know who you are, but I know that you were ahead of me on the surgery wait list for April 9th. I know that you have a young family like me, and were eager to get your surgery over with. That's why you chose to take the April 9th date, even though you had just returned from a vacation. You surprised Dr. Ross's secretary with your decision. Then she felt bad for giving me false hope. She really didn't think you would take it! I would have too, if I was you.

At first I felt sad that I didn't get the date. It would have been SO nice to get it over with so quickly. But then Derrick reminded me that I should be happy for you. So, I am.

You were in my thoughts and prayers a lot on April 9th. I hope that everything went well for you, and that you are recovering quickly. I pray that you heal quickly and that you and your family can cope well during the recovery time.

God bless you and your family!

the possibilities...

...for surgery dates. That was what I wanted to find out this week. It would help a lot to have a better idea of when surgeries are, to prepare for possible cancellations.

I called Dr. Ross's very friendly secretary to find out. He is going on holidays for the next 2 weeks and will be back in surgery on April 28. So, that would be the first possible cancellation. If I got the facts straight, he does 2 surgeries/day, 4 days/week, sometimes 5 days/week. He does 4 adult congenital surgeries/week.

Surgeries are scheduled in 4 hour blocks. That's the total time it takes to prep the patient, do the procedure, and completely clean and sterilize the OR to be ready for the next surgery. So, maybe the actual procedure would take 2 hours??

I will have at least 2 days notice to come for surgery. I need to attend a pre-admission clinic the day before surgery, so I need 2 days notice.

It's good to have a better idea of when I may be called. And I can relax for the next 2 weeks and not get butterflies in my belly everytime the phone rings!

supremely freaked out

Dr. Ross's secretary sent me a package with information about surgery. I was reading it as I was eating my lunch today, and now am, as the title of this post states, supremely freaked out.

I know that heart surgery is major, of course, but I never put thought into the specific details about what to expect as I recover. I just thought, I'm young and healthy, I will recover quickly.

Did you know that after heart surgery your breastbone may "click" sometimes? This is because it is healing after being broken, and it's rubbing together. Ewwwww!!! 

When I wake up from surgery I will have a tube down my throat to help me breathe, 2 tubes in my chest to drain chest fluid, and a catheter.

As I recover I may have neck, back or leg pain.

As I recover I have to do deep breathing and coughing exercises, even though it will hurt a lot. I have do deep breathing, then a big cough. As I do this, I have to hold a pillow on my incision to support it. Nasty.

Oh, and as a final kick...I will probably be constipated after surgery and need a laxative. One of the prerequisites for being discharged from the hospital is that I have to poop before I go. Lovely. Sorry to talk about poop...

Now you can understand why I am so freaked. And the things listed here are not nearly all the things I read about in the nice little package. Sigh...what am I getting myself into??

a very weird week

We were planning to go to Sherwood Park this weekend, but may have to stay home because Jacob is quite sick. Anyway...surgeons usually like to meet their patients prior to surgery. So I thought I would see if he would like to meet me while I am in Edmonton. Dr. Akhtar's office gave me the number to reach the office of Dr. Ross, my surgeon.

I called and had a nice chat with the secretary, who happens to book all the surgeries. Dr. Ross is scheduled in the OR for the next 2 weeks, so it wouldn't have worked out to meet with him. I asked her if my surgery had been booked yet. She said no, but it would probably be in June or July. She then asked if that was ok with me. Huh???! I didn't think I had a say in when I would like to have surgery! I explained to her that the sooner the better because we want to have another baby. She said that usually out of town patients can't come in last minute, but would I be able to? I said definitely. She said that would help me to get in quicker. Yay!!

She said that she was checking to see if there were any cancellations...and  said she had an opening on April 9!! What??!!?? Wow. That's soon. She had to call others that have been on the waiting list longer, but if they couldn't take the date, then she would call me back before the end of the day Wednesday. It was Monday, and Wednesday couldn't come quick enough!!! She never did call, so another lucky patient got the spot. My nerves were frazzled for those couple of days and everytime the phone rang my nerves would tingle from my head down to my toes!!

Hopefully another date will come up soon...

a strange kind of fame

I never thought I would find fame in a medical journal. But that's the kind of fame I have found.

I, Patient A, will be starring in a medical journal...because the heart defect I have has never been seen before. Never. It isn't in a text book or medical journal. They have seen similar anatomy to mine, but not this specific defect.

So, soon I will be famous...at least in the cardiology circles!

hooray!! I have an answer!!

Finally...they called. They being Dr. Akhtar's office.

I arrived at his office with much hope, fear and anxiety! I did make it into the February meeting afterall...and they decided to go ahead with surgery. So, not the answer we ultimately hoped for, but still, it's an answer. Dr. Akhtar said that the surgery will be done within 3 months.

Everything is in the hands of the Edmonton team of surgeons now. It is out of Dr. Akhtar's hands. So, I hope they set a date soon! I need to wrap my head around a date and prepare for it. Plus those summer plans are still on hold... Of course, surgery is my #1 priority...but if summer plans can still work, that would be sooo nice...especially since we booked an insanely cheap flight to Ontario...if we need to cancel it will go into a credit account, so no problems there. We couldn't pass up the deal. One way, Saskatoon to Toronto...get ready...$34!!!! Unreal!!!! Even with taxes, the tickets were only $80 each. Wow. So, I really hope we can use them!!

But alas, I am not in control. As Dr. Akhtar put it, I need to view this year as "the year I got fixed". Sounds like I'm a dog that is getting spayed!! hee hee! 

So, surgery is my focus. Then it will be done and over with, and I can move on...

I will post as soon as I hear about a date.

Happy Easter!!!!!!!

yes...still waiting...

Was my case brought up at the Jan. 31st meeting?? I still don't know...but since it is now the end of February, I'm assuming not!

After many messages left with Dr. Akhtar's secretary, I finally received something close to an answer. His secretary left me a message late last week saying that she was able to get ahold of Dr. Akhtar on vacation, and he said that I will know before he will if I am brought up at the February meeting. Hmmm...when I heard the message, several things ran through my mind.

• I really didn't want to bother him on vacation!!! If I had known, I would have said it can wait until he comes back. But, he hasn't been on vacation all of February...this could have been cleared up weeks ago with a simple message: Yes, your case was brought up on the 31st...or...No, it wasn't...Easy. Quick.

• The message said that I will know before he will. That makes me think that he will still be on vacation as of Feb. 28, when the next meeting is. I'm assuming he has let another cardiologist know about me, and that dr. will try and bring my case up.

• The fact that the message said that I will know before he will IF I am brought up at the next meeting leads me to believe that there's a chance that I may not be brought up, which means more waiting. Argh. Last I heard was that I may be brought up Jan. 31. If not, then for sure the Feb. 28th meeting.

So, here I am...waiting again. Summer plans of flying to Ontario are on hold until this is all worked out and we know what the future holds for me. I'm glad the month of February flew by!

Hopefully I will have some news next time I post.

Thanks so much for all your kind thoughts and prayers!!!

still waiting

So, I saw Dr. Akhtar...and there was no news about what they want to do with my heart. He wanted to let me know that the cardiologists involved here in Saskatoon had met and discussed my case in depth. Now, it has to be brought up in the monthly video conference meeting with the cardiologists from across western Canada. I thought they had already met, but no, not yet. They had a video conference scheduled for Jan. 31. Dr. Akhtar was hoping to have my case brought up then, but he couldn't be sure of that, since I am not the only patient they are discussing. So, now I wait to hear if I was brought up, and what they have decided to do. 

Dr. Akhtar mentioned a few options of what they may do. Surgery (open heart or maybe in through the side), an angiogram type procedure (up through the groin and into the heart), they may wait until after another baby, or they may choose to do nothing.

Now I have to try to be patient and hope that I was brought up at the meeting on the 31st!

the big appointment

I have been anxiously waiting for any news from Dr. Ahktar. My plan was to wait until mid January, then call his office to see if any progress has been made. Yesterday was the day I decided to call. But...his secretary beat me to it, and called yesterday morning! Dr. Ahktar wants to see me this Friday morning.

So...I guess he has answers...now I'm nervous!! I'm assuming that the team of surgeons in Edmonton have met, and the panel of cardiologists have met. Otherwise, why would he need to see me? So, this is all good news. A little unnerving. On Friday I will know if I'm heading for surgery or another angiogram type procedure. I'm hoping that he will have dates to give me as well. Then I will know, and can prepare and plan.

I will post an update on Friday...please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I will have peace about whatever decision they have reached. Thanks!