Carol K's Journey

Today we went to Kaiser Mt. Talbert to meet with the surgical team: Kimberly, the RN who is the "glue" of the team, Dr. Shin, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and one of the PAs, Allison. Everyone was very nice and very informative. We got a lot more details about the surgery, risks, etc. Patients generally feel better immediately after this surgery. However, the recovery process takes a good 6-8 weeks. The surgery itself will take 4-8 hours and I will be on a heart-lung machine while they replace the valve. I'm leaning toward having a mechanical replacement instead of a tissue replacement, which means that I will have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life.

Surgery is tentatively set for Tuesday, April 28. However, it was decided that I need to have an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) appointment before the surgery due to an ongoing issue of blood in my nose, which is a concern for surgery and afterwards because of being on blood thinners. They also need to get an okay from my dentist, so it's good that I went to the appointment with my hygienist last Friday. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the ENT appointment and hope that it won't cause a delay in the surgery--better safe than sorry, though.

I had a chest xray today (had to go to Kaiser Sunnybrook for that since it was digital). Tomorrow I have to go back to Kaiser Sunnyside for a carotid ultrasound. I tried to do the labs that are required, but found out that those have to be done within 72 hours of the surgery. Did you know that your blood type can change along with your medical condition? I didn't know that. If they have to order blood for you during your surgery, they need to know that they are ordering the right kind of blood.