Katie O

I recently learned news about a friend of mine who needs to have brain surgery to remove lesions or tumors from her brain. If this wasn't bad enough, she recently finished chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Her name is Katie, and if you look at her blog, you'll find that she's one of the hottest bald chicks you could hope to meet. And if strength is beauty (and it is) she's one of the most beautiful people I know.

http://www.thekatieoblog.blogspot.com/

Please think about her for the next couple of days (especially tomorrow - as she's going into surgery) and send good thoughts her way. She's in Montana, so you'll need to think hard, cause it's a long way to go.

Compared to what Katie has gone through (and is going through), my problems seem very, very insignificant.

chris

BOOM!

I'm literally on the phone with Dr. Guber's office right now (on hold of course). I'm going to see what my schedule options are. Due to some work constraints, I wanted to schedule sometime after May 17 , and it looks like I can get in on the 18th. Monday the 18th. Monday the 18th. Monday the 18th. Monfuck'n Day the 18th.

It's scheduled.

Wow - that's is some seriously fucked up shit. I can't believe that I just scheduled the day that I'll be getting open heart surgery. It was just like scheduling an oil change for my Subaru (which, by the way does need an oil change, now that I think of it) , and new struts, and new brakes, and a new clutch...Hey! Does anyone know anyone that needs a 2003 Subaru? It's mint. I'm buying a biggoddamned truck. I always wanted a big goddamedtruck, and one may be coming my way. It's a biggoddamned Ford F150.

chris

Dying Ain't Much of a Living

I know that I haven't posted anything for a week or so, but my parents were out visiting for a few days, and really, nothing much has changed.

I'm going to call Guber's office today to see what the schedule could be, and get this operation on the books. Although I still haven't talked to anyone who's had the surgery, I feel that the sooner that I get it scheduled the better. And, I'll most likely have some time to deal with all the stuff that I need to deal with (valve choice, insurance, living situation...etc.), before the surgery would take place anyway.

I've not heard from my insurance company either (but, I've been down on the Front Range since Saturday, so I may have something in the mail in Frisco). I had to work at the Cherry Creek Sneak (which is a 5k and 5 mile run in Denver), and I'll be back here this weekend to work the Colorado Marathon.

My heart hurts, which is weird, and not supposed to be happening. So, it could be all in my head. But, just in case, I stopped by my doctor's office on Monday to get my blood pressure checked. And it was normal (132/68). According to the doctor in Boulder, there really shouldn't be any pain associated with the leaky valve, so it may be something else.

So, I'm gonna make the call this afternoon to see what Guber's office has to say.

chris

What Now?

I haven't heard anything from anyone. The last doctor I spoke with (in Boulder), was supposed to give my number to two people who've had this operation, but they've not called yet.

I ran into a friend who I haven't seen for a while, and her father has had his aortic valve replaced (at the Cleveland Clinic). So I'm going to talk to her about that this week, and maybe call him.

In other news...my insurance company, Humana One, is trying to back out of paying for this operation. They're investigating to see if this could somehow be considered a pre-existing condition. I have to provide them with details on the past five years of my medical history.

So, yesterday I sat down and reviewed the last five years of doctor visits - six in the past six weeks, two more in the previous six years. In 2004 I went to a doctor because I had two broken ribs and a concussion, and I think that I had a check up at some point in the last half of the last decade. So I don't think they'll find anything, but I also know that insurance companies really suck. So you never know. And I'm sure that I'm going to have fun dealing with that in the upcoming weeks and months.

chris

Choices Suck

Trust me...I know that I "just need to get this done." But what everyone doesn't understand is that when it's your body, it's different. These choices are dibilitating. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I have time to research and figure out what's best for me, but in many respects, it would be easier if there was only one option.

Here is where I'm at:

Probably going with a tissue valve. Probably going with this new guy or Guber. Probably going to schedule sooner than later.

Actually, the next step is to find out if the Boulder hospital takes HumanaOne Insurance - if that's the case, it's a done deal. The others don't, so my hand has been played for me. (Well, to some degree. I'm not going to select a surgeon that I don't like, just to save money.)

And - I'm not doing anything until I talk to at least one person who's had this operation.

So there.

c

The more I know, the more I know that I don't know

I (literally) just got out of my appointment with Dr. Mark Douthit, in Boulder. I'm sitting in the parking lot, writing this post. Mark Douthit...how would you pronounce that? Do It? Cause that's what he told me to do..."it." Get it done. Get it done now, and you'll be mountain biking this summer. He also recommended against the human valve, and instead suggested a Bovine pericardial valve. This is due to the scarring that occurs with the homograph (human valve), and the difficult nature of the second operation.

He's going to give me the names of past patients (screw HIPA, I guess) to talk to, so I'm looking forward to that. I still haven't heard from Aime. I originally came here to discuss the less invasive procedure, but interestingly, he didn't even bring that up.

I would need to get a CAT scan of my heart prior to this procedure, to be sure that there is nothing else going on in there. The other option is to get dye injected into my heart (via my leg, which doesn't sound like much fun). "Do it" said that the CAT scan would take less time than the paperwork. So, that sounds better then the dye injection.

I can potentially get this done next week. Wow. Just writing that brings up a tidal wave of emotions. Now I'm sitting in my car crying.

c

Less invasive option - Closed Heart Surgery

I have an appointment in Boulder tomorrow to discuss the less invasive option for this procedure -- basically the surgeon pushes a valve into the main artery in my leg, and drives it up to the heart. From there, they use robotics to remove and install the valve. It's called closed heart surgery. Sounds very weird, and I don't think that I'm really that interested. But I guess it's worth learning about.

It's 3am

It's another night that I can't sleep. I'm up, and my heart is racing. I just checked my pulse, and it's around 105bpm (so basically, it feels like I'm out for an easy jog). I suppose that I could take an Ambien, but they don't really seem to work for me (and I've never taken one this late, so I'm not sure what it would do). Unfortunately, this restlessness is normal, although usually I can sleep until 4:30am. I wonder what's causing the insomnia? I'm worried about my insurance company screwing me. I'm worried about the procedure. I'm worried about the recovery. I'm scared for what my life will be like afterwards. Bla Bla Bla.

chris

I'm thinking about the door bell, when you gonna ring it? When you gonna ring it?

I put the call in, and hopefully I'll hear from her soon. Fingers crossed.

Oh yea...this just in -- college football player who had an aortic valve replaced.

Click Here to read the article.

chris

Where are you?

Alaska, Alaska, Argentina, Nevada and Boulder. Some people were asking about where I was in the images in the new header. I know it's not as good as the last one, but I didn't really have a lot of time to devote to it, and it'll do for now.

Amie, What you wanna do?

Guber called with a reference - the woman who chose the human, and then needed to get a mechanical valve seven or so years down the road. It's weird because Stanton's office said something about HIPA when I asked for references. They wouldn't release any names due to privacy laws. WTF? I think that there are probably plenty of people who've had this surgery that would love to speak to others. Anyway, I'm calling her tomorrow. Her name is Amie.

Gueber - 1, Stanton - 0

Gueber called me yesterday and left a message. He has a patient that chose the human valve, and then it went bad after seven years. So she needed to get the mechanical installed and is now on coumidin. He thinks that talking to her will give me some good perspective. So, hopefully she'll agree to take the call. I would if I was her...who wouldn't want to talk to me?

Waiting for someone or something to show me the way

After meeting with Dr. Carrol on Monday, I decided to finally make some calls to both Stanton and Gueber. I'm trying to get more information on this procedure, and would like to talk to some of the people they've done this to. I have questions, and I need answers. I also want to get their opinions on the choice that I've made regarding the valve option (human), to see if there are any other considerations that I don't know about, or haven't thought of.

Although the human valve can fail in as few as 7 years (which would require a mechanical valve being installed, and coumidin), they have lasted 15+ years. The data that I've seen looks to show a 91% success rate after 15 years. But, it's a crappy fax, and it could very well be saying a 91% failure rate! So, I obviously need to ask some questions on that. And by the way, a fax? Really Michael Vick? How about emailing me a fricking .pdf file that I can actually read? I can't believe that I'm actually considering open heart surgery from someone that can't attach a file to an email and hit "send."