sorry folks, didn't mean to be so vague or concern anyone. i am really fine. for those who really want to know more, here is the story:
we are all born with a hole in our hearts. most close in infancy, an estimated 20% don't. mine did not. i was having headaches and bouts of dizziness and decided to go see me a neurologist. my symptoms didn't match up with any one thing so they did and MRI on my brain and found what they call a "white spot." white spots are somewhat common and can mean a wide range of different things, but one of the easiest things to test for is a hole in the heart. so it was off to the cardiologist with me. they did a couple cool tests with bubbles and brain waves and turns out i had a hole, it was fairly large and the great news was that i qualified to get it "plugged." the upper two chambers of my heart had blood passing back and forth and this is risky because it is clean blood playing with dirty blood, which can and does often lead to stroke. with my hole being as large as it was and the amount of blood that was passing from one chamber to the other, the procedure was a no brainer. literally, they didn't have to do anything to my brain. fortunately, i had the king of pfo closures doing the procedure. apparently the man is some kind of cardiac legend. so i went to the new ihc hospital at the crack of dawn, they went in through my femoral artery in my hip with a camera and the device and bing, bang, boom: pfo closed. the tissue in my heart will grow over the titanium device within the next year and i will be just like the rest of you, without hole. so, i spent a night at the hospital and a few days on the couch and i am as good or really, better than new; no more hole. thanks again for the well wishing and sorry to have caused such a commotion. next time (hopefully there won't be a next time) i will be more clear and you will subsequently be better informed and totally bored.
*if you are really interested in learning more about this, oddly some are, the link above should educate you quite nicely.
4 comments:
I am so glad you are ok! We love you much, and I am always so excited when you blog, because I feel like I get to know you so much better that way!
Wow!! That's all I can say. It's amazing what doctors can do these days. I am so glad you're ok. Can we hang out while I'm in town this December? Morgan and I are trying to figure out some sort of get together. Also, those candies look good. I want some.
Thanks so much for the update! I called Pam to see if she had more info. And she said she had put a call into grandpa to see if he had any more info. You definitely sent us all in a worry tizzy. I mean it is not everyday someone gets their heart operated on! I am glad you are doing well and thanks for the update! :) Love you!
Marcie
i had no idea about your patent foramen ovale. I am happy (seriously, happy) that it all worked out. hopefully all the dizziness, etc, will pass no that your heart doesn't leak from side to side
erik
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