Still on the Tableby Jim
9 Jan 2020
2:01 pm0
Just got another call. Angie is still int he Cath Lab and they’re into the ablation now. He said she’s doing great, though she might still be a few more hours. They are mapping out herheart and they’ve even seen some arrhythmia, so that’s good (they have to see it to fix it). We should get our next update by around 3.
Still Goingby Jim
9 Jan 2020
12:01 pm0
I just got a call from one of the anesthesiologists and he said Angie’s doing fine. They’re still in the cath lab and still taking measurements (they have to measure the pressures and such inside her heart) before doing the ablation. I’ll get another call around 1:00 PM with the next update.
Angie’s Arrhythmiaby Jim
9 Jan 2020
10:01 am1
While we’re waiting for our next update, I thought I would catch people up on why we’re here today and what they’re going to be doing in the procedure. Angie’s health has been very good for the last few years. Her activity level is considerably high and she’s been feeling well. Unfortunately, over the last couple years she’s been having some arrhythmia. Half of her heart is paced by her pacemaker, but the other half beats on its own. That other part has been getting into bad rhythms that can be bad over long periods of time. When she’s experiencing arrhythmia, she usually can’t tell it is happening at all. She’ll usually just feel a little funny, and be easily exhausted with any exertion. They’re also worried about her general heart function, which is weakened while in and because of arrhythmia. They tried switching one of her medications to something stronger about and a half ago, but that didn’t fix the problem.
And that’s why we’re here today: to fix the arrhythmia. For today’s procedure, they’re first doing a transesophageal echo (TEE) to check for blood clots. For the TEE, they sedate her and put a scope down her throat and check her heart for blood clots. If they find anything, they’ll abort because the risk of breaking loose a clot while they’re in her heart is too high. If the TEE doesn’t find anything, then they’ll proceed with the rest of the procedure. They go in though the arteries in her leg and send another scope up into her heart. Because she has had a Fontan procedure her heart anatomy is a little different and they have to cut through the Gore-tex tubing (connected to her heart as part of the Fontan) to get into the chambers of her heart. From the inside of her heart, they will actually map out the electrical impulses and conductivity of her heart. This process is slow and meticulous. They get a very complete picture of her heart’s electrical characteristics before they try to fix anything. Angie’s anti-arrhythmia medication (the stronger one they put her on 18 months ago) was discontinued Sunday night so that they can (hopefully) catch some arrhythmia while they’re scoping out her heart. That way they can pinpoint the exact location to scar her heart to inhibit the arrhythmia locally. They use the map of her heart to measure how effective their scarring is and whether they’ve actually fixed it. The catheter can burn or freeze the heart tissue and they use both under different circumstances. They’ll probably do some of each in today’s procedure.
They’ve taken all the precautions necessary to have a very safe procedure. There are always risks of complications, but compared to other procedures Angie has had, this one will be easy. The bigger issue is whether this will help. This is the last thing they want to try before moving forward with getting on the transplant list, which we’d love to delay as long as possible. We know it is an eventuality, but we’re not in a hurry to be in that position just yet. So, here’s hoping for the best!
Another Surgeryby Jim
9 Jan 2020
10:01 am1
Hello! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a surgery to post about (which we’re very happy about). Today, Angie is going in for an ablation. I’ll keep posting throughout the day to keep everyone informed. The doctors seem optimistic that everything will go safely and smoothly, though they are less certain that the procedure will fix the current problems.
They’ve taken her back and she’s in the cath lab where they’ll be doing the procedure. I should get an update on progress in about 2 hours. They are expecting things to take 5-6 hours today.
My Angel Motherby Jim
23 Feb 2014
9:02 pm7
Last weekend, Angie and I flew out to Atlanta to visit my parents. Some of you may have heard that my mom has been having some health problems lately. We got in late Friday night and on Saturday, we learned that Mom has a very rare condition called Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease. The disease is caused by misfolded proteins called prions that destroy brain tissue. This disease only affects about one in a million every year, so very little is known about it. What is known is that most people live less than a year after first showing symptoms (the median time is 4 months). For Mom, that began back in September when she started having balance problems. Toward the end of December, she started losing her short-term memory. A variety of tests had all come up negative, but because of her continued decline, she had another MRI early this month and the doctors finally saw the first evidence of this condition.
After we learned about this disease, we made arrangements for all of her children to come to Atlanta to visit her. Within 36 hours, all six of her children (and some in-laws) were there in her home. It was so wonderful to see her surrounded by loving family. A few days before she could no longer use a pen, she wrote in her journal that she didn’t understand what was happening to her, and why she couldn’t remember things, but she said she remembers “who I am and who I love.”
When someone begins to lose their ability to think and concentrate, the only thing that is left is their true personality. You can’t put on a front or pretend to be someone you’re not. Mom’s true personality shows through all that she’s been enduring. She is sweet, happy, obliging, and loving even though she can’t understand what is happening to her. I think it speaks volumes about the kind of woman she is. Her love for her family has always been her top priority. She has always been such an amazing example to all of us.
Losing a loved one changes you in a way that no lesson or book or conversation ever could. Last summer Angie’s dad passed away unexpectedly and it affected us both deeply. After that kind of loss you have a different perspective on nearly everything you do. Things that you thought were important become meaningless and other things become surprisingly precious. I think that this outlook is closer to the eternal perspective we ought to have every day. I think that what’s happening now has the potential to change us for the better. That’s what I hope for and I know that’s what Mom would want.
While I was in Atlanta, my sister read an email from my nephew to my mom. He asked her how she was doing and what she was feeling. Mom dictated this brief response, “I’m a little down, but I refuse to be defeated.” This is the attitude she had throughout her life. Mom, you have not been defeated; you have been and always will be triumphant.
Follow-upby Jim
9 Dec 2013
8:12 pm3
We just got back from the hospital and Angie’s follow-up appointment. I dropped her off and she went in to get her labs drawn and chest x-ray. After that, we went upstairs to see the doctor. They started with vitals and an EKG. The EKG was a little hard to read because Angie’s heart rate was a little high, so the doctor wanted Angie to go have her pacemaker interrogated at the children’s hospital across the street. They showed us the x-ray and her lungs look much better. The fluid is nearly all gone, thanks to the increased diuretic Angie has been on. Because the image looked so good, they decided to dial down her dosage, which we’re grateful for. Before we left, Dr. Lui talked to us about a new drug he’d like to put Angie on. It is a vasodialator that should help with her pulmonary pressure. That will (hopefully) decrease the fluid build-up and a nice side effect is increased oxygen saturation levels. There are risks, as with any medication, so we went over those. He’s very hopeful that this drug will really help Angie get back to normal.
After our chat, we walked over to Lucile Packard’s and did the interrogation. Being a children’s hospital, the pacemaker interrogator has a little turtle covering. It’s very cute. We were thrilled to find out that Angie is not in arrhythmia! Hooray! She did have an episode of arrhythmia a few days ago, but it lasted only 11 seconds, so it didn’t worry them too much. If it keeps recurring, I’m sure it will worry them, but for today, she’s in great shape. With that great news, they bid us goodbye and let us go to fight commuter traffic on our way home.
We are also very excited to hear that my sister-in-law, Kelly, is cancer-free! She went in for surgery last week and today we learned that the doctors found no trace of cancer in her body. We’re so happy for you, Kelly!
We were so excited about the news of the day that we decided to celebrate by going to Angie’s favorite restaurant in Livermore, which is right of the freeway on the way home. Thank you all for your love, support, prayers, good thoughts, words of encouragement, and everything you’ve done to help us over the last few months. We couldn’t have gotten through without you!
Going Homeby Jim
3 Dec 2013
7:12 pm2
We just received our discharge instructions and I’m walking out to get the car now. Angie was a little slow waking up, so they kept her in recovery longer than usual. We’re quite happy wet get to go home tonight. We have a return checkup on Monday to make sure everything is still okay. Thanks for your love and support today!