I am going to keep this short and send in a longer update later tonight. Jeff wants to go downtown tonight and have a real dinner. We got some disappointing news today so I will do anything to perk him up.
Turns out this valve repair he's agreed to have isn't as final as he was led to believe. Sadly we'll be doing this again every 15 or so years for the rest of his life. To say Jeff is pissed is to woefully understate it.
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| View of the main hospital from the 9th floor of the Pulmonary Clinic |
I hated to leave anyone who read the blog earlier hanging but I was eager to get out and do some more exploring and give Jeff the chance to vent.
The day started off really well, even though we were running a few minutes behind. When are we not? We made our first check in right on time so it was all good. My fingers were crossed the whole time we were being checked in and Jeff's insurance was being entered into the system. I kept waiting for flashing red lights, sirens and a commanding voice to announce that Jeff still does not have insurance. I think those of you on the west coast would have heard my head explode.
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| Jeff getting his echocardiogram |
From registration to the blood lab, through the EKG and Chest X-Ray everything went great. Then we met with Dr. Stewart the Cardiologist. What a nice guy. Very thorough. He spent a ton of time with us and even brought in an intern and used Jeff as a teaching opportunity. The sight of two men with their hands down Jeff's underpants checking for a groin pulse is not something I ever thought I'd see.
After the exam, and once Jeff pulled his pants back up, Dr. Stewart said Jeff is a good candidate for the repair surgery. His blood pressure, while normal-ish in his upper body is 60 systolic points higher in his lower body. I think he called it Hills Sign. He also said Jeff showed positive for Durozier's Sign. Neither one of these signs is horrible, they just point to Jeff having severe Aortic Insufficiency.
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| Jeff rockin the Cleveland Clinic green |
Dr. Stewart said he believes there is a 90% chance that Jeff was born with a bicuspid aortic valve instead of the normal tricuspid. He doesn't know why Jeff had such a sudden onset of symptoms but hopes to have more answers for us after surgery.
About that surgery. When Jeff last talked with his regular cardiologist he was told that if this repair was successful, it would eliminate the need for a replacement valve - TRUE. And that it would be a permanent fix - FALSE. Turns out, repairs last about as long as replacements. The benefits of a repair over the replacement is 1) the proceedure is less invasive, they don't cut down the full length of your sternum, just three inches of it. 2) you do not need to take blood thinners for the rest of your life. And that's really about it.
So we're here, on the other side of the country, and find out that as far as Cleveland Clinic is concerned we'll be coming back every decade or so and doing this all over again. Dr. Steward said there is no way to know how long the repair will last. Could be a month, could be a year, could be 20 years. What he did know is that it wouldn't last forever.
What I know, is that when I get home I am calling Swedish Hospital to find out more about there valve repair program. Oh yeah did I mention that? Jeff was told that no one in Washington does the repair. The Monday before we left, while driving home I heard a Swedish Hospital commercial on the radio advertising their cardio clinic which does valve repair and replacement surgeries. I don't know if they do the exact proceedure that Jeff will have, but I am going to find out.
Cleveland, you're awsome, but I don't want to come out here for the same thing I can get at home.
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