June 19, 2006 Open Heart Surgery

I can not believe it has been 6 years today that I had my Aortic Valve Replacement!!
Not trying to gross anyone out by posting this video, I find it fascinating and feel blessed just to be alive today!

I was 80% dead when I was medflighted from Coalgate Hospital to http://www.okheart.com/ by OU Medical Center’s Pimped out Helicopter (pictured below), referred to as “The Pimp Copter’ by some.

Then I meet a well prepared life support medical team ready, if I should suddenly fade out, remember I was almost dead. My heart was beating slowly and fighting to hang on. I was so sick all I could do was look out the window and try to enjoy the ride while I was concentrating on breating in through my nose, then slowly exhaling from my mouth. I was choking on the massive amount of fluid that had built up in my body over the course of a few short months. Diagnosed with CHF or Congestive Heart Failure and my with my hearts Ejection Fraction, or EF being at 17%, I was in bad shape.

What’s Your Ejection Fraction (EF)?
Ejection fraction, or EF, is the proportion, fraction, or percentage of blood pumped out of your heart with each beat. A normal heart pumps out a little more than half the heart’s volume of blood with each beat — a normal EF is 55 percent or higher. An echocardiogram, which creates a moving picture of your heart using harmless soundwaves, or a nuclear medicine test that shows how well your heart is pumping can be used to measure your EF.

Understanding Ejection Fraction
During each heartbeat, the heart contracts and relaxes. When your heart contracts, it pushes blood out of the two pumping chambers (ventricles). When your heart relaxes, the ventricles refill with blood. The term “ejection fraction” refers to the percentage of blood that’s pumped out of a filled ventricle with each heartbeat. This percentage helps your healthcare provider determine if you have heart failure or other kinds of heart disease. For more information click –> What is Ejection Fraction

Ejection Fraction Numbers
50-75% — Heart’s pumping ability is Normal
36-49% — Heart’s pumping ability is Below Normal
35% – Below — Heart’s pumping ability is Low

A Low EF
A low EF number is an early sign of heart failure. This is a condition where the heart doesn’t pump enough blood to the rest of the body. With treatment, many people live well with heart failure. So if you have a low EF, it is important that you recognize the signs of heart failure, which may include:

fatigue
shortness of breath
swelling in the feet

A low EF can also cause irregular heartbeat, which can make your heart stop pumping suddenly. Depending on your EF score, your healthcare provider may prescribe medications. But there is a lot you can do to improve how well your heart pumps.

I had all of these symptoms, I was even in a wheelchair for several months beacuse I could not walk, my feet were so swollen it felt like my toes were going to explode from the pressure.

When I get to the Heart Hospital, I am immediately rushed to my pre-surgery room, talking to the nurse and admissions at the same time, completely scared and overwhelmed, and without family to cling on to, I let go and let GOD! What else could I do? I remember the night before my surgery, my daughter was in the room with me, when Dr. Randolph came in to talk to me. He sat on the side of the bed, setting bis hand on my knee, and asked me if I was ready for tomorrow? A simple gesture, that put a huge smile on my face and warmed my heart at the same time. I told him, “As ready I will be.”

Specialty Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

I met the Doctor who would perform the necessary life-sustaining surgery, OMG! Handsome, Endearing, and with a bedside manor that really helped me stay calm during this dark and scary event in my life, Dr. John D Randolph M.D.

I feel great, heart-wise now. It is the other issues that jack me up, that however, is a story for another day!

The Day I Almost Died ~ June 2006 (via Lovetiggi’s Book Reviews)

Check out the pic I just added!

I just realized that with all the joy and happiness of my new-found niche in life, I should share this story with you. This is just part of my memoir.. and a work in progress….. please feel free to comment, I would really appreciate the feedback. The day was June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06! (I was diagnosed with a heart murmur and COPD in 2004.) After feeling so bloated and thirsty for 3 days, I found myself out of breath and struggling to breathe. My … Read More

via Lovetiggi’s Book Reviews

The Day I Almost Died ~ June 2006

I just realized that with all the joy and happiness of my new-found niche in life, I should share this story with you.
This is just part of my memoir.. and a work in progress….. please feel free to comment, I would really appreciate the feedback.

The day was June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06! (I was diagnosed with a heart murmur and COPD in 2004.) After feeling so bloated and thirsty for 3 days, I found myself out of breath and struggling to breathe. My son was at work, my daughter had just left for her friend’s house, I was all alone.

I lived in a small 2 bedroom duplex at the time, while sitting at my desk, in 98° weather, and no air conditioner mind you, I started to feel like I was gonna pass out from pure heat exhaustion. There was no one home next door, no one living in the house across the street either.

Being stuck in a wheelchair because my legs were so swollen I could not walk very far, I found myself completely alone with no one around to help. Desperation and panic soon started to set in, I made my way to the front window looking for someone to help me. No one was around.

I sent up an SOS to my Lord and Savior asking for help, within 15 minutes, my next door neighbor’s son, LJ arrived with a friend. I started screaming and pounding on the window to get his attention, It Worked!
I left a sticky note in yellow highlighter stuck to the monitor in hopes my son would see it.

LJ came running up to the door to see what was the matter, when I asked if his friend would take me to the hospital, he went to ask, running back to me, he replied, “Yes, she will take you, come on.” I asked him if he could get my wheelchair and purse from my room, and he flew across the small living room, making it back to me in a flash, loading me half way into the car, my body couldn’t take the humidity anymore, I couldn’t move at all, it was if my body crashed and I was losing ground in the fight for my life.

Realizing I was losing time, he ran to our friend’s house down the street to call an ambulance, and brought my BFF and his son back with him. Then he ran down the street to get my daughter. At the same time he was headed her way, her friend drove past the commotion, and saw my daughter walking towards the house and told her I was going to the hospital.

When the ambulance arrived, I couldn’t move one of my legs or stand up without help, they convinced me to try again, when I did, they held me so I get up and led me to the gurney. I was refusing the oxygen, because I was scared. Finally Connie the paramedic talked me into it. I was calming down from the oxygen finally able to breathe.

When we got to the hospital, I was admitted promptly, looking at my swollen state, the Dr. ordered an 80 mg lasix drip, I lost 12 pounds of water the first night, 12 pounds the second night and 6 pounds the third. Looking forward to going home, I was feeling a lot better, it was now June 9th.

About 3 hours after I had been unhooked from the IV and other things, I got up to sit on a chair, and my body crashed again. I pushed the button to call the nurse, when the RN saw me, my face had turned gray…. I was dying slowly, they suspected that my aortic valve wasn’t pumping with the pressure it needed to be. They call this pressure Ejection Fraction or EF, normal is above 50%, mine was at 12%…. I was definitely at death’s door. My small town Dr. saved my life that day, he knew I was too far gone for him to save….. so he had me med-flighted 21/2 hours, by car to Oklahoma Heart Hospital.

That was an experience in itself, being in a pimped out helicopter from OU Hospital, I focused on the scenery just to stay awake. I was on oxygen, but with COPD as well, I can’t be on it forever, or it may cause my lungs to stop driving, or shutting themselves down.

Once I got to Oklahoma Heart, they got me in bed and on a medication regimen to keep me alive. Drawing blood daily and running kaboodles of tests, they found the culprit, as suspected, my aortic valve was shutting down rapidly. JD, the cardiac surgeon came in and explained that my odds were 20% living
and 80% dying without the AVR (Aortic Valve Replacement), I looked at my daughter, she was in tears, so I agreed to the surgery, which had to wait for the infections in my legs to go completely away, it was a 10 day process.

The night before the surgery, JD came into my room, with excellent bedside manners, he sat down next to me on the bed asking if I as ready for tomorrow. I said, “As ready as I get.” I already knew the outcome would be up to God, so I just let all the fear go and God take over. The faith of mustard seed can move mountains.