Hello Legions of Fans!
All six of you!
Tomorrow I will be incommunicado as I am going in for another medical procedure. It seems my superior pulmonary vein stenosis has kicked back in with a vengeance, and I am down to a one millimeter opening into my left lung. The lower vein is completely occluded, so this puts me at something like five percent blood flow into el pulmón izquierdo. Which makes me very, very tired, very, very quickly. Not to mention the fact that if left untreated I will have a redux of my February 2009 Northern New Jersey Hospital Tour.
So after much discussion, I’m going to have a stent put in. My original doctors wanted to re-balloon the vein open again, but after some second-opinion advice we realized this would be relatively futile as the darn thing will probably close up again, buying me only a couple of months.
Why is it closing up in the first place? Simple. It’s scar tissue formed too close to the pulmonary veins during my ablation procedure to cure my atrial fibrillation. Can it be stopped? No. It’s the body simply trying to heal itself, not realizing that it is actually hurting itself. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. If you got a cut on your arm, could you will the scar tissue not to form? Could you change your diet or exercise or think positive affirmations so the scar tissue won’t form? See what I mean?
I’m going to one of the top hospitals on the east coast that deals with problems like these, with a new set of doctors. We met with them last week and came away confident and upbeat. Personally, I’m a little nervous about the procedure tomorrow. Twenty days in three different hospitals will do that to ya. I don’t relish the fact of resuming my old role as the Human Pin Cushion, but I had some bloodwork done this morning that was painless. And I also hate the fact that I’ll be out completely for the procedure. You know, those fears about not waking up …
But my faith is strong and I believe this will have a positive outcome. I’m looking forward to the future with relish. Been doing a lot of soul searching – time in deep thought in front of the computer, distraction-free (as much as a hopper can be distraction-free), coming up with a whole series of goals and action plans and this and that to get motivated and out of this Limbo I seemed to have fallen into sometime in February.
Anyway, the procedure is set for tomorrow though the hospital hasn’t called yet with a scheduled time. I’m thinking it’ll probably be around 11 am or so. I’ll be out for a couple of hours in this minimally invasive procedure, so I would expect to be conscious again around 5 pm. They want me to stay overnight for observation, but barring any unforeseen complications, I should be home by Thursday afternoon.
Wish me luck, and keep me in your prayers!
All six of you!
Tomorrow I will be incommunicado as I am going in for another medical procedure. It seems my superior pulmonary vein stenosis has kicked back in with a vengeance, and I am down to a one millimeter opening into my left lung. The lower vein is completely occluded, so this puts me at something like five percent blood flow into el pulmón izquierdo. Which makes me very, very tired, very, very quickly. Not to mention the fact that if left untreated I will have a redux of my February 2009 Northern New Jersey Hospital Tour.
So after much discussion, I’m going to have a stent put in. My original doctors wanted to re-balloon the vein open again, but after some second-opinion advice we realized this would be relatively futile as the darn thing will probably close up again, buying me only a couple of months.
Why is it closing up in the first place? Simple. It’s scar tissue formed too close to the pulmonary veins during my ablation procedure to cure my atrial fibrillation. Can it be stopped? No. It’s the body simply trying to heal itself, not realizing that it is actually hurting itself. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. If you got a cut on your arm, could you will the scar tissue not to form? Could you change your diet or exercise or think positive affirmations so the scar tissue won’t form? See what I mean?
I’m going to one of the top hospitals on the east coast that deals with problems like these, with a new set of doctors. We met with them last week and came away confident and upbeat. Personally, I’m a little nervous about the procedure tomorrow. Twenty days in three different hospitals will do that to ya. I don’t relish the fact of resuming my old role as the Human Pin Cushion, but I had some bloodwork done this morning that was painless. And I also hate the fact that I’ll be out completely for the procedure. You know, those fears about not waking up …
But my faith is strong and I believe this will have a positive outcome. I’m looking forward to the future with relish. Been doing a lot of soul searching – time in deep thought in front of the computer, distraction-free (as much as a hopper can be distraction-free), coming up with a whole series of goals and action plans and this and that to get motivated and out of this Limbo I seemed to have fallen into sometime in February.
Anyway, the procedure is set for tomorrow though the hospital hasn’t called yet with a scheduled time. I’m thinking it’ll probably be around 11 am or so. I’ll be out for a couple of hours in this minimally invasive procedure, so I would expect to be conscious again around 5 pm. They want me to stay overnight for observation, but barring any unforeseen complications, I should be home by Thursday afternoon.
Wish me luck, and keep me in your prayers!
Your struggling Catholic, ex-musician music lover, science fiction buff, aimless yet impassioned writer, amateur armchair philosopher and aficionado of the weird,
LE
It's good to see in writing the specifics of what is going on. You'll be in my thoughts and in in "my" prayers. Love you. ARo
ReplyDeletei think you had an inspiration in this one. You should get hospital tour t-shirts made up with dates and "appearances". We'll call it the Pulminary Stenosis tour.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, you are in our thoughts and prayers always, but especially tomorrow. I know I dont have to tell you this, but keep the faith. I know it is extremely difficult to go through what you have gone through recently, but I admire how you have handled it with such dignity and grace. Much like someone else I knew.
Uncle, Aunt and cousins
You are always in my heart, mind and prayers but especially now...the past 3 years have been trying but it has only strengthened your faith and in turn, you kept us strong! Love always, MWA
ReplyDeleteHey LE glad to see the optimism flowing, as that always makes recovery so much easier. You have a great doc & hospital on your side as well. And fyi, when things like this happen I start getting silly just hoping to make everyone else feel a bit better. That's the only way I know how to react to situations of this "nag"nitude...oops there she goes(even though it is a nagging pain in the arss)! Spell check says "magnitude" and you do know that I ALWAYS spell check when communicating w/LE. LOL. Seriously, though, you are absolutely in the Oatmeals thoughts & prayers & not just for tomorrow but everyday. Luv ya!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi LE,
ReplyDeleteWe are thinking of you and praying for you that this new procedure will be a turning point in your well-being, both physically and mentally! Can't wait to get the phone call tomorrow to hear what a great success the procedure was and how optimistic the doctors are for your full recovery! Love always, L,J,J,L and T :)