David and I went to visit the cardio-thoracic surgeon at Penn this morning. We got a great education about my particular valve defect, and the condition of my heart, aorta, and valve. My heart, even with it's defective bicuspid aortic valve, is working normally and is healthy. The surgeon (whose specialty is aortas and aortic valve disease) says it medically an aneurysm, but not yet by medical definition ready for surgery until it has grown another half centimeter. Sounds like a small amount, but that could take some time. Apparently for most folks it will grow at a rate of .1 cm per year, but for people who have an aortic valve defect like mine - a bicuspid aortic valve - growth can progress more slowly. It will need to be surgically corrected in my lifetime, but not this year and maybe not for a few years. If it were done right now it would be open heart surgery on a heart and lung machine - a pretty risky surgery, or as the surgeon put it "the big one". The hope is that when the time comes, medical advances will make surgery much safer and less invasive, and given the quick rate of innovations in medicine these days, it seems like a really good plan to wait a bit. At this point they will do another CT and echo in May, and if there is no movement they will do them yearly. There are no major restrictions other than lifting heavy, I can ski, bike, do cardio on the machines, and drink a big glass of red wine every day. I need to monitor my blood pressure closely and keep it at a normal level. Honestly, I feel as though I've gotten my life back! You can bet that from now on I will be taking out trip insurance, though! Life is just way to fickle. And by the way, the surgeon and his CRNP, a part of the Adult Congenital Heart Defect Program at the University of Pennsylvania, met with us for over an hour, answering every question we had and even some we hadn't thought of.
I am giddy, and grateful, and am glad that I decided to dial back at work this year and to retire next year. I am looking forward to doing active and fun things, and also to reading more books, cooking more meals, watching more birds, and of course, sitting on the bench near the pond and watching the fishies swimming round. I wish my children would get checked out. (ARE YOU LISTENING, CHILDREN?)
