Rod Serling couldn’t have said it better himself.

 

“Who knew that answering one phone call could open up a whole new dimension? Valerie Archual knew, and that’s when she entered… The Twilight Zone.”

 

The call was another cardiologist’s office scheduling what was called a “TEE” or transesophageal echocardiogram. Like the regular echocardiogram, it’s still an ultrasound, only they stick this long tube that contains the ultrasound wand down your throat and into your esophagus to get a closer picture of your heart.

Yep, it’s about as much fun as it sounds.

They do, however, give you a “twilight medication” to “relax you…”

(Yea, well if you’re sticking that thing down my throat I would like to get something a little better than the “twilight treatment!” I want a “lights out, dead- of- night black” kinda stuff!)

I was assured “I wouldn’t remember a thing….”

Thanks. That’s very comforting.

Now send in the aliens!

 

I’ve had other outpatient procedures where they knocked me out, or ‘relaxed’ me, so to speak.   I can handle this, this in fact, is the way I would prefer it. Dosing off, waking up feeling a little groggy, and sleeping the remainder of the day away until all was back to normal the next morning.

This was nothing like that. I remember talking to the doctor (no dosing off, no groggy waking up) and then in a flash, I was awake, wide awake, like speed/red bull awake!  And stayed that way all day long! I don’t even remember beginning to enter the twilight zone!

After the procedure, I was asked if I was ‘a drinker?’

Other than the occasional small glass of wine that usually ends up going straight to my head, well, uh, no?

Apparently, I could ‘hold my own’?  Why did I feel like I was all of a sudden at some company holiday party- gone- bad? Obviously, it took more medication than anticipated to bring me to the stage of desired “twilighted-ness”. Not too reassuring when surgery is in my future.

For the record, I DIDN’T remember anything. That was good. But given the choice, I would be requesting the ‘old school cocktails’ from now on, instead of this new, revised red bull version.

Proceeding the most memorable TEE procedure, I was back to see my doc. Evidence showed the same thing: The leak was there and was still teetering on the severe side.

 The puzzling part was that I didn’t have, or at least I didn’t feel like I had, any of the symptoms of a severe leaking heart valve.

Prior to my summer appointment, I had begun to notice some of the “palpitations” that I had been asked over the years if I had felt. The way I understood it though, the heart palpitations were almost expected, so when they did show up, I chalked it off as a normality, not really a ‘symptom’.

Another possible symptom was the ‘shortness of breath’ thing. To me, that was like huffing and puffing, right? Like when you’re climbing stairs, or doing your normal activity, and you’re like gasping for air? I could run three plus miles at once, that was the only time I huffed and puffed, but didn’t everyone at that point?

True, I FELT like I had no symptoms, but what if I really DID?

(Twilight Zone music chimes in).

What if I HAD symptoms and had gotten so used to them they felt normal to me?

What if, in fact, my heart WAS FAILING and I was DYING and I didn’t even KNOW IT?!

Come to think of it, over the last few weeks I had felt my heart racing and I had experienced several dizzy spells- you know, ever since I had been told I needed HEART SURGERY?!

After talking with my doctor, we learned that there is a thin line of WHEN, they say, the best time to repair/replace a bad valve is. While my doc explained that she didn’t want me to have to go through open heart surgery until it was absolutely necessary, she also didn’t want to wait until major symptoms became a problem- usually at that point your heart was working even harder, was starting to enlarge, and irreversible damage could have already occurred.

 

So when?

 

Within a year.

That was her story (from the very beginning), and my doc was sticking to it.

 

She wanted to consult with yet another area cardiologist who was more up to date on newer procedures to repair valves, verses replacing them.

When a heart valve needs replacing there are two options: one being a mechanical valve, the other, a tissue valve.

A mechanical valve can sometimes last a lifetime but the patient is prescribed to take an anticoagulant, or blood thinning medication, for the remainder of their life.

A tissue valve, which constitutes as either being a cow, pig, or human valve, does not require blood thinning medication, but only lasts between 10-20 years, requiring another surgery or two.

There are other pros and cons to both, but either way it is a big decision, so making every attempt to preserve the native valve whenever possible is very important.

 

From the looks of things, this was gonna be a ‘for sure deal’, and this wasn’t getting your tonsils out, it was heart surgery for crying out loud!

I decided to take matters into my own hands. Do a little research myself.

I ended up where we all go when we seek answers beyond the perimeters of our own brains.

I turned to, non-other-than, the trusty knowledge of,

-you guessed it- Google.

Yea, yea, I know! It’s a bad thing! But you’ve done it! We’ve all done it, contrary to what our doctors have told us. Naturally, I was flooded with ALL KINDS of new information.

While in the midst of my ‘research’ the appointment with cardiologist number three was scheduled.

This appointment contained three different phases and personnel. He had a nurse who did your blood pressure, EKG, listen to your heart, thing. He had an assistant that came in to discuss the previous echoes and reports that had been sent in. Then, of course, the doc himself appeared. It was agreed upon by all that the leak needed attention and the ASD (the hole) might would need a ‘patch’ too (like a good ol’ pair of jeans!)

There would be a couple more tests that needed to be done to get a better look at the structure of valve and it’s pumping capacity to determine the proper fix. While discussing the surgery, a mention of the tricuspid valve was added and that it might as well be repaired while they “were in there.”

I must have introduced a look to the doctor as if I were an elementary school teacher who had just been whoopee-cushioned by a third grader.

Apparently, there was a small leak there too! Well, at least I’ll get my money’s worth?!

Throw in a boob job and you’ve got yourself a deal!!! (Not really, but… if it’s doable…)

 

In the meantime, Google and I became the best of friends.

“Is it possible for breast augmentation to be performed during open heart surgery?”

Through all the helpfulness and nonsense of the cyberworld, there was one reoccurring image that continued to pop up, and that was the Cleveland Clinic.