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Saturday, June 01, 2013

Heart...Surgery?

On June 6th, I'm having heart surgery. It is a strange thought, and not at all comfortable. Heart surgery. Wow. 

Now, before anyone worries, or warms up their best pep talk, everything will be fine. What we expect is happening (AVnRT) is the most common, and most easily remedied, of the tachycardia(s? ae?). I was going to link an explanation, but none of them are as easy to understand as the one I've come up with. It means this:

I have an extra electrical pathway in the right upper chamber of my heart. Normally, the electricity would flow from the right upper chamber to the right lower chamber, causing my heart to pump correctly. However, if we are correct and it is AVnRT, sometimes the electricity runs down the pathway and gets snagged by this other, spare, connected pathway, and it sends it back up into the right upper chamber instead of allowing the electricity to flow through the right lower chamber. 

Which is all kinds of clinical and removed and not at all how I'm feeling about it. So, I'm trying not to think about it. Much anyway. Because, yes, I am scared. And, I'm okay. Both/And, you know?

My friend, Starbuck, even sent me googly eyes and stickers for the equipment that lives on my hip at all times. As I told her, if I have to live with this for the next 18 months, it might as well be a friend. So, she helped make that happen.


The first attempt at the case, but the stickers came off

Successful googly eyes on the case

And the activator itself, for when I have to take it out and use it

I'm ready for this. Lithus is going to be by my side every step of the way. My doctor is brilliant and I feel safe in his care. It's all good.


Still, every now and then, it hits me: I am going to have heart surgery. Yeah. It's a little weird.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

4 comments:

MikeC said...

My dad had surgery for something similar, but not quite that. The great thing is that such surgeries today are so much more minimally invasive than they once were. At least you (think you) know what's going on and it's easily correctable. All good things!

Ian Lidster said...

You will, dear friend, assuredly be in my thoughts on the 6th and I'll be in touch before then.

Anonymous said...

best of luck!

BostonPobble said...

Mike C ~ It is an amazing time, medically. We are positive and upbeat and excited out here.

Ian ~ Thank you, for all of that.

So and So ~ Thank you!