Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! ∞ 1 Chronicles 16:34a New Living Testament.
Who would have thought changing doctors would save me from congestive heart failure and death within a year? But I’m thankful that my new doctor noticed that my heart murmur was kind of loud and referred me to a cardiologist. Imagine my surprise, at age 59, when the cardiologist recommended aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery. As a little person with many joint anomalies, I always anticipated the possibility of orthopedic surgery, but heart surgery never crossed my mind.
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After finding a medical team at Johns Hopkins hospital, I added a prayer team. I prayed as I did before Robert’s hip replacement surgeries. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. ∞ Psalm 20:7 New International Version. I especially prayed for wisdom on whether to implant a mechanical or biologic aortic valve. I picked the mechanical valve which requires blood thinning medication, but lasts the rest of my life; the biologic valve requires no medication, but wears out and could require a reoperation for replacement in about ten years.
On February 19, 2013, I underwent AVR surgery to split open my breastbone, stop my heart, hook it up to a heart-lung machine, replace the damaged aortic valve, and restart my heart. Major surgery! While waiting in the OR queue, I read various Psalms instead of thinking about the surgical risks of bleeding, blood clots, irregular heart rhythm, infection, kidney problems, stroke, or death.
My anesthesiologist talked to me about the limited range of motion in my neck that would make intubation difficult. To avoid cutting off my airway with fatal consequences, she chose to intubate me while I was awake; this gave her accurate feedback on how I was tolerating the intubation tube. My surgeon, also challenged by my airway restriction, was unable to insert a camera to check for life-threatening air bubbles. Instead, he squeezed my heart with his hands to expel any hazardous bubbles.
Thank God I survived the surgery without complications. And the surgeon’s post-surgery concern—that I would forget instructions not to lift more than five pounds for six weeks and would be back in the OR to realign my rib cage—was resolved by Robert, my in-house rehabilitation engineer. Robert accommodated my daily living activities of accessing a chair, toilet, bed, or car without lifting my entire body-weight of 72 pounds.
Fast forward seven years—my electrocardiograms are boring and my echocardiograms are good. This is not to say there are no challenges. Achieving a therapeutic International Normalized Ratio (INR) is an ongoing struggle. Frequent nontherapeutic INR readings show my blood as too thin and susceptible to internal bleeding or too thick and prone to blood clots clogging the aortic valve. As a result, my medication dosage often needs adjusting and careful monitoring of my vitamin K intake is critical. But I thankfully accept lifestyle changes that come with life-saving surgery.
This blog post was first published in LPA Today (Fall 2020). It is a condensed version of a chapter in my book—Pass Me Your Shoes: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith. Go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com for book retail links and subscribe to my weekly blog for automatic delivery of posts to your email inbox.