The Heart of the Matter

Benjamin, Yours truly, Patricia and Russ (Laura Lee was not here for the family photo)

In 1991 a gentleman named Jack Brown wrote, "Life's Little Instruction Book."  It was originally intended to be a book of instructions for his son who was going to college, but ended up being a best-seller, selling over 10 million copies.  It contains such advice as "Give compliments to 3 people each day."  One of the bits of advice, I recall, said "Get a doctor the same age as you so you can grow old together."  That seemed like good advice, so I did it. 

I'm 57 years old.  I'm not on any medicines, and I only go once a year for my wellness exam.  He is Tricia's doctor as well and he called us both back at the same time and did our exam together.  Doc finished with Tricia's exam and turned to me, checking me over.  He listened to my heart for an unusually long time.  He leaned back on his stool and said, "Kyle, I've been listening to your heart for decades now, and I'm hearing something abnormal.  You have a murmur.  It doesn't sound right"

I told him my Dad had a murmur and eventually had to get a heart valve repair at age 62.  Hmmm, he said.  This kind of thing is inherited or caused by rheumatic fever as a child.  I did have scarlet fever as a young child, but he told me that this was presenting more like a heredity issue.  He sent me to have an echo cardiogram.  The cardiologist read it and called my doctor the very same night.  "Is Kyle having any symptoms?"  Nope.  No shortness of breath or anything.  Maybe a little tired at the end of the day, but who's not tired?  He sent me for additional testing.  A trans-esophageal echo cardiogram, angiogram and other stuff to get all the information the doctors need to made a decision.

The verdict was in.  I have a mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation.  He's saying that 25% of my blood is going back through the valve.  It will require open heart surgery to repair.  There is a chance that it is not repairable, and in that case, I have to make a decision: Mechanical valve which lasts a long, long time, but requires blood thinners for the rest of your life OR Biological valve (pig or cow) which lasts only 10-15 years, but requires no blood thinners.  If it comes to that, I've made up my mind.  Being a farming "animal" person, I'm opting for the pig or cow valve.  Hopefully it won't come to that.  

If successful, imagine having 25% more oxygenated blood going out to my body?  Why, I'll be 25% more energetic, productive!  The fall garden will be stupendous!  Imagine having 25% more oxygenated blood going to my brain?  I won't have any more excuses for doing dumb stuff, I guess.  Everything has an upside and a downside, I presume.

They called me today from the hospital. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7th in Houston at Baylor College of Medicine - St. Luke's.  It will be a robotically-assisted minimally invasive open heart surgery.  They won't crack the sternum, but instead go through the side of my ribcage.  This usually involves a 5 day stay in the hospital and 4-8 week recovery.  I'll likely be 'radio-silent' for a little while from Our Maker's Acres Family Farm blog posts, but I'll be back as soon as I can to continue rambling incoherently as I normally do.  This life is quite an adventure!

I'm not nervous at all.  I don't worry about stuff like this.  Now, if it was my wife or my kids or other family members, that'd be different.  I saw a bumper sticker the other morning that had three words on it.  PRAY.  TRUST.  WAIT.  That's what I'm doing.  I trust Him totally.  I've placed my faith in Jesus Christ and truth be told, I'm a winner either way.  The Apostle Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain."  Phil 1:21  It's in God's Hands and His Will be done.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.