This past December was a bit stressful. I found out in late November that I have a stenosis in my aortic valve. A stenosis is a thickening in the valve that will eventually stop the flow of blood.
So right before Christmas I had a scoped echo cardiogram (a sedated procedure where a scope is passed down the throat to look closely at the heart). The scope showed that I have a bicuspid aortic valve—this means that instead of three leaflets that open and close, I only have two. This is a congenital heart defect that effects about 1-2% of the population. The good news is that the leaflets are opening and closing well, and it appears that the stenosis is not as severe as the original echo indicated. So while open heart surgery still looms in my future, it could be a decade or more away (I hope!). Plus, they are now developing the technology to grow your own replacement valve, so by the time I get there I should have some good options.
I was so focused on the heart stuff that I didn't really process what getting my wisdom tooth out the next day would entail. Luckily I only had one, on the lower right. The surgeon had me unconscious and the tooth out pretty easily. The next thing I new, Phil was standing over me as I was waking up. Unluckily, I developed quite the infection. My face was swollen on the right and hot to the touch. I doubled up on the Percoset and it just managed to kick the pain down. So, Phil insisted on taking me to the ER. It is pretty handy living with an ER nurse, plus the hospital is so small that going to the ER is not stressful, there are no long waits, and we know everyone there. I ended up on a ten day course of antibiotics, which took me from Christmas right through New Year. I am glad to report now that all is well.
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