My Brokendown Heart

Oooh.... this is all a bit exciting and daunting.... my very first blog!!! (please forgive me if I am hopelessly out of my depth and have no idea what I'm doing).

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress over the next few months, as I face my first pulmonary valve replacement (PVR)   With family and friends scattered across the globe, and ever diminishing energy levels, I figured what better way to keep everyone in the loop! And who knows.... maybe someone else who is going through the same thing (or knows someone who is) might find something useful as well.

For those of you who have heard it all before, please feel free to snooze now...... 

For the uninitiated, I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot; a simple explanation can be found here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/tof/tof_what.html  Over the years my pulmonary valve has gradually worn out and is now leaking quite severely, which is why it needs to be replaced. It has been 30 years since my last open-heart surgery, so the whole process is quite scary - although I am now at the stage where I am looking forward to getting it done and getting my life back on track.

Since finding out I would need a PVR (2003), my general health and fitness has declined to a point where I now struggle with most day-to-day tasks. The simplest things tend to leave me short of breath, standing up often triggers dizzy spells and I am having thousands of arrhythmic episodes each day which also add to my shortness of breath (SOB), dizziness, fatigue, and chest pains, making life difficult in general (and let's not forget the fluid retention! Ugh!!).

Fortunately there is a good chance that a new pulmonary valve will alleviate many of these symptoms and once again I will have the energy to go out with friends (woo-hoo!), get back in shape, and even return to work (something I have missed terribly - sad, but true!).

In the meantime, I will be tracking my progress here....  I can keep you all enthralled with how I am feeling as I travel through the highs and lows of this process, and updated on the latest news from my medical team (and how I will continue to stalk my surgeon until he gives me a date!!!!!!). Hopefully noone will be bored to death in the process..!

Oh, and I also hope to find my way through this whole blogging process and make it a whole less painful for all of us!! Please bear with me  : )

Cheers for now,

Anna  : )