Summer Thus Far.....

Ahhh, the lazy days of summer....

no schedules to keep, sleeping in til your eyes refuse to stay shut, and lounging about until you feel like getting dressed. Well for the most part.

Even though we did not have any great vacation plans for this summer, we have been trying to squeeze in a bit o' fun.We celebrated the 4th of July at the Pisciotta's house with friends, carne asada, swimming, and fireworks. As usual we had a lot of fun.....



Lauren trying to parasail...





Jace shoots.... and he scores!!



We had lunch with a celebrity...

Ronald McDonald

 

Honed our bowling skills...

and thanks to the automatic rails, no one had to hang their head in shame because of a gutter ball

Jace was Rigby, he would want me to rub that in....

Of course there was a trip to the Galleria Mall...

They had some familiar looking mannequins in the window

Of course we had to check out the Hollywood rec center's new swim park

The kids had fun with their cousins and I saved a little girl from drowning.... all in a days work.

The Sunday before girls camp, Jason signed up for fire watch. So we decided to make it a family event. Our family and the Monson's (the other that signed up) went up to camp Stimpson and checked out the rope bridge, played games, chased chipmunks, found Lauren's tent, and made dutch oven chicken and potatoes. Everyone had a fun time!!

On August 3rd we celebrated my grandma's 81st birthday. You would never know she was that old!!

Happy Birthday Ma!!

Jason went to camp Arrowhead for a week in June with the Boy Scouts in our ward. Lauren went to girls camp at Camp Stimpson. Not to mention having friends over practically everyday and swimming whenever you want. So even though we did not get out of town we have still had some fun!!

My Heart Will Go On......(and on)

I abhor making decisions...

so of course I would have to make a major decision concerning the future of my heart and its desperately important job of pumping blood...

and not just two options, but four, for my mind to mull over.

Deciding on a replacement for your aorta valve is no simple task.

The first option: The Mechanical Valve

which would change my status to-

Half man/half machine, a cyborg if you will...

I could live with that.

A mechanical valve provides great durability, lasting 20 to 30+ years, I would be a grandma by the time I had to get it replaced. But like all superheroes, it has a weakness. It needs Coumadin (blood thinners) forever. That means monthly monitoring and increased risk of internal bleeding etc..

The second option: A Pig Valve; also known as a porcine valve and a bioprosthetic heart valve.
which would change my status to-

let's just face it..... Miss Piggy
would I still be comfortable eating a ham sandwich or would I then be considered a cannibal? If someone calls me a "ham" is it because I'm showing off in the spotlight or because they know I'm part pig? Would I begin to snort when I laugh? If someone says "Hey Babe" is it because they think I look hot or are they referencing the movie?


the best part about the pig valve is that there is no need for blood thinners, you can go about your life with no worries that your brain may be bleeding after you hit your head opening the cupboard. There is, however, a dirty side to the pig valve. They lack longevity, and only average 8 to 15 years of pumping your blood, at which point you are heading back to the operating room for another valve replacement surgery.

The third option: Human Homograft
which would change my status to-

Bipolar/ Split Personality
Would I develop new characteristics, tastes, or loves. Who knows.

The homograft is a valve removed from a donated human heart, preserved, antibiotic-treated, and frozen under sterile conditions. The good part is that they are well tolerated and require no blood thinners. But like the fatal flaw of being human, they do not last forever. Their shelf life is like that of the pig valve; about 15 years, especially in younger patients, which as far as open heart surgery goes, I consider myself to be.

The fourth option: Ross Procedure
which would change my status to

Mixed up and confused
switching important heart parts around just sounds confusing. Who would want to end up with two distraught valves when they were only born with one. Crazy talk. My heart won't know whether it is coming or going.

Step 1: Measurement of the aortic and pulmonic valves

Step 2: The aorta and pulmonary artery are opened and the aortic and pulmonary valves are carefully inspected to determine if the Ross is an appropriate procedure.

Step 3: The diseased aortic valve is removed. Then, the pulmonary valve (autograft) is removed and placed in the aortic position.

Step 4: The autograft in sutured in place and the coronary arteries are re-attached.

Step 5: A pulmonary homograft is attached to the right ventricle outflow tract.

Step 6: The aorta is attached to the autograft and the pulmonary artery is attached to the homograft - the procedure is complete.

The Ross procedure is usually performed on patients younger than ages 40 to 50 who want to avoid taking long-term anticoagulant medications after surgery. During this procedure, the patient's own pulmonary valve is removed and used to replace the diseased aortic valve. The pulmonary valve is then replaced with a pulmonary homograft.
The downside it that it is a longer and more intricate surgery that requires an enormously skilled physician and you are technically replacing two valves instead of one. Overall, 85% to 90% freedom from reoperation at 10 years. Approximately 75% to 80% freedom from reoperation at 20 years.The pulmonary autograft valve has a good chance of being a life-lasting solution for the aortic valve.

THE FINAL DECISION:

So which would you choose? Every choice has its pros and cons with no choice being the "perfect" choice. In the end I decided to go with the choice that my two highly skilled cardiologists recommended for me:
The Ross Procedure
I will be flying to Tucson, AZ for the surgery which will be performed by Dr. Michael Teodori on August 10th. I know it will all turn out great because there are a lot of things I still need to do like:

-hearing George Gray say, "Chandra Robb, come on down, you are the next contestant on The Price is Right!"
-Feeling dwarfed in the shadow of a Redwood tree
-Getting my picture taken in front of The Salford Lads Club in England
...just to name a few. Recovery won't be easy but lots of people have done it and so can I.