OOPS....Never Say Never!

My last post was HERE!!!

Thoughts of problems were gone. That was just short of 4 years ago.

Today, via a phone call from my primary physician, came the announcement that things are not done....problems are growing, and I have a serious future decision to consider.

My ascending aortic aneurysm....considered, at 1st, to be an exaggeration/mislabeling... Is now serious.

Look back through the archives to find the trail of events which led to the original diagnosis.

Then the revelation that I had less-than an aneurysm.

I was home free. I had annual CTs to determine that all was well. I ignored the fact that the readings were "creeping".....My original was 4.2 to 4.5.....Then over the years I had different readings, but they always got a bit higher.

Today i got a double shock! My new reading, from a CT last Thursday, was 4.9....I knew that was higher. I was advised by my doc to go see my surgeons, just in case.

Then I read online.....Previously, my Thoracic surgeon had said I'll not operate until 6.0. The new consensus....5.5.....Not far from me.

5.9 is the AVERAGE for a bursting of the aneurysm. For my readers who do not know, A bursting of an ascending aneurysm is LETHAL.....Chances of saving.....LOW, even if already on a surgical table!

Now I have choices.....Thoracic (Open chest) or Vascular (scope) repair. Currently the open chest is most prominent. Vascular....much less invasive....is preferred, but in the infancy stages.

Now, my decision....wait til near 5.5 and see if scope surgery advances to good....Or go for the open chest....quite strong impact on whole system.

I guess I'll meet with both surgeons and see what is happening.

Life can quickly boil down to a few measured alternatives.

Scary stuff.

Duke

Return of The PROBLEM!

I began this blog a few years back. Purpose....to chronicle my trip thru physical problems.

I renew it, after long delay as I have a resurrection of the problem.

More to follow.....

Duke

Motivation???

Guess I'll have to place this blog in hiatus.......

My health, after all the questions, tests, scares, etc., is G-O-O-D!

This makes my premise of tracking my journey through sickness and distress, somewhat silly.

I will leave the blog here in the event I suffer some problem....or my Duchess does, in the near future.....

I sincerely hope the blog is not needed.....

Thanks for those who wrote, and supported......

Duke

I Am Blessed! - The News Is Good, But Not For My Brother!

Balances seem to be involved....I am just not sure how!

I had my ultrasound Tuesday.....actually of several areas......

My Aorta is OK.....also my veins behind my knees (did you know that was a spot for aneurysms????), and most-importantly....my carotids......OK all around.

Meanwhile younger Brother Mark had a mild stroke. He is facing drugs, and changes, but the news was not all bad.....his carotids are also fairly good.....

Just as life hands us a lemon, we sometimes get lemonade thru some work on ourselves.

YES, I am still walking 2-3 miles 4-5 days each week.

Duke

The Beat Goes On......& The Testing Too!

Well folks, it ain't over til the fat lady sings, and she has not even signed in yet!

I visited a new doc yesterday.....a Vascular Surgeon, also lined up by my boss. This guy is state-of-the-art in vascular and stents area.

He and his resident (He is with USF) did a quite good work up on me. Then he stated that since I have an aneurysm.....turns out the terminology here is somewhat vague, depending upon which doc you are seeing....he sees a future of watching, but told me if you have a possible aneurysm then 25% chance for same with your siblings, and 5% chance for your kids......

In addition, next Tuesday I undergo ultrasound of my belly area, femorals (where leg meets body), and my carotids.....plus the veins behind my knees.....

Those are the areas prone to aneurysm if you have any such symptoms at all.

The man was quick, thorough, and very, very knowledgeable. I am blessed, as Jerry Speak would pronounce. Blessed with my connections to a major hospital, and blessed with good docs....probably they go hand-in-hand!

My tests are Tuesday.

Duke

I am Changed!

No matter the positive (apparently....we'll know in one year....giggle) outcome of my mind-numbing recent prospects for a very rocky future, I still find I am a changed person.

Oh, no I am not referring to a sudden renewal of my religious positions and actions, but rather a now-apparent-to-me awareness that, at 64 years of age, I am mortal.

I remember well thinking in my 30s and my 40s that life could be short. I then had a goal of making it to the turn of the century. That was when i was 58, and at that point I would be older than my father when he passed. He nearly died at 47, and frankly given the state of medicine then about his coronary artery disease it is amazing he made it to 57.

When 2000 came and went and I was still apparently fine, I somehow made a quantum leap of faith that 75-90 was realistic. My prognostication, albeit it mostly a mental, non-written or spoken thing, was based upon my study of the family tree. Many of my male relatives lived into their late 80s, and even mid-90s....and this when the average lifespan was WAY lower.

The events of the past weeks have sobered my euphoria a bit and made me aware I need to take ownership of my health. Much more than I have been doing.

We shall see if I stick to this.

We shall see what comes next in my movement into a new world of awareness!

Duke

Time tells ALL.....

The fact of my brief postings during my apparent problems with Lungs/Heart/Aorta/etc. are sure symbols of the fact that nothing is cast in concrete in this modern medical technical time....

I am blessed from many viewpoints.....

I am blessed from MY viewpoint!!!

I thank whatever gods that be for the information.....

Duke