Becoming Bionic

Becoming Bionic

On January 29, 2015, the alarm woke Dean and I up at 6 AM sharp in order to begin the preparations for my 8 AM procedure to fix the 3 holes in the wall of my atrial septum; 2 ASDs and a PFO that had been there since birth.  The early morning preparation and emotions felt very similar to those I commonly feel on race morning.  There was much anxiety, excitement, and anticipation in the air. Dean and I even dressed for the day in our team shirts.  We chose these particular shirts, because growing up in a Finnish family with a mother who is 100% Finnish, I had heard this spoken about often. Dean and I recognized and brought this part of my heritage back into the forefront of our lives, as we started CrossFit last fall.  These are actually Rogue t-shirts.

According to Wikepedia: Sisu is a Finnish word generally meaning stoic determination, bravery, resilience,^[1][2] perseverance and hardiness,^[3][4] supposedly expressing a peculiarily Finnish national character.

At 6:30 that morning, I checked in at the front desk of the University of Denver Hospital. Shortly after, I was taken back to a room. I was given a hospital gown in which to change.  I was bummed to have to trade my team shirt for the drabby gown, but what can you do?  

After that, several nurses entered the room.  One began asking me questions as the other nurse started an IV in each arm.  Then, 2 anesthesiologists explained to me what they would be doing to put me to sleep.  I was not entirely prepared for this portion of the journey.  I knew I was going to be put to sleep, but I had yet to realize that this was the scary part upon waking.  

After I got the 411 on anesthesia, I was visited by the main cardiologist's assistant.  It turns out he had just moved to Denver from Minnesota where he was working at the Mayo Clinic.  For some reason, the connection to Minnesota helped to put me at ease. Not sure why, since he was actually Ethiopian, but he seemed like a great guy!  Of course, once he left the room, Dean had to comment that he was probably a good runner, since he was small and from Ethiopia.  He did kind of look like a runner.....

Sorry for the random thought...... after at least 3 trips to the restroom, apparently I get nervous bladder before surgery just like I do for athletic competitions.... the Dr. from the cath lab finally came.  I my goodbyes and I love yous to Dean and was wheeled away.

Once, I was in the cath lab,  I met the main anesthesiologist.  The only thing I remember about this portion was talking about my new mountain bike with 2 of the anesthesiologists.  Apparently, one of them has a daughter who just bought a new tri bike.  However, before I was able to ask about the bike, I was asleep. Some nights, I wish I could fall asleep that quickly.

Upon awakening, I felt horrible.  I had no idea how awful it can feel to come out of anesthesia.  It was not a fun experience.  Luckily, it did not make me vomit, because my throat was extremely raw.

I vaguely remember the cardiologist's sweet nurse coming to visit me as well as a few other medical people to poke and prod.  Dean had already been briefed by Dr. Carroll and learned that all went well with the procedure.  

The procedure had taken roughly 3 hours to complete.  I now have a 30 mm Gore Helix Occluder and a smaller Amplatzer Occluder housed in the wall of my septum.  A 30 mm Gore Helix device was used to repair my 1 inch PFO and a 3-4 mm ASD.  An Amplatzer device is now filling the space of a second 3-4 mm ASD.   In all, I had 3 holes patched.  

Gore Helix Occluder being placed over holes in the septal wall.

These devices were inserted into place via a transcatheter procedure through my femoral vein. The cardiologists monitored the procedure via cameras in my esophagus. 

After the procedure was complete, I had to lay in bed flat on my back for 3 hours.  This was to allow the blood to clot in my femoral vein.  This part was not real pleasant either.  I am not a back sleeper.  I was so excited when these 3 hours where over!

I was able to leave the hospital the following day around 11:30 AM after having a magnesium IV, 4 huge potassium supplements (they had found these levels were low in my labs done that morning), and a (transthoracic echocardiogram) TTE.  This showed that the holes where repaired correctly. Thank goodness!  There were almost no bubbles crossing the wall at rest and very few when performing the valsalva maneuver.  (For notes on what a bubble test involves see Faith Under Stress post.)  The doctor said the holes are 90-95% repaired and within 6-12 months, tissue will grow over them and the will be 100% repaired.  This TTE will be repeated at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year.

The procedure to close these holes was approximately 5 days ago. Since then, I have had many ups and downs physically and emotionally.  The scariest part for me is that my RHR (resting heart rate) has been 80-90 bpm.  This is 30 or more beats above my normal RHR.  I have also had periods of time where my PVCs (palpitations: skipping heart beats) has been up to 7 in a minute. This makes me feel incredibly nauseous. 

I went in for an EKG and labs yesterday afternoon.  Things look good, so far.  My throat is 95% better and my groin area is only slightly tender.  I still need to take it easy for a little bit longer, but Dr. Carroll did say that I am allowed to begin light exercise 1-2 weeks following the procedure and competition like training after 1 month if all is going well.  I am looking forward to this process very much.  

Yesterday, and today, I enjoyed the beautiful weather and went for light walks.  Yesterday, my walk was 15 min HR was mostly in the 105-120 range.... Today, I was able to get in two walks 20 min and 15 min.  Heart rate was similar.  Seems weird to have such a high heart rate while walking.  I am hoping that things will calm down soon.  As I sit here typing my RHR is 75-85.  If I can continue to make progress like this in the days to come, I will be thrilled!

A card I received from a friend in MN.  Thanks Matt.  You always did believe in me.

I am pretty excited to test out my new bionic heart (slowly, I promise). It just sounds pretty darn cool to say.  Girl of Steel, otherwise know as Supergirl; I am looking forward to feeling more like this version of myself. Thanks again for reading and continuing to be with me on this journey.  I am excited to author future posts continuing to update progress.  Til next time!