Ice, Snow, & Piece in my Heart

The intense concentration put me over the edge... edge of my driveway that is. Maneuvering my normal turn-around to back my van into its "spot" was s-l-i-d-e this way, turn, s-l-i-d-e that way, aim, s-l-i-d-e into place......whew, now just b-r-e-a-t-h-e. Alas, I fell into bed, dizzy from the oncoming snow that aimed at my windshield during the last leg of my trip. It definitely feels like winter.


Dec 1 marked the scheduled visit to Dr. Gradus-Pizlo at the Krannert Heart Institute in Indianapolis. Mom and I made the trip both ways in the same day.... which turned into 8 hours of driving when US 31 turned to ice. Ugh! I'm glad I don't do that everyday!

Tests:

Blood pressure was about 99 over 54 (I think)....low is normal for me. After hundreds of readings over the course of my life, I should know more about this, but alas, I leave that to my husband to explain each time. Bottom line, it was nearly the same as my last visit, which was "BC" or Before Closure of my ASD (a hole in the atrium of the heart). No alarm, but interesting.


Weight is up 4 pounds. Did you really think I was going to tell you what it is? :) If you promise not to be jealous, I'll only say that it was a welcome 4 pounds on my part. Not something I usually acquire even after an amazing Thanksgiving.


EKG read normal. This is the test where they put multiple stickers usually all around your chest. Individual wires are clipped (think micro jumper cables) to each sticker which are hooked to a machine that translates my blood flow to a graph paper printout. It's painless and takes 3 minutes including the stickering and clipping .... which was 10 stickies this time.


Stethescope made Dr. Pizlo comment again that my chest is like glass, meaning she could hear my heart VERY WELL. She and others had said that before, which goes to show how completely amazed they were last April when they found that something was wrong. She said my heart sounded great and expected the echo-gram to confirm the same.


Echo-cardiogram went great. 4 more stickies brings my count up to a whopping 66!! 3M is making a killing! The EKG tech said she goes through 400 per day!! Shnikies! Anyway, this being my 6th echo this year, I was please the technician was willing to explain things and answer my questions. Remember last spring when they found that the ASD had caused the enlarged, overworked right ventricle of my heart to be almost 4 times larger than the left side? Well, yesterday's sonogram showed that they are now the same size. GREAT NEWS! This means that the left side has expanded to take up it's rightful job & the right side (which has less work now) has shrunk enough to stop hogging all the space. Most importantly, there was no blood flow through the repaired ASD.


Dr. Pizlo has requested another follow up in the next couple years, but ultimately says that all looks great. She encouraged me that though I haven't seen a real change in my energy levels, this was a great investment in the long-term effectiveness of my heart. Her "bedside" manner & personal concern for me went beyond her role as my heart doctor. While sitting there with her, I was again reminded that I had called her an angel after visiting her last April. Blessings to all the doctors that look beyond the "problem" to the actually person they are helping.


Ultimately, I know true Peace came into my heart when I was 15 and asked Jesus to live there. This trip was to ensure peace about the new piece in my heart.

Peace out to the piece in, Dude!