Despite the ugly weekend, yesterday (Valentine's Day) we managed a little love fest at our house. I didn't do any of the things I had in mind (cute little goodie boxes waiting by the kids' beds in the morning, present and card for Brandon, fun little candlelight dinner for the whole family, blah blah, blah) but it was a wonderful day nonetheless. The kids had a blast finishing up their Valentine's on Sunday night, and when they came home from school on Monday it was like Halloween all over again as they emptied their bags of Valentine's and goodies all over the floor. That night it was SO NICE to have a neighbor bring over heart shaped pizza and homemade chocolate covered strawberries for our dinner! The emails, Facebook messages, and blog comments have seriously made me feel SO LOVED, and then the local church members are falling all over themselves to bring in dinners, babysit Rachael during the school day, drive my kids to and fro, and just sit and visit with me--it's been overwhelming in a really good way.
And even though I hadn't washed my hair in three days and was sacked out on the couch in my pj's, we pulled out our love note covered hearts that we made last Sunday, Elizabeth stuffed them all into our little Valentine mailbox, then pulled them out one by one and "delivered" them as everybody listened to all the "I love you because's." There were some really good ones. Brandon's were the best in my opinion. Everyone got three from everybody else, and one of the ones he wrote for Rachael was, "I love you because you have a sweet, squishy rumpy." She does.
So the medical update is as follows: went to a cardiologist today, he said there is no connection between the tachycardia (sudden rapid heart rate) and the PFO (hole in the heart which 20-25% of the population has with hardly any symptoms, and if there are it's usually migraines or stroke) but the red flag to him (that they just breezed over in the hospital) was my low potassium levels, so we took some more blood and he's going to have the potassium looked at again and if it's still low he thinks I should see an endocrinologist and have my adrenal glands looked at. Hmmm. I'm at the mercy of the opinion of the specialists!
At the same time, Brandon's partner talked to a cardiologist friend (the non-invasive kind) and he said the PFO closures are "over done" and he and his colleagues are seeing a lot of people after they have the procedure done for their complications. Lovely. So we aren't anxious to hurry and schedule a PFO closure, but are also not sure where to go from here. I'm feeling weak and woozy, often light headed with other funny feelings, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were self-induced because I'm feeling so freaked out by everything and am becoming hyper-sensitive to every little feeling in my body. I'm trying to move as little as possible so as to not upset some sort of balance or trigger another unwarranted attack. I'm paranoid! Panicked! Going slightly mad!
But I've had so many good neighbor women coming to visit me, bring me little goodies, grocery shop for me, and my best friend from college has spent the last two days with me, and that alone has done wonders. We get talking about all kinds of stuff, start laughing, and I forget that I'm supposed to be worried that I might drop dead any second! (I told you I'm melodramatic . . .) She took me to my appointment today and as I was getting my blood drawn we were joking with the young tech about how once you have a baby, nothing hurts anymore. Then I just had to start in on how she has a 14-year-old and I have a 13-year-old, but you'd never know it because we look so young, right? RIGHT? That's the beauty of old friends. When you're with them you can remember and almost feel like you're 20 again. Even though that was almost TWO DECADES AGO!! When did I become a middle aged mom going from heart doctor to heart doctor? SERIOUSLY! What is going on here??
And apparently I need to apologize for not posting any pictures. Perdoname.
At the same time, Brandon's partner talked to a cardiologist friend (the non-invasive kind) and he said the PFO closures are "over done" and he and his colleagues are seeing a lot of people after they have the procedure done for their complications. Lovely. So we aren't anxious to hurry and schedule a PFO closure, but are also not sure where to go from here. I'm feeling weak and woozy, often light headed with other funny feelings, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were self-induced because I'm feeling so freaked out by everything and am becoming hyper-sensitive to every little feeling in my body. I'm trying to move as little as possible so as to not upset some sort of balance or trigger another unwarranted attack. I'm paranoid! Panicked! Going slightly mad!
But I've had so many good neighbor women coming to visit me, bring me little goodies, grocery shop for me, and my best friend from college has spent the last two days with me, and that alone has done wonders. We get talking about all kinds of stuff, start laughing, and I forget that I'm supposed to be worried that I might drop dead any second! (I told you I'm melodramatic . . .) She took me to my appointment today and as I was getting my blood drawn we were joking with the young tech about how once you have a baby, nothing hurts anymore. Then I just had to start in on how she has a 14-year-old and I have a 13-year-old, but you'd never know it because we look so young, right? RIGHT? That's the beauty of old friends. When you're with them you can remember and almost feel like you're 20 again. Even though that was almost TWO DECADES AGO!! When did I become a middle aged mom going from heart doctor to heart doctor? SERIOUSLY! What is going on here??
And apparently I need to apologize for not posting any pictures. Perdoname.
I am just a random reader that came across your blog via the Power of Moms. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with a PFO. She saw a well-known doctor who highly recommended the surgery but based on her own research she wasn't convinced it was the best option. She prayed about it and went to the temple and ultimately decided to have it done. It turns out that when the doctor went in he found that she had ASD not PFO (apparently it is hard to differentiate between the 2 on the tests they do to diagnose). ASD is a birth defect and a more serious problem. They said she was in the beginning stages of heart failure and thankfully, were able to fix it. This also led her to having 2 of her children tested, and 1 of her boys has a PFO and they discovered that he has 2 other serious heart problems that they are very grateful to have discovered. Another friend of mine, with 5 children, had the surgery done a year ago. She is doing so much better is back to living a healthy, active life. It seems that there are no easy answers and I pray that you will find peace in whatever decision that you choose to go with. I wish you the best and hope you have a fast and speedy recovery either way!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteI hope there is a diagnosis soon. I would be the same and worry a lot too. I'm so glad you have such great friends and ward members to help you and your family right now.
You are in my prayers Allyson.
Judi :)
I wish I was one of your good neighbors bringing you treats! Allyson, I hope this is all behind you soon! Get well!
ReplyDelete