My sister was born with a heart condition called aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the aortic valve. Her first surgery was when she was only 10 weeks old. She has had several surgeries since, replacing the valve. The last time she had one was when she was about 13. She is almost 27 now. We knew eventually she would need another valve replacement, since the donors valve that is in now will not be durable to hold up forever. She has been getting a lot of irregular heart palpitations lately and by means of a heart monitor the doctors have determined that her valve is leaking more than it had been during her past regular checkups. This means it is time for her next, and hopefully last surgery. She will be having a mechanical valve replacing her donors valve, and it is supposed to last for the rest of her life.
Today she is going in for chest x-rays and heart tests. Tomorrow she will be going in to have a camera go in and determine the damage to the valve, all these tests leading up to survey the damage before surgery. Tomorrow will not be pleasant for her. They need to make a relatively large incision in her groin to put the camera through, and she will need to lay flat for 4-6 hours after the procedure, or there is a chance of heavy bleeding. I try not to let on to my family how nervous I am for the upcoming surgery, because that will only freak them out more. My mom is a nervous wreck right now as it is! I am lucky enough to have gotten the day off tomorrow, and my husband as well, so we will be able to be with my sister for her procedure. I know she is nervous about it, but she is so strong. She never lets on she is nervous, I just know she is deep down. I know how she is. She is so positive and brave and I hate the thought of her having to go through all of this. I know it is fairly routine, but it is open heart surgery and it is scary. My sister and I are extrememly close and I have not been doing well dealing with this. I can't wait unitl her surgery is over with. Hopefully tomorrow we will find out when the surgery will be.