Heart Surgery FAQ

My older daughter, Beth, is having open heart surgery on June 10. Here are answers to commonly asked questions about this surgery:

Q. Why does Beth need this surgery?
A. Beth was born with a congenital heart defect called an atrial septal defect. That means she has a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart. If it is not repaired, it will eventually cause her heart to enlarge, and she will experience congestive heart failure in her late 30's. The surgery will repair the defect.

Q. How old was she when this defect was discovered?
A. Beth was 8 years old when her pediatrician told me she had a heart murmur and referred her to a pediatric cardiologist. We, including the cardiologist, did not discover that the cause of the murmur was a hole in her heart until June 2007.

Q. Why didn't the cardiologist find the hole sooner?
A. Different kinds of heart murmurs have different kinds of sounds. The sound of Beth's heart murmur mimicked the sound of an innocent or harmless murmur that many people have. However, the cardiologist could not see the cause of Beth's heart murmur through regular ultrasound. She had to undergo a diagnostic procedure called a transesophageal echocardiogram, which revealed a hole in her heart. The hole was not visible in a regular ultrasound because it was located behind the spot where two major bloodvessels cross.

Q. How long will it take her to recover?
A. If all goes well, Beth will be in the hospital for 4-5 days. Full recovery should take about 4 weeks.

Q. How can I help?
A. Donate to our Start! HeartWalk team here.

Davy Jones!

My family went to EPCOT yesterday to celebrate my husband's and older daughter's birthdays. (We don't really do Mother's Day.) EPCOT is having its annual flower & garden festival, which includes a concert series called Flower Power. You guessed it. Disney brings in singers and bands who were popular in the 1960's to perform. Yesterday's performer was one of my all-time favorites: Davy Jones!

While I love all of his songs, my favorite part about seeing Davy Jones is the fact that my children enjoy seeing him, too. My girls have grown up listening to the Monkees and other groups from that era, and they look forward to this concert every year. As a matter of fact, my older daughter asked that we go to EPCOT specifically to see Davy. A good time was had by all!

My Stuff

This is a forum for me to post things that interest me. This includes, but is not limited to, knitting, genealogy, education (mine, my children's, and the education profession), and my children (furry ones included). I'm certain other interests will make an appearance, as well.

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