Shumway Crew

Dr. Cragun and Kathy (not quite out of anesthesia)

A little more awake, but still not completely.

Well, a few things have happened since my last post. After my stroke, I went to see my cardiologist, Dr. Cragun, about my PFO. A lot of people have PFOs, and evidence suggests that they can lead to strokes, but it is not totally conclusive yet. Now that I've had a stroke, I am in a different category of risk, and Dr. Cragun suggested closing the hole in my heart and even said that if I were his wife, he'd close it tomorrow. He's an interventional cardiologist, which means that he does normal cardiology, but he also "intervenes" and does stuff with catheters, like closing PFOs, so we we scheduled the procedure with him for December 7, 2012.

It was a busy week leading up to the procedure and some days I was overwhelmed and over-worked--of course by my own choice. The night before the surgery we were up until 1 am getting stuff done and ready, not necessarily for the surgery, but getting Christmas cards ready and photos printed and cut so that I could stuff envelopes while sitting around in the hospital recovering. I also waffled back and forth about doing ginger bread houses, but decided to go ahead with tradition, so with the kids we rolled out the dough and cut out the houses late Thursday night.

On the morning of the 7th we arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am. They took me into the Cath Lab at about 7:40. The procedure called for a catheter to be inserted into the femoral vein in my upper thigh and groin (a vein big enough to allow them to go all the way to the heart). The catheter would then be pushed up to my heart, then the doctor would deploy two Gore-tex "umbrellas", called the Gore-Helex (about the size of a quarter), on both sides of the hole in my heart, then cinch them up to seal the hole (heart tissue will then grow over the Gore-tex implants and make it a permanent part of my heart). The procedure went well, lasting about an hour. However, the doctor discovered that the hole in the heart was bigger than they expected, so my hole was "upgraded" from a PFO, to what is called an atrial septal defect (ASD). PFO's only occasionally shunt blood where it is not supposed to go and are about the size of a pea, but an ASD is a hole big enough that it's constantly shunting blood back and forth.

I've been sad all week-end as I realized that I've had a heart defect all my life and that I've never even known. I'm kind of in mourning. I also feel very weak and will take a little time to fully recover from the repair in my heart. I looked up some details on ASDs and here are a few details about the research I've learned about the defect.

"Atrial Septal Defect Complications

Over time, if an ASD isn't repaired, the extra blood flow to the right side of the heart and lungs may cause heart problems. Usually, most of these problems don't show up until adulthood, often around age 30 or later. Complications are rare in infants and children.

Possible complications include:

Right heart failure. An ASD causes the right side of the heart to work harder because it has to pump extra blood to the lungs. Over time, the heart may become tired from this extra work and not pump well.

Arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs). Extra blood flowing into the right atrium through an ASD can cause the atrium to stretch and enlarge. Over time, this can lead to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Arrhythmia symptoms may include palpitations or a rapid heartbeat.

Stroke. Usually, the lungs filter out small blood clots that can form on the right side of the heart. Sometimes a blood clot can pass from the right atrium to the left atrium through an ASD and be pumped out to the body. This type of clot can travel to an artery in the brain, block blood flow, and cause a stroke.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH is increased pressure in the pulmonary arteries. These arteries carry blood from your heart to your lungs to pick up oxygen. Over time, PH can damage the arteries and small blood vessels in the lungs. They become thick and stiff, making it harder for blood to flow through them."

As I ponder the last 3 weeks and all that's gone on with my health, I am just VERY grateful that I was able to discover the heart problem and get it repaired so quickly and that the Lord has blessed me with no lasting side-effects from the stroke. I do worry about all the years that I've pushed myself physically, and hope that I don't have any of the other side-effects (like pulmonary hypertension or arrhythmias). But I will be under close follow-up with my cardiologist. I will find out there are different levels of ASDs, and where mine fits into the spectrum of bad to mild. The doctors are having me wear a 30 day pocket ecg monitor that will check for arrhythmias.

I slept a lot in the hospital after the procedure was over. Jeff stayed with me for a few hours, then went home to be with the kids, who helped him finish raking the leaves in the back yard. Mikelle came and stayed with me for a few hours in the evening before Jeff came and picked her up. I also got visits from some other family members. I came home Saturday morning. The doctors said I could start walking around right away, but that I should not do vigorous exercise or lift anything over ten pounds for a few weeks. They don't want my catheter site to start bleeding but mainly they don't want my Gore-tex umbrellas to shift position.

So, when I got home, the house looked pretty good, but my instinct took me down to the laundry room where I started cleaning up and lifting clothes bins. Jeff immediately got after me and ushered me to bed where I quickly fell asleep for about three hours and basically rested the whole day through--missing 3 of the kids activities I'd originally thought I'd be fine to attend. I felt weak and tired all day, but I felt better on Sunday and enjoyed church, a nap and then we had a ball as we decorated the ginger bread houses with the kids (see photos below).

I am so grateful to the Lord for our family's blessings. I feel blessed from my 2 sons and their missionary service. Family and ward members have also been so generous with bringing food and helping with the kids etc. I am thankful for all the prayers and fasting offered on my behalf. The Lord is watching over our family and we are so aware of His hand in our lives and ever so grateful.