Tuesday, November 17, 2009

HeartNet info

Hi everyone:

While surfing around today, I found an interesting (albeit dated) article about the HeartNet procedure (Patty had it this past summer), with quotes from people Patty knows well at Edward Hospital. It's here.

Love,
Brian

Monday, November 16, 2009

Hand numbness and headaches

Hi everyone:

Patty has been experiencing an unusual and disconcerting symptom recently--profound numbness in her hands, particularly in the mornings and more pronounced in her right hand. This, of course, makes teaching art classes, and pottery in particular, rather difficult. We're not at all clear as to what may be causing this, or if it's in any way related to her heart failure. Patty has a couple of big tests coming up in December (to test for any improvement related to the HeartNet) so, if anything awry is happening, perhaps we'll gain insights there. Of course, the symptoms could mean little; they're worrisome, though, because heart patients have much greater-than-average odds of suffering a stroke in their lifetimes (and because Patty seems to be having more frequent headaches).

Yesterday, we watched an episode of a PBS series, The Mysterious Human Heart. One of the featured patients was having difficulty finding a donor heart because of high antibodies. Does this sound familiar? The show was fascinating so, if you're interested in getting into the nitty-gritty of heart function, it's well worth a look.

Love,
Brian

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Coasting along

Hi everyone:

I haven't posted in a little while, so I thought I'd drop in to let you know that Patty has been faring well of late. She's had occasional arrhythmias that I, of course, find more unsettling than she does; otherwise, though, she still seems to be going strong.

Love,
Brian

Monday, November 02, 2009

Coming up on five years

Hi everyone:

Nothing much to report. Patty has had headaches for several days running now, for no reason of which we're aware.

Five years ago this week Patty suffered her heart attack. From what I've read, more than 50 percent of those who have a heart attack and then develop heart failure do not survive five years. Patty seems much stronger now than she did two years ago.

Love,
Brian