It is the last trip that I will make to UMASS hospital. When I was born, I had an extra nerve in my heart
(Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome) I didn't know until my first attack when I was 15: I was jogging around the gymnasium in gym and my heart began to beat fast and hard. Ever since then, I had around 10 attacks a year. My heart would speed up to around 250 beats per minute... pretty fast... It felt very much like something was alive in my chest, like a gopher running on a wheel. Also, I became very aware of any irregularites my heart would go through on a daily basis. My heart would shift between these light feathery rythms and natural beats. So, about two years ago, I changed doctors and my new doctor told me that I should see a cardiologist. (I had only seen one once for a diagnosis) I wen't to UMASS and was informed that WPW can kill people.
My heart could go not only into atrial fibrulation, but that arythmia could translate down into my ventrical and my whole heart could beat at a very fast rythm, and that could kill me. No one had ever told me that before. They advised that I have an ablation. It was largely succesful (95%) and fairly noninvasive. They put electrodes up and into the veins in my legs and fed them into my heart.
I hate doctor's offices, and hospitals and anything white and labbish looking. I have a pretty signifcant fear of medical stuff. So, it took me a bit to work up the courage tosay yes to the operation. I remember that first visit, they said they could do the operation next week if I said yes.... I said no... and waited about three months.
So the day of the operation came. I went with my parents.. whom I felt had been with me through this whole heart thing and deserved to be there, and my wife. I nearly passed out when the IV was inserted into my hand in the prepping room. I remember feeling the fluid cold in my hand and feeling as if I was sinking into something fluid. I asked the nurse if I was being sedated, and she responded "No honey, your'e passing out..." in a voice that only a nurse that has worked for many years can muster. I have never passed out, and the shock of it drove me back to the surface (and it really felt like that too... swimming up through my unconsiousness). Then, Jenny came in to see me off and they wheeled me into the operating room. The nurses were quickly getting everything ready. I remember seeing stainless steel everywhere and those awful white, square, lights that you see on tv. The nursese talked to me about Henry and told me to ask for more medicine if I needed it ( I was being put under conscious sedation). Then the doctors came in said hi and told me to count to ten.....1, 2, 3......
The next thing I remember is waking up, lifting my head and frantically asking for more medicine.. then gone again...
I woke up after the operation and I don't remember who told me, but someone came in and told me that the operation was unsuccesful. Jenny and my parents then came in. Jenny said I was crying when I told her that the operation was unsuccesful. The dotcors came in then. They both looked pretty pissed. Its funny because I don't expect that from doctors. The intern's hair was messy and he was visibly angry and seemed to be holding back from yelling.
I had to stay overnight and they put me on a medication to control the rhythm of my heart. I stayed, then left. The medicine, Flecanide, was to be taken twice a day. I took a double dose once by mistake.....had to call the poisen control center... lots of fun. But I was fine.
Anyway, I stayed on this medicine, which made my heart incredibly constant, for about a year. It was great because I knew that my heart would not go into a wpw episode while I was on it. I went back for checkups and the doctors were amazed at how well my body was taking the medicine. It had removed any sign of wpw. That was unusual. Normally there would be remnants of iregularity showing up on an ekg. But for me there was nothing. Eventually, Doctor Rosenthall began to find it strange that the wpw wasn't showing up. He had me take a stress test. WPW is agrivated by exercise. It still didn't show up.
The next checkup, he asked me if I would try going off of the medicine to see if the wpw would show up without the medicine. He thought there was the possibility that the burning of the cathaders had scarred enough to sever the extra nerve causing my wpw. The intern thought that there was no way that could happen. He thought that my body was just reacting very well to the Flecanide.
Eventually, I did go off of it and took another ekg. It wasn't there. I did a stress test, and it still wasn't there. I waited two months and had another stress test. It wasn't there. I watied another six months untill today, and had another ekg. It istn't there. Dr. Rosenthall happily said "I say your'e cured!" And, I don't have to go and see him ever again. He also said, as I was leaving with a big grin on my face, "You know where I am if you need me." I don't think I am going to need him again. :)
I prayed for this. After my failed opperation, I was confused and depressed. It took so much courage to let myself get into that opperation. The doctors said the succes rate was at 95%!!! How could I be the five. I prayed that God would take away the WPW, and after the doctors didn't, He did... He is always faithful..
.JPG)
