Today is the day! My 2nd attempt at having the TEE procedure done. I received a call the night before to confirm the appointment and to inform me that my appointment time changed. I needed to arrive at 11:00 am vs 10:30 am (2 hours before the procedure). I did call first thing in the morning to confirm the appointment due to arriving last time and the appointment had been cancelled and I never received a call.
I went to work for a few hours and then I went to my parents’ house to pick up my dad who would drive me home following the procedure due to having to have anesthesia.
My dad and I arrived at the hospital and got checked in. The check in process went smoothly and we were quickly back in a room. Within a few minutes a nurse came in and got things moving along. She explained everything that would occur and started looking for a vein for my IV. I explained to her that I am a very hard stick and not having anything to eat or drink since the night before that my veins were worse. She listened which is always nice because I have come across many that don’t believe you and do what they want just to turn around and have to go in the vein that I said all along would work. The nurse felt around for veins because with the type of procedure I am having, the anesthesiologist likes to have the IV in a certain area. The nurse had the charge nurse come in and she found a vein and got my IV started on the first try.
Around 12:30, I was rolled back to the recovery room. I did not have to go to the operating room because I was not having surgery and the procedure could be done in a recovery room. I met with the Anesthesiologist, Echo team and met Dr. Ward. Dr. Ward is the Cardiologist performing my procedure. Dr. Ward specializes in prenatal and younger woman’s cardiac care. I will say, it was nice being referred to her because I am a “younger female”.
Dr. Ward explained what she would do during the course of the procedure. The Anesthesiologist told me the type of anesthesia I would have. The anesthesia I received is one that gives you a more natural sleep vs medically induced sleep. I asked to have more so I could sleep longer haha.
I always try to see how long I can stay awake but like always I fell right to sleep.
Once I woke up, Dr. Ward came in to check on me and to explain her findings. She first told me that I woke up twice during the procedure and tried to fight. I thought this was funny, especially since I did not remember any of it. She then proceeded to tell me that all looked normal on the test with the exception of the Left to Right Shunt by Color Flow Doppler suggestive of an ASD or PFO.
ASD – Atrial septal defect – A congenital defect characterized by a hole in the wall between the atria, the two upper chambers of the heart.
PFO – Patent foramen ovale – A small opening between the two upper chambers of the heart, the right and the left atrium. Normally, a thin membranous wall made up of two connecting flaps separates these chambers.
It was nice to hear that the only thing found wrong was what we already knew. Still VERY scary but I am glad it was nothing more.
Doctor’s Narrative:
Now I just wait until I have my follow up with the Cardiologist to determine the next steps.
Nic of Time - Travel 