what to do?

[paws43tails]

7 weeks till we sail and have just found out that hubby is in need of open heart surgery! 6 years ago he had his aortic heart valve replaced with an artificial one, and we just learned this week that he now has an asending aortic aneurysm (ballooning in the artery above the valve) that has to be resected (this is what killed john ritter last year, so it's to our advantage that we are aware of it's presence)... perhaps the surgery will get scheduled and done including his recovery in time for us to make the nov. 13th sailing, but just in case i need some advise... we have purchased insurance through princess, their gold plan, so i think we're covered should he not be recovered enough to travel... but, where do i begin? do i need to contact princess and have the forms mailed to me to have on hand for the surgeon to sign for the trip cancellation reimbursement just in case, or do i just wait to see what or when these things transpire... the "next" to the last thing we want is to miss the cruise, but the "last" thing that "I" want is to miss my hubby, so we must be sensible... in fact if the surgery weren't going to be scheduled before the cruise i don't think we'd be going at all... it's just too serious of a problem to take him so far from good medicine... while hubby is setting the schedule with the surgeons he wants me to get my ducks in order concerning the cruise, but i don't know where to start... anybody ever had to cancel a trip for such a reason as this, so far in advance? any advice would be appreciated...

[Boo's Mom]

Deborah....

 

I am sorry to read of your husband's situation. Thank God you are aware of his medical needs. This is a blessing.

 

You could start by calling the insurance company and explaining to them. If indeed you are covered (sounds like you might be)....they won't be able to make a move until they have a written Dr's note...stating why you will not be able to go.

 

With the recovery time that will be needed, your husband's Dr. may not want him taking off on a cruise so soon.

 

....just get some communication going with the insurance company. ;)

[bUU]

Gosh, trying to reply to paws43tails' message is like playing in one of those shooting galleries, since her signature makes the reply button travel across the page! :D

 

This situation points out why it is so critically important to make sure you have travel insurance, like the OP. And this question highlights the need to make sure you get all the insurance coverage you could possibly need, rather than buying insurance solely on price.

[paws43tails]

i really appreciate your response, and i have called the ins. co. but because i bought the ins. through the ta i must deal with them even though it is princess ins... but i did talk with a mgr. for the on line travel agency and he said that we were covered in case we had to cancel, we would just have to begin the process when cancelation occurs rather than getting a head start... too soon to make that decision, so we will wait... sure appreciate the help!

[Luckyroot]

Hi Paws:

 

My DH needed to have open heart surgery for a defective mitral valve about 6 years ago. He was young (53) and in relatively good health other than the heart problem. He was out of the hospital in 5 days, and we took a planned vacation 3 weeks post op. (We flew to Detroit for a long weekend from NJ).

 

Talk to your doctor about the cruise. He may say that as long as DH doesn't do anything too strenuous, a cruise might be the perfect vacation for recovery!

 

Will pray that all goes well with your husband's surgery.

[paws43tails]

thanks a ton for the great encouragement! kase was 46 when his aortic valve was replaced and now he's 52, and healthy other than this... so we are kind of in the same place as you guys were... kase is not going to give up this cruise easy, so i bet he's thinking along your time table :p

the preop appt. is the 4th of oct. so i'm guessin maybe surgery by the 11th... he always requires 3 days to take him off his coumedin so his blood will clot correctly... is your husband on coumedin?

[bonniemari]

Paws-saying a prayer for you and your DH and a full recovery in time for your cruise.

[QueensChick]

My thought and prayers are with you and your dear husband. Wishing him a successful procedure and very speedy recovery.

 

Enjoy your cruise, whenever you get to go, in 7 weeks or at a later date.

[paws43tails]

thanks guys!!

[Andee]

Sending good wishes for a swift and complete recovery.

 

Our 40 year old niece had this surgery in June, two months after the birth of her second child. She was not cleared to fly to our son's wedding in September, and as much as we missed her (we have a really small family), we're so thankful she's well. Her aorta was, according to the surgeon's description, "transparent."

[paws43tails]

according to the surgeon's description, "transparent."

 

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oh my goodness!! so glad that she's well! what a miracle, esp. because of all the strain of childbirth... what a double gift of life, the babies and hers....

interesting happening today... hubby talked to the military cardiologist that has been following him, and he told her that he had a second opinion scheduled at the heart hosp. of austin, where their standard for surgery is a whole centimeter different than that of the military... she rebuffed him and told him he was making a mistake to rush into surgery at 4.9 with all the scar tissue he had.... but, we have done our homework though and he stuck to his position... the military essentially wants him to wait until it's at 5.0-5.5 cm... read the following though;

 

Given these statistics it is recommended that ascending aortic aneurysms be resected at a size of 4.9cm. If aortic insufficiency is present in the setting of a bicuspid valve, the ascending aorta should be resected when it is 4.5cm in diameter. Descending thoracic and aortic arch aneurysms typically are resected when they exceed 5.5cm in diameter. If a patient has Marfan syndrome then an aortic size greater than 4.3cm warrants surgery.

 

now clearly the army's standard is for a descending aortic, and he has an ascending, w/ the bicuspid valve which was replaced almost 6 years ago, which makes the size difference very relevant... not to mention that the mortality rate once an aneurysm has ruptured is 25-50%, yet if repaired before rupture it is 2.2%... now which would you choose? the army cardiologist wasn't even interested in this information and ended with, 'well it's your choice'... and it is, it's his life, but certainly this is just another example of taking our health into our own hands...

do you happen to know how large your neice's aneurysm was when it was repaired?

[Oma24boys]

Paws - my husband Scott and I will be on the 11/13/04 Grand Princess...I do hope you and your husband will be able to make it. I pray for a quick healing and recovery.

[paws43tails]

robin, it would be nice to meet you and scott on board that week, you'd just love kase!! we are just trusting God with the entire situation, even down to if we cruise or not at that time... so, only 44 more days, or not :p

[Oma24boys]

Deborah:

 

Be prepared there will be two other couples with us and we are all people people! I will definetely keep Kase in our prayers. Scott will be in Temple on Friday for knee surgery and one of the ladies who will be with us is recovering from breaking two ankles a month ago that required surgery! We can all celebrate good health together. We will put it all in God's hands...

[paws43tails]

We can all celebrate good health together. We will put it all in God's hands...

 

absolutely!! i will be praying for scott's surgery on friday also (at s&w)? kase will learn monday his date for surgery, but as far as he's concerned the sooner the better, he's got a goal!! i just noticed that you are almost my neighbor, as i live in georgetown... small world! good thoughts for you and yours!!

[Oma24boys]

We can all celebrate good health together. We will put it all in God's hands...

 

absolutely!! i will be praying for scott's surgery on friday also (at s&w)? kase will learn monday his date for surgery, but as far as he's concerned the sooner the better, he's got a goal!! i just noticed that you are almost my neighbor, as i live in georgetown... small world! good thoughts for you and yours!!

Deborah:

 

Keep me posted...you can email me anytime. My email is in my profile.

 

Scott's surgery will be a S&W...the company he works for is out of Temple.

 

And, I did notice you were from Georgetown! We are neighbors! :p

[karenh1127]

I will also pray for your husband. May I ask what city and hospital yall will be using? Is it a military hospital? I cannot imagine having heart surgery of any kind anywhere but St. Lukes in Houston. Both my parents have had heart procedures and mom was only 47 when she had bypass surgery. My dad has an aneurysm in his stomach and doc says it is growing but not big enough to do surgery.....that is scary! Good luck to your husband and God be with him!

[paws43tails]

thank you karen... will know more on monday...

robin, prayed for scott's successful surgery yesterday, how's he doing?

p.s. can't email you directly, keeps denying me access

[Oma24boys]

Deborah:

 

Scott's surgery went well...had a scare at 2:30AM Saturday. He had what I thought was a lot of bleeding but we were able to control it! I had to go to our 24 hour Walgreen's to get some pressure gauze! What a fright. He is doing much better today. We made it to church, that was good.

 

I will be praying for your husband's appointment tomorrow. I will actually be in Georgetown with my daughter-in-law tomorrow. She is opening a dance studio in Round Rock sometime in November, as well as having our 4th grandson! We need to get the DBA to the courthouse.

 

My email address is: REKregel@austin.rr.com

 

Take care...

[Oma24boys]

Deborah:

 

How did Kase's appointment go today? Waiting to hear...and, hoping it's good news.

 

Robin

[RennFan]

I'm also interested in what the info for Kase is. I think you guys are smart having the surgery done now before it ruptures. Ruptured Aortas are very very very very messy and not nice at all. For anyone involved. (I'm a recovery room nurse ;) ). I'll be sending lots of happy/healing energies to you all. I hope that he'll be up and at 'em for the cruise. It's a slim time period...but if he's determined, and if the surgeon is consenting, then go for it!!! :) Just take it lots of easy :D

 

**hugs**

~Courts

[paws43tails]

hi robin and courts, the appt. was very successful... we were very happy with the cardiothorsic surgeon's aggressive attitude toward this... he in fact said, that if kase had been his patient in march when it was lst discovered at 4.7 he would have done surgery then, and it would now be but a memory... anyway, he is admitting kase on monday the 11th for a cardiac cath, for a fresh picture of everything, and then removing the aneurysm on tuesday... he did tell us some difficult things, like the fact that he will have to carve through all the scar tissue from his valve surgery, as his heart will be encased in this tissue... and then talking about being 'clinically dead' for 30 min or so almost made me burst out crying, but i made it through... but we did find out that kase was on the heart lung bypass last time for his valve surgery for 240 minutes, and they said that is reprehensible, esp. since no one told me there was anything wrong or out of the ordinary... so we just have to wonder about that... and having that knowledge makes 30 mins. look like a walk in the park :eek: ... we are believing for his total recovery and healing, guessing that this particular cruise is going to sail without us... but, we will wait and see before i cancel... they did tell him there is more pain involved in a second heart surgery because scar tissue bleeds more and has more pain... but at least if he's in pain he's made to to the other side of the surgery, so that's something... the hard part for the surgeon will be just getting to the heart without injuring it... so please as you say your prayers on his behalf, please pray that the path is cleared... will keep you posted and thanks ever so much!!!

[Oma24boys]

hi robin and courts, the appt. was very successful... we were very happy with the cardiothorsic surgeon's aggressive attitude toward this... he in fact said, that if kase had been his patient in march when it was lst discovered at 4.7 he would have done surgery then, and it would now be but a memory... anyway, he is admitting kase on monday the 11th for a cardiac cath, for a fresh picture of everything, and then removing the aneurysm on tuesday... he did tell us some difficult things, like the fact that he will have to carve through all the scar tissue from his valve surgery, as his heart will be encased in this tissue... and then talking about being 'clinically dead' for 30 min or so almost made me burst out crying, but i made it through... but we did find out that kase was on the heart lung bypass last time for his valve surgery for 240 minutes, and they said that is reprehensible, esp. since no one told me there was anything wrong or out of the ordinary... so we just have to wonder about that... and having that knowledge makes 30 mins. look like a walk in the park :eek: ... we are believing for his total recovery and healing, guessing that this particular cruise is going to sail without us... but, we will wait and see before i cancel... they did tell him there is more pain involved in a second heart surgery because scar tissue bleeds more and has more pain... but at least if he's in pain he's made to to the other side of the surgery, so that's something... the hard part for the surgeon will be just getting to the heart without injuring it... so please as you say your prayers on his behalf, please pray that the path is cleared... will keep you posted and thanks ever so much!!!

Deborah:

 

Will keep you both in my prayers...please keep us posted. I really pray for a speedy recovery and the hopes that Kase and you do make the cruise. But...I will be happy with a successful surgery and I am sure you will be also. If we don't get to meet on this cruise I hope we do in the future.

[Oma24boys]

Deborah:

 

Have you had any other news about Kase? Been thinking about you...

[paws43tails]

robin, heart surgery is in the morning at 7am... he had the cardiac cath today and that proceedure went well... they got a fresh look at the aneurysm to form the game plan for tomorrow... i will try to post tomorrow night to let you know how the surgery went (in faith i say successfully)