Episode 22: Only Days From Surgery, Liane Aigner Shares Her Conviction and Confidence

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey all imperfect harders. As you know, we typically release our episodes on Wednesdays. But today is really quite special, and the reason we're dropping the program a day early, Leanne Ahner, whom many of you have seen from her posts on the Facebook group page, has ever so graciously given us her time just a few days ago, literally a couple days prior to surgery, to share her story and how she's feeling this close to her unroofing procedure. I thought, how cool would it be to have the episode released on the day of her surgery so those of us who listen could sense some positive energy, a thought, a prayer, or whatever it is you do when you're thinking of someone going through a life-changing event. And as if that's not enough, today we actually get a twofer. Dr. Boyd is going to be a busy boy because he's not only performing surgery on Leanne, but another one of our Facebook group, Kaylin Kellert, is also having her surgery done today at Stanford. So as we're thinking the good thoughts and positive energy for Leanne, we can also send the same vibe to Kaylin. And it gets even better. They've connected. We don't know what the likelihood of them taking and posting a couple of selfies from the cardiac ward's gonna be, but you know how fortunate to have somebody you're aware of going through the exact same procedure on the same day at the same place. Let's hope they're able to help each other out in their recoveries, and if nothing else, connect on their way out. Positivity, thoughts, and prayers to you both from your imperfect heart family of friends. And now, here's Leanne's story.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

When Dr. Schnicker gave me the clear-cut yes, she asked if I needed to think about it, allowed me to have time, maybe see Dr. Boyd, and then decide if I wanted to do it then. And I said, absolutely no, I want to do it now. I'm ready. Let's go for it. I don't need to think about it. I've thought about it for a long time. I've done my research. I've listened to everybody in the group. I feel ready. I'm ready to get back to what the things I used to do, the things I love, like singing in the choir, hiking, running. I don't love running, but I like to be a runner.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

We'll talk with healthcare professionals, those in related fields that support our condition, and others just like us with stories of their myocardial bridge experiences. It's my intention for this content to inform, educate, entertain, and even motivate or inspire you in your personal journey on dealing with a myocardial bridge. Most importantly is to have you leave each episode with hope, knowing you're not alone and that what you're experiencing is real. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, today's guest made her way to the Pacific Northwest, where her sister and brother-in-law resided in a small town in the foothills of the Southern Olympic Mountain Range. This is where she met and married her husband Ryan, had a son, then eventually a daughter-in-law, and now a grand dog. She went from childcare and preschool teacher to caretaker for aging parents, an active volunteer in her community, active in her church and participant in choir and local theatrical events. She also has a passion for the outdoors as evidenced by hiking, kayaking, even backpacking. She is also the first person I have spoken with on the program that is this close to surgery, only five days out. This episode will release on the day of her surgery. Now that takes courage. Leanne Ayner is my guest, and she's a great example of confidence in her decision. Leanne, welcome to Imperfect Heart.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Thank you. I'm so honored to be here.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Oh, I I think the honor and the pleasure is mine because what's so unique about this conversation is you actually have your surgery scheduled for the 23rd, which is just a few days away. And uh we've not spoken to somebody who's this close to their surgery to get you know the emotion and the feeling and the vibe and the energy and just what it is that's going through your mind. So I think it's gonna be a wonderful conversation that's gonna benefit a lot of people as they hear the progression. We've had people three, six, nine months out, but not days. So before we get into that, which I I really can't I want to just skip to some of that right now, but for the benefit of everybody listening, could you tell us a little bit of your story? What got you to this point?

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Back in the summer of 2020, I was isolating at our cabin in at Lake Quinault, in the foothills of the Olympics, and I was not going to my gym anymore. I'd previously been going to my gym five days a week, doing boot camps and spin classes and all kinds of things. And I was just hiking and walking and kayaking. And so I was one day walking, and I was just walking the road up the valley, and it's a pretty flat road, and about two and a half miles in, at a pretty quick clip, I started feeling shortness of breath, and I got really lightheaded where I wanted to reach out and grab something, and I started feeling a tightness in my chest, what I called squeezing. And I thought, well, this is very strange, but I just kept going. I had my dog and we were we were just walking like we did every single day. And the next day it happened again, and the next day it happened again. And if I was doing the trails and going up the hills on the trails, it would happen much worse. And so I started panicking thinking I had COVID, because you know, at the time everybody was, you know, every sniffle, somebody thought that they had COVID.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Sure. And that was a time when we were concerned about what COVID could do to us.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Absolutely. And we also didn't have our home tests that we all have now. So I made an appointment with my GP, and she gave me an antibody test to see if I had some COVID. And I it came back negative. But what she said was that you you couldn't say whether you had COVID or not from the antibody if it showed up as a negative, only if it showed up as a positive. It could be a false negative. So she felt pretty sure that we should probably be checking some other things, which I appreciated. And so she did an EKG and you know, just checked me out in the office, and she seemed to think that I had maybe some heart rate that was irregular. So she went ahead and sent me to okay, this is where I have this is where I have the heart doctor.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Cardiologist.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Thank you. Welcome to 60 years of age. She sent me to the she sent me to the cardiologist, and I went, that was in October of 2020. I saw the cardiologist, and he checked me out. He believed everything that I said. He didn't say, well, you're probably just having anxiety, or it's nothing, you're perfectly healthy, you're in great health, you don't, you know, it there's there's no reason for it. He went ahead and started a series of tests. And through that series of tests, he discovered that I had a myocardial bridge, and I had no idea what that was. I was actually hoping that it was something like a little blockage and I was gonna get a stint. So when I woke up from my calf, I said, Okay, what what happened? Did you know, did you put a stint in? And he said, No, you don't want that. You have a myocardial bridge. Trust me, you don't want to have a stint in your heart. And so I was a little disappointed because I was just hoping for a quick solution.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Well, you know, and that's that's amazing that you had a car. First of all, you had a GP who took you, sent you to a proper cardiologist who diagnosed properly that you don't want a stent, that it is a myocardial bridge. I mean, that's just amazing because so many people get the opposite. So your progression is moving along nicely, even though it's not what you want to hear. And it's it's the right way to go. It's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Yes, Dr. Dunn in Olympia, Washington was amazing. He was so supportive and listened to everything I said. So when I got home and I Googled Myocardial Bridge, and of course, at that time in 2020, not much came up through Google. And so I thought, well, maybe there's a support group. And so I got onto Facebook and I just searched myocardial bridge, and sure enough, there was a Facebook group for myocardial bridge. And through that group and the documents that had been uploaded onto the page, I got so much information and support, and I had got my questions answered, and I learned about Stanford and the research that they had done and Dr. Ingla Schnitker. And so I I went back, it was probably, oh gosh, yeah, it was in 2022.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

My symptoms were getting worse, and I was starting to have night sweats, and I was starting to have a lot of PVCs, which I I learned they were PVCs I didn't know at the time, but I was having like for the benefit of those who may be new to it, PVCs are preventricular contractions. And those are the ones you don't want because the ventricle is what's pumping. If you have those too often, they're they're like hiccups in your heart. They could go into a tachycardia situation where the heart beats too fast and it starts pumping nothing. And PVCs in sequences are not good. So they look for doubles and triplets, and then anything beyond is a red flag.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yes, and I did not know that. All I knew was that I was trying to sleep at night, and I'm having this crazy feeling that was making me feel panicky and giving me anxiety at night. I didn't I didn't notice it during the day, it was just at night. So I went back to my cardiologist in November of 2022. So it's a year since I had my original diagnosis, and he put me on a heart monitor for 30 days. And through that heart monitor, I learned that I was having these PVCs 19% of the time, which he felt was too much. And so he sent me up to Seattle to Virginia Mason Hospital, and there I had CT angiogram, and there it was discovered that my myocardial bridge was about two centimeters long. They up an approximate, they didn't give me a depth or anything like that. It was just sad. And so from there I went back to Dr. Dunn, and at this point, as things are getting worse, I I said, I said, Dr. Dunn, I I bought a brand new backpack and I haven't been able to use it yet. I planned to do this solo backpacking trip, but I have my my new water filter and I have my my little stove and I'm ready to go, but I don't dare go. And of course, you know, I welled up with tears, very pitiful, but I was just feeling so frustrated that the things were getting away from me. And he said, I will send you anywhere you want to go. And I said, I want to go to Stanford. And he said, Okay, we'll do it. That was amazing. That was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I'm gonna take just a little step back for a couple of points that you made. First of all, on the monitor, there's a couple of devices. Did you have a holter monitor, or do you know if it was the Xyopatch, the one that you stick on and stays for 30 days?

SPEAKER_00 13:49

The one I stick on.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Okay, so so Xyopatch for the benefit of those who, again, aren't quite there or we getting there. These are great devices to monitor the heart and what's happening, and it gives your care team the ability to see what's happening over a period of time, sleeping, you know, working, exercising, whatever it is you're doing. So they're a great device, and obviously that's what helped identify your situation to get you to what Dr. Schnitker will say is the gold standard, the CT angiogram, with contrast, where they can actually see the heart and the compression of the heart on the artery. So you have a remarkable situation that so far everything is just going as it should, you know, with the exception of your body isn't right, but the process is right to diagnose what's happening. And what a wonderful situation with Dr. Dunn, where he takes you and says, do what you need to do where you want to go. So you end up at Stanford, and I would assume you then are going to meet with Dr. Schnitter.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yes. So that took a bit of a it took a while. In May, they received my referral. Let me know that they received the the referral, and then in December, well, July, they approved me to be seen. You know, they have to look at your records and and then say, okay, we're we are willing to see you. And then in December of 2023, which was just last month, I went down and I had my full range of tests. And when I spoke to Dr. Schnitker, she told me that I had a significant bridge and that I was a clear-cut yes for surgery. And that was amazing to hear. I felt pretty sure that that it was gonna happen, but until she says yes, you never know. And I just kept warning everybody around me that this might not happen. You know, don't get your heart set on it. Everybody, you know, my husband, you know, when you have your surgery. And I said, you know, we don't know. Let's just hold off, let's just wait until we hear what she says because I know that other people have been turned away. And so I just needed to prepare myself for that. But I I don't have any other issues. This is my only health concern that I have. I'm I'm extremely healthy otherwise, and I feel so fortunate because I know that there are so many other people with this condition that are really suffering all the time. They're bedbound, they're unable to even walk a little ways. Some people have trouble speaking, and I just feel so fortunate that I'm able to still be active and and I don't have any other underlying conditions.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

And to that point, you are active, which is a blessing in disguise because that keeps your heart healthier than it may have been had you not been active. And it'll help in the recovery because you're in better shape than than not. So all those things are a big plus. And I know people who have had their surgery scheduled, maybe it's three, six, nine months out, they've actually started to do what they could to lose a little bit of weight, maybe get a little bit more active as best they could with the condition, just so that the recovery process goes a little bit better. I I want to laugh a little bit because you're you got your backpack, you got your new water bottle, you're anxious to hike, you're a little kid in the candy store already to get their candy, and you can't go because of the condition. But I would suspect that there's still a little bit of that denial, going, Well, I'm still gonna be able to do this. You know, I just don't know what it's gonna be like.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

That's right. I have a group of friends that I go with, although the the kind of the ringleader, she just had a hip replacement surgery. So we do day hikes and and I go with my husband, we do day hikes, but we have not gone as often this last year. Mostly we're we're walking, and I in the summer we do the kayaking. But yeah, it just seems it just seems like I've I've just taken it a little easier this year just because everywhere we go, it's of course it's there's hills and mountains, it's nothing is flat. Even this the park we have that's just a a mile up the road, everything is hills. And so it's not as fun when you're having to stop, take a little breath, wait, and then go again, stop, wait. You know, it's it's I'm a little competitive. I like to go, go, go, and when I'm having to slow down constantly, it's it's a little frustrating to me. Nobody else cares, but I care.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Well, not to mention, you don't know that that compression, which is causing you the fatigue or the need to stop, doesn't turn into something more severe quickly because you don't get to control when your heart decides that it's tired of doing what it's been doing.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Exactly. And and as I get older, it's getting worse, and it's only been, you know, just a couple of years. Right. So it that that I've noticed the symptoms. And so it is concerning. Dr. Dunn had originally given me this little bottle of nitroglycerin, which I've never used, and it's quite out of date now, but I still carry it around with me just in case.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

It's that security blanket.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

It is, even though he informed me, he said, now that's not like on TV, where if you feel something and you think you're having a heart attack, it stops your heart attack. He says, It does not stop your heart attack, it just it just stops the pain. And I said, I was really surprised because that's not how it is on TV.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

You know, another thing that I recall from our pre-conversation was that you actually don't have severe endothelial dysfunction. So that's a part of the symptom that you're at least a little bit ahead of before it comes, if I'm not mistaken. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 20:30

That is correct. Dr. Schnitker said I just had mild to moderate endothelial dysfunction, mild to moderate blockage or plaque.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Those are all pluses in the grand scheme of things, too, because those are compounding elements that then need to be taken care of. So that's uh another blessing. As we're faced with this, when we start to realize that, oh my gosh, this is gonna happen, and now I'm going to do something that's going to rectify it. Somewhere in that processing time, I remember uh I stopped everything. It was is it the supplements that I'm taking that are causing it? Is it coffee, sweeteners, vitamins? I stopped chewing gum because there's zorbital, and I thought maybe it's I used to chew a lot of gum. And I literally stopped everything. And I think you did something similar too. You you got rid of the supplements. I think we talked about coffee.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Yes, I did. I used to have a glass of wine after dinner with my husband in the evenings, you know, several nights a week. And I realized that that was leading to the experience with the PVCs. So I backed way off on that. I I only have a glass of wine, maybe at a special occasion, if we have a group of family or friends at dinner time, and so I that doesn't Seemed to cause an issue. It was having a glass of wine maybe three or four nights a week. So that's made a huge difference. I've cut back on the coffee, probably just a cup of coffee every few, maybe four days.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

A special treat.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Yes, yes, it's it's a special treat. And I'm also thinking that that's gonna help with not getting a migraine when I have to not have anything, you know, during for the surgery day, because I I am a migraine sort of person, which I'm hoping having my myocardial bridge corrected, I hope that helps a little bit. We'll see. There's lots of things I'm curious to see what changes.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Well, if nothing else, the medication you're on for the short term will help your migraines because you won't be feeling anything for a while.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Well, yes, absolutely. And I don't have many migraines anymore, but I, you know, what I do with atmospheric changes, a lot of heat exertion can bring on a headache. You know, heavy cardio exertion can bring on a headache, or sometimes it would, of course, I haven't been doing as much heavy cardio exertion, but it used to bring on flashing in my eyes, what they call an optical migraine. And I'm now looking back, I'm pretty sure that's because I wasn't getting proper oxygen to my brain when we were doing like HIT classes or running bleachers or you know, running up hills with the boot camp classes. So I'm I'm hoping that that's going to all improve when I get back out there after I after I recover.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Wouldn't that be great though if it all was being caused by the bridge?

SPEAKER_00 23:59

Right, right. And the numbness in my fingers in the cold, I'm hoping that that maybe that might be corrected too. That didn't start till I was maybe in my 40s that I started having that Ray Nodes syndrome. And I'm curious to see if maybe that goes away. That would be really nice, especially with hiking in the wintertime, where I'm having I I have to use hand warmers all the time.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yours predominantly was exertional, correct? Yeah. More okay, never sitting still.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

And no, no, I I've never had squeezing in my heart, the angina just at rest. It's only ever been with exertion. And I still walk three miles a day, and it usually shows up about two, two and a half miles in. We have quite a hill coming back up to our home at the end of that walk. And always I have to slow down on the hill now where I used to be able to run the hill. So it has made a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Let's now get to the most interesting part for me, and I think for a lot of people who are considering the surgery or who are anxious to get to their surgery because we're a few days out. And tell us where your head's at right now. I clearly from this conversation, you look calm, you look collected, you look comfortable, and you're approaching it with a great attitude. Tell us a little bit about where your head's at. What are you thinking about?

SPEAKER_00 25:43

When Dr. Schnicker gave me the clear-cut yes, she asked if I needed to think about it, you know, allowed me to have time, maybe see Dr. Boyd, and then decide if I wanted to do it then. And I said, absolutely no, I I want to do it now. I'm ready. Let's go for it. I don't need to think about it. I've thought about it for a long time. I've done my research. I've listened to everybody in the group. I I feel ready. I'm ready to get back to what the things I used to do, the things I love, like singing in the choir, hiking, running. I don't love running, but I I like to be a runner. There is a difference.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

So I'm with you on that one.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

I like to get back to these things that I enjoy doing with my family and my friends. And so the biggest part of getting ready for this surgery has been just organizing my life and my work and my volunteer job, getting things ready to be gone out of town for two and a half weeks, and then to, you know, just be offline, so to speak, for several weeks after that. I I am a little bit of a control freak with how I organize my life and my work. And that's been the biggest part is just making sure I have everything, you know, all my ducks in a row, so that I don't have to worry about anything and I can just work on recovering and getting strong. And so once I've kind of have that ready, which I feel like I do now, I feel like everything's ready to go. I'm just, I'm just ready. Let's just go, let's just get it done. And I I haven't felt any nervousness at all yet. I'm sure maybe the night before or that day, I'll probably feel a little bit of nervousness. I think that's completely normal. I don't know for sure yet whether I'm having the sternonobe or if I'm having the minimally invasive, but Dr. Schnitter was pretty sure, knowing how Dr. Boyd makes his decision, she was pretty sure that I was gonna not have the minimally invasive. So I'm preparing for that. And and I'm okay with that. I'm ready to go. I have my support system ready. My husband's able to take time off work to be with me. We have a wonderful program in in the state of Washington called Paid Family Medical Leave, where he he gets he's still paid while he's able to be at home and to care for a family member, which is amazing. We have two dogs that are kind of crazy and a lot of fun, and they require a lot of walking and a lot of entertaining, and that's absolutely nothing I'd be able to do without him there. He has to be able to do that, and so I I really appreciate that. I have family in down in the Bay Area, and so I am able to stay with my niece and her family, and they have a wonderful mother-in-law apartment that they offered to us, which we used when we were there last month, and it's ideal setting because she has a full laundry, kitchen, bedroom, little living room. It's a completely separate apartment, and I just feel so fortunate to have that, you know, because things are expensive. Flying is expensive, you know, boarding the dogs, parking the car for two and a half weeks at the airport, which is an hour and a half away. So everything's just really fallen into place, and and I feel really, really blessed to have everything coming together for me.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Well, and it does sound like support group is significant, and to everybody listening, the support group is significant, whether it be friends, family, coworkers, you need people to lean on to support you as you get through this. We did talk a little bit about faith, too. You are a person of faith. You want to share a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yeah, I grew up being part of a church community, which becomes like a second family. And we have here in this little town that I now live in in Washington, we have a wonderful community with several churches. We have a street called Church Street and has several little churches, and they're just the nicest, kindest people. And we Ryan and I have both have received so much support from these folks, and it just gives you a feeling of warmth, knowing that these people are all out there, you know, praying for you and and just ready to jump in and help if need be. I I feel so I keep saying I feel so blessed, but there's just nothing else that I can, you know, no other words for that.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

Yeah, I think as people go through the process of evaluation, we know many people are extremely scared. You know, they get very anxious about it. And I think you just shared a variety of things that people can do is really prepare in advance, get those things that you would worry about that control freak or not, that need to be taken care of, and get that off your mind so that you can really focus on healing post-surgery. Be sure that the people around you uh are aware of the situation and you have a good sense of humor. And I've noticed that with many of our guests. That sense of humor is important. We have to be able to laugh about things uh in the face of some adversity, but uh the challenges will pass. And if we can approach them with the right attitude, it makes them that much easier to accept. And you have a wonderful attitude going in. I'm I'm so excited for you, as opposed to, oh my gosh, she's got to go to surgery. No, it's great, she's gonna get to go to surgery to get this fixed.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Yes, and another thing, we have my husband and I, we have so much gratitude. I don't remember if I told you, but my husband also has an imperfect heart. He had a stroke several years ago, and he had a hole in his heart, which caused the stroke. He had, he's like me, he had no other health issues, and so it was a matter of trying to figure out what caused the stroke. Why would you have a stroke? You're you're completely healthy, you don't have arteries that are full of plaque or anything like that. So when when they discovered that he had a hole in his heart and he had this stroke, he was able to get a PFO closure. And so now we joke that that we were sort of made for each other because we both have these heart defects.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

But I've heard of that hole in the heart. I have I have heard of that, and it's it's they can fix it. It's a fairly easy process to fix it.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

But if you don't know, you don't know.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

That's right. That's right. And boy, and until he got that fixed, it was a little scary. But it was, you know, he just was there overnight. They did a catheterization through the groin, and they put this little umbrella, folded umbrella up through there, and then when they got it up there, they opened it up and it just sits there like this and covers the the hole in the heart, and then the tissue grows over it, and it's fixed. It was amazing. And the thing was is that it's it changed him, but it changed him in such a way that he has so much gratitude about every single day now and and his life and and the people around him, his job. And I feel the same thing. I I feel exactly the same way, and I'm sure that after this is done, I'll probably be like the Grinch when his heart grew 10 sizes.

SPEAKER_01 34:50

We we tend to be extremely grateful after the fact. Once you realize that the symptoms are gone, you're not going to recognize yours until you actually are able to get out and do something exertional because that's where you experienced it. But for many of us who had severe endothelial dysfunction, which was random, you never knew when it was going to happen, the pain would just show up. And I knew immediately after the surgery it was gone. I didn't feel it again. And I thought, well, maybe it's the medication, you know, the first day, second day, and you're like waiting for it to happen because it had become habitual and nothing. And so to the point of the success of the surgery for most people, uh, it is immediate. Now, maybe not a hundred percent, you may still have some lingering uh episodes or whatever, depending on the severity of your condition, but nonetheless, it's still better than it was. So you've just moved and done some things that are almost textbook in their procedure and their their process, with the support you got initially from your GP to the you know cardiologist to the referral to Stanford, to Schnitger accepting it, and your provocative testing coming back with all the indications for surgery. And then not even two months later, once you did your testing from surgery, you're heading in to be taken care of.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

Right, yes. And I will say that with coming down to these last few days, I I have a couple of questions for Dr. Boyd, who I've not met yet, other than through your podcast, you know, and listening to him. But I do have a question about the sternal wires. As I am a smaller person and listening to your discussion with Dr. Barry and smaller people, I am going to ask him about the sternal wires and the I guess they call them sternal plates. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Or if need be, they can replace the wires with the plates.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Yeah, so that's that's a question I I have for Dr. Boyd is is about the sternal wires. And I have to thank you for your information about the prep for the chest block, because I was under the impression that when I go for the chest block, it was just I show up and there I am, and that all of the information they were giving me was for the actual surgery the next day. And you told me that when you had gone for your chest block, you had eaten a breakfast and that that was an issue.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

I was actually eating lunch before we went in. I was in the waiting room. I got yelled at for eating lunch in the waiting room because you're not supposed to, but I was the only one in there. So I said, What you know, what's the big deal? You go, you can't eat. Not only can you not eat in here, you can't eat for the procedure because you're supposed to be anesthetized. And I'm like, I missed that somewhere along the line. She goes, Well, you're gonna really miss it because now we have to do a local and it's it's not gonna be as comfortable. So I was a little bit disappointed to say the least.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Well, thank you for that, because I was under the same impression, and I found out this week after I called that you were correct, and I was not supposed to eat, and the the sponge and the cleansing lotion for the shower the night before and the next morning was for the chest block, whereas I assumed it was for the surgery. Now, to be fair to them, that information, more specific information, was coming this week. It just hadn't shown up yet, and I would have probably gotten it straightened out, but thank you for that.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Or maybe not. I'm gonna I'm gonna default to an error someplace in communication on that one because I'm pretty good, and I think you are too. I paid attention to everything they said to do to a fault. I mean, my wife was like, You don't have to do it that good. I said, Yes, I do. I don't want anything to go wrong. I think I would have caught the eating thing, but beside the point, it could have been embedded or whatever. But but I'm glad that helped. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Yes, yes. The other concern I have, all these things are external concerns. There's I don't have an internal concern, but all of my external concerns are have been showing up a little bit this week. Right now, we're kind of in the season of everybody getting sick. And so my niece's husband, where we're staying, just came down with COVID last week. He should be fine by the time we get there. And then the pastor at our church and some of the parishioners now have come down with COVID. And there's this horrendous virus that's going around, this cold virus that's going around. Luckily, I had just had this horrendous cold virus over Christmas, and so I I don't have to worry about catching that. So my husband and I are just kind of hiding from everybody at this point. We were supposed to have a family dinner and we canceled that. We were supposed to go to a potluck. We the the potluck actually got canceled because everybody getting sick, but the the illness I caught over the holidays really cemented my confidence in having this surgery because I was in bed for about a week and a half, and it I it had me so sick with congestion and other things that whenever I stood up to maybe go out to the kitchen or go into the restroom, I had horrible chest pains. I I had very, I was very short of breath and very lightheaded. And I thought, oh my gosh, this this could be my future if I don't get this taken care of. So that really, that scared me and made me very confident about going into this surgery and just wanting to get it done while I'm healthy and I can heal a little quicker.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

And so important, I think, to your thought process of we're hunkering down, we're not going out, we're not seeing it. I think we all do that. Of I don't want anything to happen during this process because God, what if I get sick and I can't go in? What if the doctor gets sick? I I you start thinking, okay, please, Doc, don't get sick, don't get a cold, don't get COVID evolved.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Oh gosh, I hadn't even worried about the doctor getting sick. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

Sorry, I don't mean to put anything else on you. You're you're he wouldn't know by the time until after the fact, anyhow. Well, you know, you you mentioned something I I want to just take a minute to shamelessly plug. We had Dr. Peggy DeLong on, who is the gratitude psychologist. And I do think it's so important to be grateful for what we've got going into a situation like this because it really helps you realize it's going to be okay. The fact that you've been diagnosed is something to be grateful for. The fact that you've been able to get the procedure accepted and you're heading into surgery to be grateful for. Uh, insurance covers it for the most part to be grateful for. And after our episode, when I talked with Peggy, Dr. DeLong, she sent me one of her little gratitude bracelets. Oh, wonderful. I have been wearing it ever since, and it's I'm not a bracelet guy, but I said, you know, I could use the opportunity to be reminded to be grateful a little bit more often, and if for nothing else, the fact that I'm still here and well and healthy. So I appreciate you bringing that up. It is something that is all too often easy to forget. You are a couple of days out. The episode is going to release on the day of your surgery. So I I think that is coincidental or or whatever, but really fortunate for everybody because we're having the conversation. You're going to be uh in there with Dr. Boyd at Stanford, and I think we can all send you the positive energy, you know, the thoughts, the prayers, and you know, the expressions of gratitude for you sharing what you shared with us because to do it a few days out when so many things are just going on in your Head and you know it's coming up. It takes a lot of courage to be able to do that. And I really, really appreciate you for taking the time, Leanne, and from the bottom of my imperfect heart for sharing what you shared today.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Thank you. I I'm I really appreciate being able to share this. And I would encourage anyone who is feeling frightened or scared or putting it off just because they're they're nervous of about what can happen. Just get it taken care of because it's only gonna get worse as we age. The medication can only do so much and do it sooner rather than later. Find somebody that you can trust that you feel confident in, whether it's Dr. Schnicker or somebody else, see somebody and just get it taken care of and get your life back.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Just a quick aside on that, too. It's it's advocate. You have to advocate. Many people don't have a doctor that recognizes it as a condition. Keep going, keep going, keep going. You were very fortunate. I was very fortunate in the process of not having to take too long. But we know other people are challenged. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going. And every step along the way, recognize that one step closer is something to be grateful for because you're just that much closer to getting the solution to what the problem is. As as this airs, as people are listening to it, we will be thinking of you because you will be getting your myocardial bridge unroofed. Best of luck to you. And have Ryan, I believe, is your husband.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:48

Please have him text or or you know share something with me via email. We just so we know, and I'll push some things out to the Facebook group. And we're just excited for you and really hopeful. And again, you know, my my deepest appreciation. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

Thank you for listening to Imperfect Heart. It's my hope that this information helped in some way to improve your situation or will help you better understand this condition. More importantly, that it gives you hope through stories that there is help and you most certainly are not alone. If you've been diagnosed with a myocardial bridge, please be sure to join the private Facebook group, Myocardial Bridge Support Group. For more information about our program or to reach me directly, visit the website myimperfectheart.com. If you like what you heard today, please give a positive review, thumbs up, high five, whatever your app likes. And be sure to share with everyone important to you so they understand what it is you're dealing with. Please subscribe as well. Welcome each day with gratitude and positivity. Imperfect Heart is a production of Hear Me Now Studio.