Sue's Profile

My teenage son was diagnosed with rheumatic fever 6 years ago (yes, a strange one). It damaged his aortic valve (moderate) and mitral valve (mild). We thought we'd be watching-and-waiting for years but in the past 2 years, things progressed for the worse. Now, his aortic valve regurgitation is severe, his mitral valve regurgitation remains mild and his LV is moderately dilated. Heart function is still good but we've been told to start researching surgical options before irreparable damage is done to his LV. I am heartbroken as he is only 18 years old and meant to start university this fall. While he finishes up high school, I am doing my utmost to research his best options. I've gotten so much inspiration reading Adam's Blog and will continue looking for knowledge, courage and hope for hard days to come.