Teresa's Profile

I was diagnosed at birth with Congenital pulmonic stenosis. My parents took me to cardiologists as a child as long as I can remember and in the 1960s and 1970s I remember going to hospitals in Philadelphia, . My parents would take me there from NJ and I think back now on how much they did and I am sure they worried. In my 20’s, I started a career in a company and a doctor determined I also had an aortic stenosis just by listening to my heart murmurs!! This was never noticed before so of course I was wondering what was happening! I decided I was too young and needed to keep working at my career and going on to school. I was determined to get my Masters Degree and kept pursuing and received it 2004. Oh, I forgot to mention that in 1996, I started having issues with my left side of my body and my vision and was eventually diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Life goes on. I continued to work and progressed in my career but there were days of invisible symptoms from the MS that I don’t wish on anyone…but life goes on. ——— Fast forward....now to 2020 and things are happening (I also have another condition I mentioned above, so I blame some of these things on that)…until the day I get out of bed and hit the floor. It was so scary because I had never experienced something like that before. Okay…So with the Pulmonic stenosis, I was told I would need surgery at some point but now here comes the aortic (Bicuspid Aortic) and it was winning the race! —I was working at a very interesting but intense job and all of this was very stressful to say the least. The position ended so I did not have to leave on my own. Now I had to figure out what to do with my heart. Fast forward…jumping around to figure out my surgeon. I was given the opportunity to have Dr Leonard Lee at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in NJ. Oh geez was I scared. I knew a heart surgery would come some day but tried to ignore it but now here it was. Of course COVID WAS RAMPANT SO they were telling me I may not have any of my family members. I was crying and so upset!!!! Then it was lifted and my husband was allowed to be there. He sat with me the night before as I cried like a baby hugging our little dog (Bitty). I was scheduled for a catherization on Thursday June 24 and Surgery Friday June 25 To be continued!