Well after 3 years and 3 ablations I think I am cured of a-fib!
I have probably had a-fib my entire life but it got really bad when I was pregnant with Tommy. I will never forget the morning I heart was beating out of control, the cardiologist asked me to come in right away and when they hooked me up to the EKG the nurse freaked out and said you are in a-fib. This is not a nice thing to do to an expecting mommy!
I got on some medications that were safe for baby but they sure did not keep me out of a-fib. The day I had Tommy I was in a-fib and they decided a c-section would be best. My heart rate was over 200 and I thought I was going to faint but I just kept telling myself to be strong so I could see my baby! I made it through without fainting. Tommy spent the first 36 hours in the nursery because of a slow heart rate thanks to the meds and I spent the first 36 hours in the cardiology unit with no baby!
Fast forward to September 2009 when I had my first ablation. It was my first night without Tommy and I just was not ready for that! They procedure took about 10 hours and when the nurse went to take the stints out she let me know this was her first time... it hurt like HELL and I never felt that pain again thank GOD!
Fast forward to June 2011. They told me I might have to do this twice and after a couple attempts at some diets and quick weight loss, I was in a-fib. So in June 2011 I had my second ablation unfortunately with no success.
So we went through all the fun testing again and when I went in to see my doc he said I want you to go see Dr. Su for a cryo balloon ablation and that there may be one of the best gifts I was ever given! I really respect a doc who can turn their patient over to another doc of the same kind.
My mom and I went and met with Dr. Su on April 11th. He explained this new technology to us and even asked us on several occasions if we had questions. He was AMAZING... he worked with so much passion and showed through all his interactions. He asked how I wanted to move forward and I said lets schedule this thing ASAP. So April 26th was the date!
Mike and I got to Banner Sams at 5:00 am and the procedure started at 7:00 am. The doctor said my heart was going into a-fib by itself. I mentioned I had not had an episode since February and he said I was probably going in and out of sinuous rhythm and I had no idea... that is not good! While he was working on the left side of the heart (this is where most a-fib shoots from) they noticed a spot on the right side. Strange... he had only seen 4 other patients with the same situation. And even stranger yet this spot was beating at 1000 beats per minute. It was so strange he took a photo of the heart rate and he was so kind to share it with us. It looked like fireworks and he explained my heart was angry. After that got that spot all taken care of they pumped adrenalin into my heart for 2 yours to induce a-fib and there was none!
I spent the night in the hospital with all the other senior citizens and I was free to go the next day!
A-fib has brought me plenty of stress and anxiety. What if I can never have another baby? What if I can never give Tommy a sibling? What if I have a stroke? Who will take care of my baby like I would? What if I get pregnant? My doctors would be so mad (they were always telling me to get on birth control but I never did). What would it do to the baby? What would it do to me? What about Tommy? These questions would race through my mind all the time. But now I hope I can leave them behind me and turn over a new leaf in life.
And if for any reason the a-fib does come back I will be in Dr. Su's office and I am confident he will be the one to "fix" me.
