Well, shit!

Okay, so I went to see the cardiologist. I got a better understanding of what’s happening. I don’t have a bubble on the aorta; the aorta itself has ballooned out. The average aorta should be about 3cm. wide. Mine is over 5cm wide. I had thought there was a tear in the side of the aorta with a bubble protruding, but apparently the outer part of the aorta has come away from the inner lining, so the entire aorta is swelled out to nearly twice what it should be And I’m on weight/activity restriction, and told not to do anything to add stress or pressure on the heart and aorta. The P.A. told me about 10 pounds max to be lifting; only light weight lifting.

This means I am not supposed to be hefting bins of wet yarns or moving the heavy-laden steamer pot. That sucks. I suppose I could tolerate not lifting the vacuum around the house.

Before the dr. can determine what kind of surgery, they need to get a CT scan for all the details of what’s actually happening inside the aorta, as well as do a stress test for the heart, and some other things. And there’s new medications I have to start, as well, since my blood pressure was elevated this morning. Uhhh… maybe because I was at the dr.’s office to see about surgery??? Ya think? Anyway, I have to start the new meds. Whoopee. 🙁

Anyway, it’s a weird day for me. I know (in my head) that all of this sort of shit has been seen and dealt with by the medical teams, and my case is not unusual, and it will be taken care of in due time. But it’s all new to me, and so I’m quite a mess trying to take it all in and figure how it will impact my days and weeks to come.

I simply cannot not dye for a month or two. So I will have to figure out a way to do what needs doing, but in smaller increments over longer time. I cannot just sit on my ass until everything is fixed. I can’t afford it, nor will my brain allow me to veg out with full idleness. For now, though, for today, I have to just chill out and think it through piece by piece, and come up with a plan of action within my given restrictions.