A great number of sitcoms lately have made light of this very serious question. Or maybe I’m just acutely aware of them now that my own medical well-being is on the line. A week ago on “Mike and Molly,” the entire plot revolved around how long it...
“There’s good news and there’s bad news…” So which would you ask for first? When confronted with that scenario in the cardiologist’s office, I went straight for the jugular. Give me the “bad news” first. And then I...
“So tell me again—” I asked the cardiologist. “Just how big is the myxoma?” The cardiologist began speaking as he waited for the information to come up on his computer screen. “Last week, when we did the regular Echocardiogram, we had...
Moments before my “TEE”—Transesophogeal Echocardiogram—I took inventory of those in my curtained cubicle. Kat (short for Kathleen) was in charge of the IV sedation. Bryant had the controls on the monitor for the scope that the doctor would soon be putting...
Patience is not my strong suit. Never has been. I want what I want when I want it. Give me instant gratification! But life is rarely like that. Today I sit here, completely immobilized by the great “unknown.” I feel like I’m living in a foggy world...
In all likelihood, I have a right atrial myxoma: a (hopefully) benign cardiac tumor attached to the septum separating the two upper chambers of my heart. They rarely see such a thing on the right side of the heart. Had it been located on the left, it would have...
