“I can’t feel my leg, my leg is cold, please help.” That was my patient’s plea on Christmas Day 2008. Hiking with her husband, she suddenly fell. She was rushed to the ER, where doctors noted her left side wasn’t moving; diagnosed with a stroke, a slew of tests followed. An echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) then shocked the hospital crew.
In one of her heart chambers (left atrium), there was a myxoma, a “benign” tumor, flopping back and forth between chambers. Small tumor pieces broke off and went into her brain (causing a stroke), her coronary artery (causing a heart attack) and her legs (causing a major obstruction, like a traffic jam on the 405 Freeway).
Blood thinners were started to prevent further events. There was some glimpse of hope, as she started to move her left arm. It was so overwhelming that her heart deteriorated within hours, causing heart failure and fluid in her lungs.
The left leg with the clot became gangrenous as did part of her right foot, and our patient underwent a below the knee amputation of the left leg, and an amputation of the right foot. An open-heart surgery followed, removing the tumor. Improvement is slow, but present in our 56-year-old patient.
Heartbreaking? No doubt. Unexpected? No one saw it coming. How long do we have? No one knows. Count your blessings? Oh my, everyday.
I bet my patient would have a request for us all. I bet she would plead with us, “If you have not talked to loved ones, and are so angry at them, find it in your heart to forgive them, please, pick up the phone now and tell them you love them.” I know she would cry, “If you’re so busy at your work, take a day off, and spend it with your family.” I can just hear her say, “You’re waiting to use the china for that special occasion, get them out now, and use them today.”
Should we then live recklessly? No. Simple caution, mixed with laughter and a heart devoted to serve will raise us out of mediocrity and place us in the realm of joy! What’s in the chambers of your heart?
Dr. Kojoglanian will be speaking at Betty Ferguson Foundation Women’s Division meeting, Heart of Mes Amies, on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at 6:30 pm. The Foundation is located at 25510 W. Avenue Stanford, Suite 104 in Valencia. Their meeting is open to the community and no RSVP is required.
For further information on your cardiovascular health, contact Dr. Kojoglanian, the Mender of Hearts, at 661-259-1711 and visit www.drrap.com .