Georgie's Journey

Today i celebrate one year exactly since my third open heart surgery! This time last year I'd still be in theatre during an 8hr operation to perform a septal myectomy and place a mechanical mitral valve. Frankly i wouldn't be alive to see this year through if it wasn't for this surgery and its thrown some major life changing shit at us, not being able to have children, daily meds, constant blood tests and a change in diet but i couldn't be more thankful to my surgeon and cardiologist for keeping me here and to my family & friends who have supported me the entire way through. An absolute hectic year but i couldn't be prouder of Aaron and i. This time last year Aaron was recovering from a cornea transplant as well, and we up to our absolute limit in debt with medical bills. In just a few months we've worked incredibly hard to get back on our feet and have since booked in our wedding and got our first ever brand new car. This year also taught me to be mor...

Migraines are extremely intense headaches and unless you've ever had one you can't begin to imagine how a 'headache' puts you completely out of action for a day or two. I've suffered from migraines since i was 3 years old, the same time i was diagnosed with CHD. I have no idea if they are linked or not but its an odd coincidence and something else I've dealt with since being a little girl. Migraines are extremely intense headaches that are made worse by activity and light. They make me very nauseous and i get sick almost every time. I've tried almost every medication under the sun and nothing has ever worked. I've had tests, xrays, seen nutritionists and specialist Dr's, as a little girl i was never allowed to eat foods with beef extract ( which sucked as i had a love for marmite and beef hoola hoops) and as a teenager they thought it might be dairy and i cut it out for years but cutting out these 'triggar' foods did nothing. After all ...

So it has come to my attention that people are actually following my blog as I've had a few messages asking if I've been away. Truth is i didn't think anyone actually read these and was more of an outlet for myself. So Anyway for those who do follow a few weeks ago i was admitted to hospital with a blood clot on my lung. It was fucking painful but not unusual as i have chest pain often. I was washing my hair and was literally so exhausted and out of breath i just cried and went back to bed. An hour or so later i needed to go to the pathology clinic to get my INR (blood test) done. Walking out of the clinic i was in so much pain under my left rib and also at the top of my chest and unusually out of breath, it hurt every time i took a breath. So i called my partner who immediately came home and called the hospital. Given my history and the fact i hate hospitals with a passion i didn't want to go and wasn't sure if it was a side effect to all my heart issues. The...

This last week has been full of hospital appointments (and a shit load of waiting around) for my 6 month follow up reviews. I got a mixed bag of results, Good news my pacemaker is working wonders, completely pacemaker dependent however at 100% with 8 years battery life left. My bloods are not bad, last INR was 2.3 so only slightly under range I've been given the clear to have an entire month of blood tests which is fantastic for me not having to stab myself every Friday. My new mechanical valve is working brilliant which is fantastic, BUT here's the kicker --- I've developed scar tissue below my aortic valve which is now restricting blood flow out of my heart and to the rest of my body. The only way to fix this is open heart surgery number 4 ! I'm pretty bummed, last year i made some massive life changing decisions and having a mechanical valve came at a cost of not being able to have my own children, warfarin ( blood thinners) daily meds and frequent blood te...

Between the two of us my partner and i often laugh at how life will be when we are old and senile with him not being able to see and me being powered by a battery we make quite the pair ! This week just marked another stressful week of the calendar with being told Aaron's transplant showing early signs of rejection. Thankfully we were seen by a cornea specialist who found a broken stitch that was causing all the irritation and an infection. A quick day procedure to remove the stitch. Phew I also got a call from the cardiovascular centre to say I'm receiving the new updated home monitor. I will now be able to bluetooth my pacemaker info to my phone which gets downloaded by the clinic every night. I've now reached robot update 100% with bluetooth, download features and constant monitoring. Last Saturday i spoke at the Women & Children's for HeartKids Education day, helping parents to transition their teenage heartkids into the adult health care system.  Person...

Today was no good, flat, moody, tired and just feeling meh. Some days are just rubbish and although 98% of the time I'm ok with chd a few times now and then i look down at all the years of scars on my chest and think yuck their ugly. Its ok not to have great days and i know this and i am super proud of my scars don't get me wrong but some days it would be nice to not have a constant reminder staring you in the face. Time to wrap up in all things cosy, bed, pjs, dog cuddles and pizza should do the trick. Henry knows when mum needs some extra cuddles, cute till he punches you in the pacemaker with his paw ! 🐕