The Daily for Monday Feb 22, 2021

[Overhead Fred]

57 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

It looks like a long road ahead.

We will all be cheering you on for each step of your journey

[VMax1700]

@rafinmdthe road may appear long, but you now have the directions to reach your destination and 'roadside assistance' in place for the journey.   Lots of virtual hugs and support from us.  

[Lady Hudson]

Prayers for a speedy resolution to your medical issues, Roy.  Katherine

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

It looks like a long road ahead.  There are 3 issues going forward.  The immediate problem is that my mitral valve has a defective flap.  Secondary to that is that there is a calcium buildup in the area which makes the repair more difficult with less assurance of success.  The final issue is my ongoing lung disease which always looks bad on the tests although it has impacted my quality of life far less than the tests show.  Their recommendation was replacing the valve which is still in the clinical trial stage and not as quick to get into.  They were also concerned that the lung issues may exclude me from the trial.  The next step will be a CT scan of the heart which will be done as an outpatient, probably in the 10-14 day time frame.

 

Roy

🌺Dear Roy,

You are in good hands with your Cardiologist and all our prayers go out to you!! Virtual Hugs and know I will always be in your corner!!  Look to your

next cruise adventure!!! I want more sunrise and sunsets soon!

Denise😊

 

[JazzyV]

@rafinmd Is that trial for doing a catheter procedure as opposed to open heart surgery? My BFF's Dad had a calcified aortic valve and was 89 and put it off, until he went into congestive heart failure. So they treated that with meds, then did an open valve replacement. He did great. He walks several miles a day for years, and 6 weeks post-op he was back to walking. Praying for things to go well for you!

[St. Louis Sal]

Good afternoon to all!

 

It’s 55 and sunny in St Louis! My husband is out on the patio grilling ribs. Hard to believe after the below zero windchill and snow of last week; it feels like spring. We will try not to rush the season 😄

 

Loved hearing the reminiscing about Girl Scouts. I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout in my younger days and then a Brownie Scout Leader when my kids were that age. One year I was the Girl Scout Cookie chairman for our district. ALL the cookies were delivered to my house. Cookies in the living room, the dining room, the family room, the garage. I wondered how many calories were in my house! Camp Cedarledge is not too far from me-both my girls went to camp there in the 70’s and 80’s and so did I-in the 50’s!

 

I was updating my Lyft app and saw that my last ride was on February 15, 2020 from our Miami hotel to the port to board the Celebrity Infinity for the Rock and Romance cruise. Little did I know that would be my last cruise for a long time. ☹️
 

Take care,

St Louis Sal

[StLouisCruisers]

@rafinmdwe are all here cheering you on and supporting you along the way.   Put yourself on the prayer list until you have finished with treatment.  We insist!🙏

[Vict0riann]

Yes, Roy, @rafinmd, we will all be praying for you and a successful procedure.  It has to help!

[Mtn2Sea]

Roy, remember you’re not alone.  Your many friends here on Cruise Critic will be here praying for you as you get through this.  

[rafinmd]

47 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

 Is that trial for doing a catheter procedure as opposed to open heart surgery? My BFF's Dad had a calcified aortic valve and was 89 and put it off, until he went into congestive heart failure. So they treated that with meds, then did an open valve replacement.

Thank you everyone.  @JazzyV, it is definitely not a catheter procedure.  They indicated it was a less invasive approach compared to traditional open heart surgery and I'm a bit hazy on the actual details.  One of the differences they mentioned is that in this procedure the heart is not stopped so it sounds a lot different from the traditional procedure.  I wonder how much different replacing a mitral valve is from an aortic valve, and possibly the calcium acts differently with different valve structures.

 

Roy

[cat shepard]

Not sure how the creator of this chart defines East, but I was surprised to see Georgia on the chart, since it is so far South. 
 

Florida just needs to try harder....

Edited February 22, 2021 by cat shepard

[Love the beach]

Roy, wishing you all the best. Think positive and know that we are all praying and pulling for you.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good afternoon.  I’m really late today since it was house cleaning day, which is not one of my favorite days.

 

@rafinmd  Roy, I’m sorry things did not turn out as well as you and all of us wished for.  As so many have said, at least you know where you stand and what needs to be done.  It sounds like your doctor is working hard to give you the best outcome.  Just take it one step at a time, follow the doctors orders and advice, all the while knowing you have a great big cheering section rooting for you.

 

Happy Birthday to all are celebrating birthdays today.  I’ve enjoyed all the pictures today, especially knowing they brought back many wonderful, happy memories.

 

Lenda

[HAL4NOW]

I love to see all of the positive comments and prayer promises for Roy, and others that have shared their needs.

One more thing that can be done is to donate blood. Hopefully Roy won't need any with his procedure, but if he does it is good to have some available. The blood banks are in short supply right now with the weather our nation has been experiencing. 

My DW and I were able to donate blood this morning (O positive and O negative) and still had time for a walk on the beach when the sun came out in Westport, WA.

Happy Monday!

[erewhon]

Thanks for the daily reports, humour and photos.

@bennybearwishing you a good outcome from your MRI.

@Av8rix Happy Birthday.

@puppycanducruisebeautiful Hibiscus.

 

@rafinmdthanks for letting us know the result of your appointment today,, as others have said take one day at a time, and  be guided by your specialist.   Hope you do not have to wait too long for the CT Scan.

Also, thanks for reminding us of your visit to Dunedin, we did  get to meet the Captain after our lunch, before leaving the ship.  We were pleased to meet with you and show some of our city to you.

It's a cloudy day, had some rain earlier, 26C expected today.

Stay well and safe everyone..

[kazu]

5 hours ago, rafinmd said:

It looks like a long road ahead.  There are 3 issues going forward.  The immediate problem is that my mitral valve has a defective flap.  Secondary to that is that there is a calcium buildup in the area which makes the repair more difficult with less assurance of success.  The final issue is my ongoing lung disease which always looks bad on the tests although it has impacted my quality of life far less than the tests show.  Their recommendation was replacing the valve which is still in the clinical trial stage and not as quick to get into.  They were also concerned that the lung issues may exclude me from the trial.  The next step will be a CT scan of the heart which will be done as an outpatient, probably in the 10-14 day time frame.

 

Roy

 

Oh dear Roy, I liked your post because I care but this is not good at all.

 

I hope you can get into the trial an the CT scan will be better than what they are saying.

I will be praying for you fervently ♥️ 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Not sure how the creator of this chart defines East, but I was surprised to see Georgia on the chart, since it is so far South. 
 

Florida just needs to try harder....

I was surprised when I looked at your chart.

 

We’d be happy here if all we got was 90” of snow 😉 

 

I too am surprised to see Georgia on the list.

[Seasick Sailor]

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Thank you everyone.  @JazzyV, it is definitely not a catheter procedure.  They indicated it was a less invasive approach compared to traditional open heart surgery and I'm a bit hazy on the actual details.  One of the differences they mentioned is that in this procedure the heart is not stopped so it sounds a lot different from the traditional procedure.  I wonder how much different replacing a mitral valve is from an aortic valve, and possibly the calcium acts differently with different valve structures.

 

Roy

 

My dear friend Roy.. I know in my heart all is going to be well. Allen had an aortic aneurysm surgery as well as a new valve installed 3 years ago. He's doing great heart wise. He's still hanging in there after 2 strokes. There is ALWAYS hope. I know all will be well. Love and prayers to you.

[Marmot@Sea]

@rafinmd  It is good to know you have some answers to your questions.  All the best as you move forward on this health journey.  We will all be pulling for you.

 

Val

[DeeniEncinitas]

20 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

My dear friend Roy.. I know in my heart all is going to be well. Allen had an aortic aneurysm surgery as well as a new valve installed 3 years ago. He's doing great heart wise. He's still hanging in there after 2 strokes. There is ALWAYS hope. I know all will be well. Love and prayers to you.

🌺I LOVE YOU MY SISTER!! You spoke from your heart!!! You are the encouragement and the soul of caring!

Denise 🌺

[Cruising-along]

30 minutes ago, kazu said:

I too am surprised to see Georgia on the list.

Not only GA, but Savannah!  DH comes from Savannah and his sisters and cousins still live there.  You could probably hear them in Canada when they get an itsy bitsy sprinkle of snow. (which of course isn't very often)  😱😄

[Sharon in AZ]

Roy @rafinmd  take care and know that we are all here praying and thinking about you. Sometimes things in life are difficult but we grow stronger while going through them. I know you have the strength and will to get through this. Someday we will meet onboard a beautiful HAL ship!!!!

[highland cruiser]

7 hours ago, rafinmd said:

It looks like a long road ahead.  There are 3 issues going forward.  The immediate problem is that my mitral valve has a defective flap.  Secondary to that is that there is a calcium buildup in the area which makes the repair more difficult with less assurance of success.  The final issue is my ongoing lung disease which always looks bad on the tests although it has impacted my quality of life far less than the tests show.  Their recommendation was replacing the valve which is still in the clinical trial stage and not as quick to get into.  They were also concerned that the lung issues may exclude me from the trial.  The next step will be a CT scan of the heart which will be done as an outpatient, probably in the 10-14 day time frame.

 

Roy

Take care , Roy.  We wish you the best as you begin this journey.  

🙏

[TiogaCruiser]

Roy,

Praying for a good outcome for you, and improvement in your current symptoms.

 

~TC

[bennybear]

@rafinmdall the best Roy!  Praying!