More angels are coming.

We are not just getting second opinion, but even more. 

I forwarded Omar's 2d echo result to Kuya Archie, who works in a clinic in California, and he was able to have it checked with their cardiologist. 

My sister, Jenny, has been asking her friends for cardiologists. Through Mia, I got to speak with Dr. Daffy Morales and was assured that we are in good hands with his boss, Dr. Habana. He offered his line too should we have any questions and could not reach Dr. Habana. 

I forwarded it too to Daddy, who is in Canada. He forwarded Omar's case to his cousin, Tita Baby, a doctor practicing in New York. Now, she is in communication with her friend doctors here in the Philippines. 

Daddy forwarded it too to Tita Juliet, my mom's cousin who is a nurse in Canada. She then forwarded it to her sister, Tita Jackie, another nurse, who showed it to their cardiologist. 

I posted in my egroup my family's condition and asked for prayers. We are now banging the heaven's doors with all our prayers. 

My inlaws brought Omar to the healing mass of Fr. Suarez. 

With all these, how can I cry? I cannot. We feel so blessed and grateful. We feel so loved. 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

We can do this! I know Lord that we are in Your hands and You will never abandon us. 

Second opinion

January 17, we took our chance and went to The Medical City to see Dr. Habana, referred by Edhel, my niece who is a doctor. 

God is good, the doctor is Intellicare accredited and we were able to see him. 

Aortic aneurysm can be done in the Philippines. But Omar's LV and EF makes it to a very high risk surgery. 

Surgery is at very high risk at LV of 7 and above. Omar's is 7.9. Aorta size of 5 and above is at high risk too. Omar's is 4.6. 

Dr. Habana has looked post operation of the same case as Omar's but the lowest EF he has done so far was 32 while Omar's is 28. But the best thing about Omar is he is still young at the age of 40. 

Euroscore (European assessment of cardiac surgical risk) for Omar's case is 12.7%. In the Philippines, that will be 15-20%. In comparison, bypass euroscore is 1-1.5%. 

Dr. Habana are recommending the ff tcvs (thorasic cardio vascular surgeon):

Dr. Leo Rico of Heart Center

Dr. Nelson Lee of Heart Center and Chinese Gen. Hospital 

Dr. Manabat of Medical City. 

Among the 3, Dr. Lee is the best bet. Also, Chinese Gen. Hospital has the lowest mortality rate when it comes to heart surgery. 

We will have CT aortagram to evaluate the size of aorta, scheduled on Jan. 21 Tuesday at 8am at Medical City. 

We will also get pulmonary function test and carotid duplex scan on the same day. 

 

Best to see the tcvs with results of the scans and test requested. 

First cardio visit.

With Mama Olive, we saw our first cardiologist, Dr. Lingling Uy. 

He asked Omar what he was feeling, for any chest pain and checked if he was 'manas'. He then asked Omar to step out of the clinic while he discussed Omar's condition with us. 

Omar was diagnosed with aortic root aneurysm, severe aortic regurgitation and dilated left ventricle with low ejection fraction. 

He was afraid Omar's heart cannot take the surgery. Omar's aorta is almost as big as his enlarged left ventricle. His concern is to stop the leakage of blood back to the heart. He instructed us to get as much opinions as we can get from different thoracic cardio vascular surgeons. 

He limited too Omar's fluid intake to 1.5 liters. 

He referred us not only to see a tvcs, but an optha as well, just to rule out marfan syndrome. 

Second viewing.

Dr. Jimenez was sick and wasn't able to attend to his clinic, Dr. Varilla informed us over the phone. 

Van texted Omar and invited him for a second viewing, together with the doctor, for free, the following day. 

January 15, we had our second viewing for Omar's 2d echo. 

Dr. Varilla was having lunch at the canteen when Dr. Uy approached him and informed him of Omar's 2d echo. It so happened that Van texted Dr. Uy that we were already there for the second viewing. Dr. Varilla, unaware of the invitation for us, was able to join us. 

During the second viewing, I can already hear the word surgery coming from Dr. Uy. 

Dr. Varilla then invited us to his clinic to discuss with us what he saw at Omar's 2d echo. 

Omar's aorta is enlarged, causing the valve to expand. Therefore, the valve does not seal anymore, causing the pumped blood to return to the left ventricle part of the heart. The heart then is bearing much blood from the returns causing the left ventricle to enlarge as well. And they saw too severe aortic regurgitation or the leaking blood back to the heart. 

Aorta is not part of the heart but is connected to the heart. 

We will have to go back the following day to see Dr. Uy, the cardiologist. 

What they saw.

It was the morning of Monday, January 13, when Omar had his 2d echo. It was his first. 

Van, the cardio technician, asked a lot about his daily routine, what he does for a living, why the doctor requested for 2d echo, who was our doctor and the likes. 

I thought the questions were part of the SOP until a doctor passed by just to request for his patient to be scheduled for the day. Van requested the doctor to check on Omar and the doctor asked us for the requesting doctor. 

Right on the spot, he called Dr. Varilla on his mobile phone. I was bothered with his urgency and concern to notify our doctor with Omar's condition. 

Van recommended us to see a cardiologist right away. 

Dr. Varilla called Omar at the office. Result of the 2d echo is not good. He is just to stay at the office and not to tire himself. He instructed Omar to see his cardiologist friend, Dr. Rodny Jimenez, tomorrow. With strict instruction on not to postpone the check-up. 

It was like doomsday for Omar. Mixed emotions - sad, scared and worried. Of what? We don't know. We were just teary eyed and very scared. 

What was felt.

It was January 1, 2014 when we went to SM Aura to buy Winter's Furby. Unfortunately, Toy Kingdom was closed. 

From the parking to Uniqlo, Omar had cold sweat and got tired easily. We tried to hear mass at the chapel but was not able to finish it. The chapel was full and he needed to rest. 

The following day, after work, we then went to Toy Kingdom in Makati to get Winter's Furby and to buy our groceries from Landmark. He got tired again and just waited for me at the food court while I did the grocery shopping. 

We then decided to get our long planned check up with Dr. Varilla. He prescribed meds for acid reflux based from Omar's complains of easy fatigue and difficulty in burping. We were given requests for blood chemistry. Omar was given request for his usual chest xray and ekg. Dr. Varilla then requested for his 2d echo just to check on his heart, due to his hypertension. 

January 9, we even joined the procession of Nazareno at Bulacan and went malling. The meds were good for Omar did not experience any fatigue. 

January 10, we had our blood chem. he had his xray and ekg and scheduled for his 2d echo on Monday. 

I'm Back

I'm back. 

To document my journey as a wife. 

For my better half. 

We will fight. 

We will survive. 

We have faith in Him.