Dennis Richardson
By Dennis Richardson
Coming up is the anniversary of a date that I will never forget.
No. it isn’t the wedding anniversary… that isn’t until July.
It is the 10th anniversary of quadruple bypass surgery on my heart and a heart valve replacement, all in one long operation.
Without that operation I don’t know if I would have lived to see my 60th birthday. When the cardiologist at St. Thomas in Nashville said I had a 99 percent blockage I didn’t want to hesitate. The news, along with a diagram, was so shocking to me that I told them to operate as soon as they could pull the surgery team together.
I was shocked again when they said I should stay overnight and that they would do the surgery the next day.
That was a sleepless night as I just put everything in God’s hands and prayed for the best.
They worked me in first thing, about 5:30 the next morning and I didn’t know anything until I awoke sometime that evening.
About my only choice was whether I wanted them to put in a “tissue” valve or a “mechanical” valve. Since I was told the tissue one would probably last only seven or so years I chose the mechanical one.
I feel really fortunate that the surgery went well and less than a week later I was back home for a recovery.
So far the ole’ ticker continues to work fine. I have had good reports on each of my annual check ups and really hope that it continues that way. I do not want to have to go through that again.
February is National Heart Month and I thank God every day for trained surgeons and cardiologists.
