I really should have included all this information before, but I've been waiting until I have everything before posting it. Aaron was doing really well for quite a while after the last post about his antibiotics. However, during one of his exams the medical staff discovered that the spot on his heart valve where the infection had been was growing again. That wasn't good, so more tests were ordered to see what was going on. Thankfully, the continued growth was not the infection growing again. There were several hypotheses about what happened, but they didn't really come to a conclusion about it. The only conclusion that mattered was that the heart valve had to go. With the spot continuing to grow for whatever reason, the risk of having a piece flake off and enter Aaron's bloodstream increased. The outcome of that would have been sudden death or a stroke that would leave him a vegetable. Those are not acceptable risks.
The replacement surgery is set for August 3rd, though we don't have an exact time yet. For those that fast, this Sunday (the 1st) would be an excellent opportunity to include Aaron and his surgery in your monthly fasting and prayer.
We are very happy that the surgery is happening sooner than originally planned. Over the past several weeks we've noticed Aaron getting weaker. He tires more easily and just doesn't have the energy he did before. It's been getting worse and has been a big concern for all of us. Aaron has been slowly moving over to our parents' house to live. He is expected to be in the hospital for a week after surgery and will be very limited in his activities for another month after that. He won't be able to drive for (I believe) two weeks and he isn't allowed back to work for a month, either. Being cooped up like that isn't really Aaron's idea of a good time, but it is preferable to death or complete incapacitation.
Aaron had an angiogram this morning in preparation for the replacement surgery. He was told his valve was diseased (duh) and that there was a lot of back flow from the valve. We kind of expected that, considering his weakened state over the past little while. When the surgeon finally came in to talk to him about the results and the upcoming surgery it was suggested that they perform the surgery tomorrow. Had there been a heart valve of the proper size available the surgery most likely would have been moved up to tomorrow. The valve is on order and will be available in time for the surgery on the 3rd. Aaron will have another week of anticipation and prep time before he goes under. Please hope and pray for the best.
