On a Wednesday last March, Robert G. Kaiser started the day like many
others. But suddenly his vision changed, his left arm tingled and his
chest hurt. His wife took him to the hospital, where doctors found that
he had a dangerous dissection in his aorta -- the inner wall of the
artery had separated from the outer wall constricting his circualation.
Surgeons operated quickly, repairing his aorta and averting his death.
Washington Post Associate Editor Robert G. Kaiser and Dr. Paul Corso, chief cardiac surgeon at Washington Hospital Center, discuss the Washington Post Magazine article about the procedure.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Mclean, VA:
hi,
what's your recommendation for a 33-year old female who has not had a physical in close to 10 years - more specifically what tests should be performed to help determine heart health as well as a baseline to use for future check-ups...i am especially concerned since hypertension and high cholesterol run in my family as well as the changing landscape for testing heart health for women..thanks and God Bless...
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: Good morning. I am in Dr. Corso's office at the Washington Hospital Center. Our technoogy doesn't allow us to answer separately, so I will mark my ansers RK, and his PC.
As to this question, Have a physical! My experience confirms what doctors always tell you: when something is wrong, seek hjelp. Don't wait. With your family history especially, you shoujld, I think, be seeing a doctor regularly.
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Washington, DC:
In your article you say that, even if you'd had an MRI very shortly before your aorta dissected, it wouldn't have shown anything happening in time to take preventive action. Based on your experience and the research you did for this article, for people who have family members who have had unexpected heart attacks or a history of similar problems, are there any diagnostic steps people can take before they start having the symptoms you had (i.e., before the aortic dissection actually occurs), so that preventive action can be taken at an earlier point in time?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: As far as sprevention is concerned, you need to keep your blood pressure under good control. If you have a family histlory of unexplained cardiovascular death or aneurysms, then careful fullow up by your physician to include blood pressure control and echocardiograms is called for. However, there is no test that we have today that will say you WILL have a dissection, as was stated in the article
RK: This is the scary part,e specially for my two daughters and other blood relations. You can take precautions, but you cannot see this coming.
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Arlington, Va.:
Thanks much for the article. Our 77 year-old mother had surgery three weeks ago to repair an aortic aneurysm that extends from the ascending aorta past the aortic arch to the descending aorta. The surgeons at Cleveland Clinic repaired the ascending aorta through the arch -- she will have a second surgery later this spring(vascular rather than thoracic we hope) to finish the repair. Clearly, I'm very interested in the "family history" aspect of Mr. Kaiser's piece. How significant a risk factor is family history for this kind of heart disease?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: As noted in the article, "family aortric aneurysm disease" is now being studied by a number of researchers. Readers who think their camilies may have this should contact me directly at: robertgkaiser@yahoo.com. I can put you in touch with people at Cornell and the U. of Texas who are conducting studies. We have several similar questions this morning: please consider this the answer to all of them.
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Kensington, Md.:
Hi Mr. Kaiser, your article was great and published at the exact time that I'm preparing for open heart surgery. I was recently diagnosed with a condition that will require surgery in a few months. I'm 32 and completely surprised that I had a heart problem (torn valve leaflet). Although this is nowhere as serious as your condition was, is there any specific advice that you can give to someone who's about to go under the knife?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: The diference between us is, you have had a warning; I had none. I am sure your doctor has given you the advice you need. The good news is, heart surgery is now so advanced that you have a very good prognosis. But I know how scary it can be.
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Cupertino, Calif.:
How is the initial conclusion made to check for dissection of the aorta? And are most patients who go into ER's with chest pain routinely checked for this or does it depend upon if the physician remembers to do this, such as Dr. Kaiser's physician?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: In most situations, dependingo n the characterization of the pain, dissecting aneurysm is on the list of things that doctors should look for. But we know that sometimes they don't.
RK: Dr. Sumner, the DR doc who diagnosed me correctly and saved my life (with Dr. Corso's help!) was smart to check me out so thoroughly. Many patients who were not caught early do die from these episodes. Specialists in the field are trying to educate ER doctors to look for dissections mroe often.
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Philly, Pa.:
Robert,
I noticed you didn't mention any spiritual aspect to your recovery and assessment of your incident. Do you believe this near-death experience has affected you in a spiritual way? Were you at all spiritual before the rupture?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: I was not a church-going person before or after the operation, but I am more appreciative now of nature and life in general. Is this spiritual? In a way I feel it is. Every day tastes good to me now.
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Boulder, Colo.:
As a person who has enjoyed following your journalistic career since way back when we were college classmates in New Haven, I was delighted to read that you had "dodged the reaper" with your "lucky" heart attack last March. I, too, am fully insured but it didn't insulate me from shockingly indifferent medical services in urgent care, then the emergency room, then the office of an orthopedic physician for serious injuries I suffered recently in a bicycle accident. To what extent did your status as a certified Washington VIP play a role in your nonpareil medical treatment?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: I will ask Dr. Corso to answer this first, then I will:
PC: I don't believe that a person's status did or should have any impact on the kind of medical care they get. You're treating the disease process with every resource that you have, and the prominence of that individual is not going to make me -- or, I believe, any other doctor -- try harder.
RK: I have no reason to doubt what Dr. C says. But I wonder how many people with symptoms like mine who have no medical insurance would have waited much longer, and perhaps too long, before going to an Emergency Room or a doctor's office.
PC: Of course, prominent people can get access to good care more easily.
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Louisville, Ky.:
Why so little mention of the role nurses played in your care? Rather, the run-of-the-mill adoring doctor article. A whole slew of medical professionals participated in your care. While the vascular/cardiac plumbing repair may amaze you (and most folks). The surgeon's four hours was but a small part of the 'round the clock care your received.
A critical care nurse
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: There is a compliment or two to the nurses in the article, and there could have been thousands of words of praise for the Washington Hospital Center and Sibley Hospital nursing staff who took splendid care of me. They are smart people, not just good helpers; they know what they are doing, and play an invaluable role in the operating room and in the intensive care unit afterward. I loved my nurses!
PC: Surgeons are like uarterbacks, they get too much credit and too much blame. Any surgeon knows that his or her success, and therefore the patient's result, is determined by the entire team, of which the nurses are a huge part.
RK: We were pleased to put that good photo of Dr. Corso's OR team in the Post magazine with my article.
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Santa Barbara, Calif.:
Genetics considered, is there anything
one can do to avoid having such an aortic
dissection, anything to strengthen the
arterial walls? Relatively few of us have
that kind of insurance and even fewer
would be close to such superb specialist
as Dr. Corso.
(thanks for a beautiful article)
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Keep your blood pressure down, and stay away from cocaine! Len Bias, the Maryland basketball player, was a victim of a similar heart episode brought on, probably, by cocain.
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Pittsburgh, Pa.:
Mr. Kaiser
I read your piece about your experience in heart surgery and found it to be extremely interesting and informative.
You said you were on the heart-lung machine for several hours during the procedure. Did you experience any after effects, such as loss of memory afterwards, which I understand is not unusual. I heard this referred to as a "pumphead" i.e. the person who experiences this procedure. Do you care to comment?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: I had no such problems after my heart-and-lung machine experience. I'll ask Dr Corso to comment.
PC: There is a definite problem with a certain percentage of people after their operations. Most of these cognitive changes are small. We are doing a study now to evaluate cognitive changes after the heart-lung machine, and compare that to patients having similar operations without the machine. Those results are not i n yet. There have been studies that show there are cognitive changes after any major operation, with or without a heart-lung machine being used.
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Bethesda, Md.:
I had an identical experience last June, and am another of the lucky survivors. Like you, I am grateful for the competence of the medical people who saved my life. One of Dr. Corso's partners, Dr. Bafi, did the surgery and Dr. Corso did visit me in WHC. My three children are in their 40's. Because of the genetic possibilities, should they be thinking of getting a CTscan or MRI? Or is it a waste of time and money?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: At the prsent time there are no studies that predict a dissection though if a chest x-ray or an echocardiogram were to show an enlarged aorta, especially in someone whose family has a history of this, those people would be watched even more closely. However, other than blood pressure control, there is no other preventive.
RK: The Cornell and Texas studies I referred to earlier are trying to establish a "genetic marker" that would identify people who have the genetic flaw -- a connective tissue disorder, they think -- that can lead to dissections like mine. But they also think that not everyone who has the disorder will have a dissection, And they haven't yet identified the genes involved.
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Albuquerque, N.M.:
Awesome article! As a critical care paramedic, I found it very educational. I have a question for Dr. Corso: What is the mortality rate for aortic dissections? I would assume that the mortality rate for untreated dissections is 100 percent, but I would like to know what percentage of patients survive to discharge from the hospital?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: The mortality rate for dissections is not 100%. However, it is approxmiately one percent per hour in the first 48 hours once it occurs. The operative mortality once a dissection occurs certainly depends on the patient's condition upon arrival inthe OR, but in general, unles s the patient is in shock, the mortality rate should be around five percent.
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Alexandria, Va.:
What's the most critical point of the operation? Is it when you are transferring the body into deep hypothermia?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: There are several critical times during the operation. The actual placing the patient on cardio-pulmonary by-pass and deep hypothermia is certainly an important one, but not the most critical. That would be when the repair is being carried out, and at the time the patient is taken off the heart-lung machine, when the success of that repair is first tested.
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Atlanta, Ga.A:
I am a Medical Student at Emory University and our professors always tell us to measure blood pressure in both arms in patients suspected of having an Aortic Dissection. Did Dr. Sumner do this and if so, was it abnormal? Thank you! Michael Ward.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Dr. Sumner told me after the fact that the Sibley hospital records weren't clear on this point. But once he had the "beautiful pictures," the CT scan that washingtonpost.com has made wonderfully available to all readers with my article, he didn't need any more evidence that I had a dissection.
PC: Measuring pulses and pressure in all four extremities and both carotid arteries is an extremely important part of the physical exam. Many times a strong diagnosis of dissection can be made with a careful questioning of the patient's complaint of pain and examination of their pulses, and a careful listening to their heart to see if there is a leaky aortic valve. This, however, does require verification with a CT Scan or an echocardiogram or an MRI scan.
RK: It's interesting that the range of pain reported by people having a dissection is extrme. Some report unbearable, searing pain; I had nothing remotely like that--no pain at all, really, just some odd discomfort.
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Rockville, Md.:
How fortunate you had good medical care! Best
wishes for a good recovery
My uncle died of an aortic dissection at age 63
and my sister had an aortic aneurysm near the
arch repaired (twice) a few years ago. Is there
any evidence of genetic factors contributing to
impaired integrity of the aorta? No one in my
family "looks" like Marfan's.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: There's no Marfan's Syndrom \e in my family either. See my earlier answers about the genetics...
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Rockville, Md.:
I'm glad your back together and hope everything works out well. At age 59 I had a similar but different episode that began in the bathroom. I had a heart attack. Instead of having my wife drive me to Suburban, we called 911. The medics were at my home in 10 minutes and I was at Suburban 20 minutes later. 10 minutes after that I arrested. Think what would have happened if I had arrested while my wife was driving me to Suburban. Why didn't you call 911 instead of having your wife drive you to the hospital? Was it because you live in the district and the medical emergency response is unreliable?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Not sure I know the answer as to why I called my doctor, Robert Hardi, instead of 911. I guess I knew I wasn't having a heart attack, at least not a classic one, or a stroke.
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New York, N.Y.:
What can cause an aortic dissection, other than a genetic defect?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: aortic dissections probably occur only in those people who have a defect in the wall of their aorta. However, there are situations where actual blood can lift up a plaque of artereosclerosis and cause a localized dissection which is called an intramural hematoma. This usually does not require surgical intervention.
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Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Kaiser,
An excellent article!; It thoroughly describes what
many, thankfully, will never experience, especially from
your point of view, but which a few experience on a
relatively 'routine' basis, albeit from the other perspective.
My only question, really a comment, is why the
Anesthesiologist was not mentioned? I realize that you
probably don't remember meeting this person, but their
job is no less important than Dr. Corso's. Surgery can not
proceed without anesthesia in most cases. The
preparations for surgery you mentioned in your article:
endotracheal (breathing) tube, central line (jugular i.v.,)
and transesophageal echocardiogram are all usually
inserted under the expert care of an anesthesiologist, a
Medical Doctor specializing in anesthesia. All too often,
anesthesiologists are unmentioned during accounts of
surgery, except when something goes wrong. Your
anesthesiologist deserves as much mention as Dr. Corso
and Dr. Sumner. Please give him or her the credit they
deserve!;
Thank you once again for such an interesting and
well-written article.
Sincerely,
Jack Cooley, M.D.
Diplomate, American Board of Anesthesiologists
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: THanks for the opportunity to mention Dr. Travis Weddington, whose picture should have been in the magazine. He was out the day the photographer came to the hospital.
Practically speaking, I think the explanation for my oversight is that I never, to this day, met Dr. Weddington. He entered my case at a late stage, and exited it quickly! But like everyone else involved, he seems to have done a great job.
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Greenbelt, MD:
My father, in his mid-60s, dropped dead one Sunday morning back in 1982. My mother didn't want an autopsy, so how do I know whether he had an aortic dissection, a heart attack or a bleeding kind of stroke? (He took a lot of aspirin for his arthritis, and while he wasn't a hemophiliac, his blood seemed to clot less rapidly than average -- perhaps he had a touch of von Willebrand's disease.) I'm just asking because as I get older, I'm more concerned about my genetic heritage. Thank you.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: Sudden death is far more frequently caused by heart attacks or strokes than by dissections, though there is no way of knowing that a dissection was the cause unless there is an autopsy. The hematologic changes you mentioned would not cause sudden death.
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Rockville, MD:
What was it like writing about what the medical team did to your body during surgery?
I have torn the ACL in both my knees, and I recently had to edit a document describing the manipulations that the sadists --- I mean, the orthopedic specialists --- do to evaluate an injured knee. It was excruciating to read the descriptions; I actually got a little nauseous remembering the pain.
What was your experience.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Good question. I came to the conclusion, after boethering Drs. Corso and Sumner for hours of interviews, that most patients never really learn what happens to them in complicated ssurgeries like mine. And you may agree, after reading my article -- which my daughter Emily says should have carried a parental warning -- that this ignorance is a kind of bliss. But personally I found it very therapeutic first to learn all the details, and then to be able to treat them as material for journalism. It took the experience out of my personal space into my professional life, which allowed me to look at the episode with new perspective, and to put it behind me.
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Washington, D.C.:
Mr Kaiser,
Your story is incredible. Congratulations to you and your doctors. You mentioned in the beginning of your article, that when you first experienced your symptoms, there was reason to believe that it was a "panic attack." Are there ways to distinguish a real physical trauma from a psychologically-based trauma (i.e. panic attack) that don't require a visit to the emergency room? How common is it to experience symptoms similar to yours that are due to some kind of panic attack?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: Any time you have a physical problem, you need to explore its causes before thinking it might be panic.
RK: Dr. Sumner realized quickly that his original hypothesis was wrong--happily for me!
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Poolesville, Md.:
Mr. Kaiser:
In December, 1997, when I was 59, I had a double coronary artery bypass, a replacement artificial aortic valve, and a carotid artery endarterectomy. Dr. Corso was my cardiac surgeon. A few hours after leaving the recovery room, my wife noticed some confusion on my part, left side partial paralysis, and slurred speech. It was diagnosed as a stroke!
So in some sense, we're brothers!
After speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, lots of walking, and most importantly, the passage of time (6 1/2 years)], I can assert that I've made a pretty good recovery. I'm anticipating retirement later this year.
I just wanted to thank you for your article. It served to refresh any memories, both painful and pleasant...
Sincerely,
David S. Pallett
P.S. My son's wedding was in the summer of 1998, and I was able to read one of the lessons. Now, I've become a Grandparent!
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Thanks for the comment. I'm looking foward to the grandchildren--but only when my daughters decide it is time! I am not pressuring them!
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Washington, D.C.:
If you had been a unemployed resident of Anacostia with no health insurance, what would have happened to you?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: See answer above. I think probably the biggest question is, would I have gone directly to the emergency room? If someone is having a dissection and does nothing; he/she dies.
PC: We receive patients from outside hospitals that serve Anacostia and other underserved areas. If the patient reaches us the care will and would have been the same as Bob got.
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McLean, VA:
RK: How long did it take before your sternum felt fully healed? How long before you resumed physical activity?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK I never had any discomfort in my sternum. It takes 6 weeks to three months to totally heal. I have a neat little zipper scar that will remind me of this episode for the rest of my days.
11 months later I'm feeling good, and am active, but I'm not as strong as I was before, and I get more tired late in the day, and take more naps. This is probably beause of the beta blocker drug I am taking, not any physical conseuence of my surgery and stroke.
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Washington, D.C.:
If you ever need heart help, get yourself to WHC. My Dad had hours to live -- they put him up first. They did it, though his chances were slim and he's 81. He lived.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: As I said in the article, Washington is fortunate to have the heart clinic at WHC. It's the greatest.
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Falls Church, Va.:
How common is this problem? Roughly how many of these are treated in WHC in a year?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: It is not a common problem, yet beause we are a referral center with a large cardiac surgery program, we see about 15-20 dissections a year that require surgery. There are probably an equal number of surgeries that do not require surgical repair. These are called Type B or Type III dissections. The distinction between the type B and the type A, which Bob had and which does require intervention, is where the tear occurs. If it is beyond the artery feeding the left arm beyond the arch of the aorta, it can generally be treated with medication. Anything before the arch and involving the arch will almost always require emergency surgery.
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Poolesville, Md.:
I've had cardiac surgery performed by Dr. Corso and a colleague. And I had a stroke in the immediately post-operative periods. Fortunately, I've made a pretty good recovery. I did experience some depression some time after the surgery, and now I'm in an anti-depressant (Wellbutrin), and am pretty happy.
What's the probability of depression after surgery of this sort?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: Happily, I have had no depression.
PC: Depression to one degree or another is frequent after major surgery, especially heart surgery. The cause is probably both phsiologic and psychological. It almost always goes away and is helped by the fact that the patient returns to an active life.
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Washington, D.C.:
Dr. Garcia saved my Dad -- he is not a "prominent person" (except to me) or rich -- The Hospital Center treated him great -- everybody was tops and so I would like to shout that they do not treat people differently there.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: thanks for posting.
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Washington, D.C.:
Is there a support group for people with aortic aneurysm?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: There isa website at a Georgia University whose name I don't have in my head. contact me at robertgkaiser@yahoo.com and I'll try to get it for you. It's the only "support group" I've found.
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Arlington, Va.:
Thank you for the moving and informative article. (my father had successful emergency surgery for an aortic dissection at age 59) The Wall Street Journal ran an article on the underdiagnosis of this condition shortly after John Ritter's death. One of the points the article made is that there is no medical specialty for the aorta. Assuming the trend of underdiagnosis is correct, do you believe the lack of specialization is a factor?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: The underdiagnosis of this problem is fequently caused by lack of experience at the local emergency room, as well as the extremely varriable presentations made by patients who come to ERs with it. Heart centers that have a large volume of cases do have a lot of experience with treatment of aortic problems. This is more a problem of diagnosis than treatment, and specialists rarely make initial diagnoses.
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Forestville, Md.:
Dr. Corso:
What do you think of the heavily advertised "full body scans". Our family has a history of heart disease, and I have survived a brain aneurysm (sorry, I don't believe in 'luck'. That was God). Are these scans worth anything?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: PC: The fullbody scans are becoming more and more sophisticated. As a screening method for the vast majority of diseases, however, it is not that effective. New types of CT Scans just coming into use will have major advantages for diagnosis of heart disease and colon cancer. However, it still will be not used in large population screening.
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Falls Church, Va.:
Are there any diet/exercise restrictions after a surgery like this?
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: At our "discharge interview" last spring, Dr. Corso told me , "You will have 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day for the rest of your life." He did not offer this as an elective choice, and I have taken it to heart, so to speak. As a result, I'm about 12 pounds slimmer than I was before all this, and can eat anything I feel like. But I have good eating habits, I guess, compared to many. Otherwise, he has ruled out competitive weight lifting. This is something i've decided I can live with.
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Lumberton, N.C.:
Dear Mr. Kaiser,
"My Telltale Heart" is the most descriptive ,emotional, and educational aortic experience I have read. Your aortic journey was captivating from the moment of initial dissection to the detailed description of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest to your acknowledgement of your "lucky day" on March 26, 2003.
You mentioned that everyone should be so lucky. As you now well know, this is not the case. All too many people and families with known aortic disease find themselves "at the wrong place at the wrong time". As a result of your efforts to write a tribute to your surgeon and medical staff, you have brought the much needed publicity about aortic disease to the prestigious Washington Post.
Those of us with aortic disease are grateful that in your sleep deprived, drug induced state you made a resolution to write about your aortic axperience.
The interactive medical graphics on your website are marvelous. Viewing the spiral CT scan brings a visual reality of a dissection that I have not previously observed. The surgical procedure- medical illustrations are superb.
There is a great need for the medical community to promote further research efforts to answer many important questions concerning aortic disease. Current efforts are being made to determine the risk factors predicting dissection and using MRI to measure aortic wall tension. This will allow better individualized criteria for the timing of elective aortic repair. Unfortunately until these indices and criteria have been perfected many people find themselves "at the wrong place at the wrong time".
My personal experience with aortic disease has been difficult. I am fortunate to know of my aortic disease prior to rupture, but because the medical community cannot come to a consensus on the timing of an elective aortic repair, BP recommendations, and exercise protocols, I live in limbo.
It greatly concerns me that even board members of the National Marfan's Foundation are dying prematurely because of these inadequate protocols.
Once again, I express my gratitude for your superb efforts to educate and promote awareness of aortic disease through your prominent position as the Washington Post's associate editor.
Dr. Corso is right. Your luck has not run out it has only just begun! Seize the Day!
Gratefully, BJ Sanders
P.S. -- Within the next six months the combined efforts of my CT surgeon and my fellow bicuspid aortic disease friends plan to produce a website on Bicuspid Aortic Disease. Please forgive my feeble writing attempts... it is rather intimidating to write the associate editor of the Post!
Dr. Corso,
What is your recommendation for the timing of an elective aortic repair for an ascending aortic aneurysm with a bicuspid aortic valve? Thanks...
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: thank you for that interesting -- and very well-written -- posting.
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McLean, Va.:
RK: re: the support group in Georgia, here's the URL
Aneurysm and AVM Support
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: that doesn't look exactly like a url, but i hope it works. thanks.
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Houston, Tex.:
I was had surgery on Oct. 22, 2003 for an aortic dissection. I felt only the huge thump in the chest (no pain in arms, etc). The next day (I hoped the pain would go away, notwithstanding the fact I never felt anything lik this in my life) I went to the emergency room at Clear Lake Hospital and was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital and had surgery later that day. I awoke about three weeks later after being in intensive care and went home Nov. 17, 2003. The hospitals and doctors were and are fantastic.
I was told that I almost died. I had no way of knowing this, of course.
Believe it or not, the ordeal was relatively painless -- it was worse for my family and friends who were also fantastic in their care and concern.
My right ankle is not fully functional -- the result of nerve damage cause by the catheter -- but I am told this will heal in time.
I am 63 years old. This was my first time in a hospital. I better end this before I run out of time.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK: our cases were quite similar, it seems. Glad you made it through! I think you can believe that indeed you almost died. But you didn't!
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Washington, D.C.:
Please tell them that they care for everybody the same at WHC. They DO.
Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: thanks
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Robert Kaiser & Dr. Paul Corso: RK and PC: That was a fast hour! Thanks to all for posting. And feel free to contact RK directly with any questions.
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