Journal entry by Jennifer Then-Fernandez —
Life stayed busy while we processed everything from the last round of appointments, it seems like we are either getting ready for, or dealing with the aftermath of appointments.
After meeting with the neurologist, it was confirmed that Mike suffered multiple small strokes sometime during his surgeries/hospital stay. He has started therapy to hopefully improve his symptoms. He forgets how to swallow at times, confusion, memory issues, and some balancing problems. Now he has a fancy new cane! Falling could be quite serious for him because of the blood thinners. With time, therapy and knowing what a hard worker he is, I know he will work his hardest, I have no doubt he will improve!
The results of his MRI revealed that his discs have continued to worsen and he has 2 cysts on his spine, he is scheduled to have injections next month, we are hopeful they will alleviate his pain.
We head down to Mayo next month for a full cardio work up and a full genetic panel. His cardiologist highly suspects Marfan syndrome, he has several classic symptoms, the big one is that his aorta dissected at 4.5cm Also his half brother who had an aortic aneurysm tested positive. Had we known we would have done an proactive elective surgery, rather than the emergency surgery in the middle of night, unaware of how serious this all really was. As for now the kids will be monitored yearly with CT's and echo's. When we get his results, if he is positive we will have all the kids tested as well.
He is a little over 6 months out from his first surgery, he will have another CT done in September to monitor the root replacement and the type B dissection. Mike suffered from both a Type A and B, the type A was repaired during his first surgery. Here are both types....
Type A. This more common and dangerous type involves a tear in the part of the aorta where it exits the heart or a tear in the upper aorta (ascending aorta), which may extend into the abdomen.
Type B. This involves a tear in the lower aorta only (descending aorta), which may also extend into the abdomen.
We are still enjoying our mornings at the beach, and making the most out of every moment!
XO Mike and Jena~
After meeting with the neurologist, it was confirmed that Mike suffered multiple small strokes sometime during his surgeries/hospital stay. He has started therapy to hopefully improve his symptoms. He forgets how to swallow at times, confusion, memory issues, and some balancing problems. Now he has a fancy new cane! Falling could be quite serious for him because of the blood thinners. With time, therapy and knowing what a hard worker he is, I know he will work his hardest, I have no doubt he will improve!
The results of his MRI revealed that his discs have continued to worsen and he has 2 cysts on his spine, he is scheduled to have injections next month, we are hopeful they will alleviate his pain.
We head down to Mayo next month for a full cardio work up and a full genetic panel. His cardiologist highly suspects Marfan syndrome, he has several classic symptoms, the big one is that his aorta dissected at 4.5cm Also his half brother who had an aortic aneurysm tested positive. Had we known we would have done an proactive elective surgery, rather than the emergency surgery in the middle of night, unaware of how serious this all really was. As for now the kids will be monitored yearly with CT's and echo's. When we get his results, if he is positive we will have all the kids tested as well.
He is a little over 6 months out from his first surgery, he will have another CT done in September to monitor the root replacement and the type B dissection. Mike suffered from both a Type A and B, the type A was repaired during his first surgery. Here are both types....
Type A. This more common and dangerous type involves a tear in the part of the aorta where it exits the heart or a tear in the upper aorta (ascending aorta), which may extend into the abdomen.
Type B. This involves a tear in the lower aorta only (descending aorta), which may also extend into the abdomen.
We are still enjoying our mornings at the beach, and making the most out of every moment!
XO Mike and Jena~
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