Roxanne’s Story

Site created on May 16, 2018

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From Lori Zillmer
On May 24, 2018 My Mom is having an aortic valve replacement along with a cryo maze procedure to address her atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter issues.  The surgery is scheduled to begin at 7:30 AM and is expected to take approximately 6 hours.  She will remain under anesthesia for another 4-6 hours following the surgery and will spend 1-2 days in ICU with an expected 5-7 day hospital stay.  The operation will take place at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.  Her surgeon is Dr. Melissa Levack, Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiac Surgery at Vanderbilt.  Dr. Levack came to VUMC from Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH where she was a Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery Resident, 2014-2016, and Chief Cardiac Surgery Resident, 2016-2017.  Consequently, the procedures she uses are straight from the Cleveland Clinic protocol.  Please pray for God to be with Mom, with Dr. Levack, and with everyone on her care team.  We need a strong team of prayer warriors. She says It goes without saying that she is not looking forward to the surgery or the recovery period but that she has put this off long enough, as she has already had 4 or 5 electro-cardioversions along with four pharmacologic-cardioversions (most recently on May 10th).  She is ready to put this in God's hands and is praying that this will be reported as the “most successful surgery ever”.  It’s time. 



Newest Update

Out of there!!

Journal entry by Lori Zillmer —

Mom has been released and heading to lunch!  Then she will be going home.

She feels fine and is just tired from trying to sleep in a hospital.

Very thankful and always impressed with the care at Vanderbilt.  If you ever need to go to the hospital- I highly recommend Nashville.  Great restaurants are an added bonus!

Lori
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