
When I died - maryrosecook
http://blog.maryrosecook.com/post/23429666/When-I-died
======
maryrosecook
I posted this because I thought the HN community might find the doctors'
problem solving approach interesting.

~~~
frossie
No kidding - it sounds like House MD was on the case. She was lucky to
survive.

It is interesting that she had cardiac surgery as an infant. It does remind me
of the situation of an acquaintance where the patient had cardiac problems as
an infant/toddler that were fixed and then essentially moved on until they
suddenly dropped dead (while apparently fit and healthy) in their early
twenties. One one hand you'd think gee, maybe if you had such a rough start
they would follow you up with a super-duper checkup every few years or so. On
the other hand, I guess when the invincibility of youth sets in, no apparently
healthy person wants to go to the doctor and relive their past.

Edit: sorry - s/she/you, didn't realise the HN comment was by the original
author.

~~~
maryrosecook
I'm terribly sorry to hear about your friend.

I have had cardiac check-ups at least once a year for my whole life. In
several instances, new problems were found at one of the check-ups and the
wheels were set in motion to mend things. Further, when I was in hospital for
the cardiac arrest, the bulge in my aorta was discovered by accident.

I live in the UK. Perhaps the NHS are more will to keep tabs on people than
private health services in other countries.

~~~
mynameishere
Doctors in the US usually over-test people due to lawsuit fears.

~~~
cdr
Getting paid more for over-testing probably has something to do with it too.

~~~
Locke1689
Not really. My parents (both physicians, just like a sizable part of my
extended family) do not believe in unnecessary medical procedures, much like
almost every other doctor. You don't become a cardiac physician unless you
actually care about the people and what you do, trust me. Cosmetic surgery
pays much more, holds less risk, and is less demanding if you're just in it
for the money. In addition, most cardiac tests don't award the physicians any
monetary value aside from decreasing malpractice risk through negligence.

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alyssumclimbs
I am 29. I have had two open heart surgeries, three valve replacements, one
valve repair, and an ascending aortic aneurism repaired with a Dacron graft. I
can't really explain why, but it's always somewhat comforting to find other
people with the rare experience of having dealt with their mortality at a
relatively young age. Thank you for sharing this. You are not alone, and your
experiences are appreciated.

~~~
maryrosecook
I also find it comforting to discover other young people who have weird
hearts. Even cardiac doctors and nurses remark on my age.

Further, there is a medical unit in London called GUCH (Grown-Up Congenital
Heart) that was created specifically for people like us who had heart problems
early on in life. The need wasn't there before because, in the past, we'd all
be dead by adulthood.

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kenver
I know Mary outside of cyberville and shes a wonderful, talented person, who's
been part of this community for a long time. Hope you recover quickly and get
back to those crazy start-up ideas!

~~~
maryrosecook
_blush_ Awww, thanks, Kem.

------
maryrosecook
Thank you very much for all the well wishes.

~~~
aarongough
You deserve them! It must have been incredibly traumatic to go through
something like that out of the blue...

Best of luck! I hope the rest of your recovery goes smoothly!

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mhb
Thanks for sharing your experience. An online store of which I have a high
opinion sells a product called SutureSafe which they say relieves tension on
stitches and staples. Maybe they would be helpful to you:
[http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=2&p=61673&...](http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=2&p=61673&cat=4,104,53218)

~~~
pwmanagerdied
Owtch. This post would probably have a better score of people knew Lee Valley
didn't have an affiliate program.

~~~
mhb
Is that what people are thinking - that I'm angling to rake in 10 cents on
some kind of business relationship with Lee Valley? I sure am curious what
they have in mind.

~~~
sounddust
As one person who downvoted it, I apologize. My subconscious spam detector
went crazy when I read that comment, and I just instinctively clicked the down
arrow. I quickly realized my mistake after reading the reply, but
unfortunately we can't undo votes here.

The good thing about HN, however, is that incorrect scores for comments are
corrected pretty quickly by others.

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jacquesm
Hello there Mary,

I'd never even heard of you before today but your account has moved me quite a
bit.

It's really nice to see you hanging in there and having the strength to go out
and tell the world what happened.

Is the disorder you have a genetic one ?

best regards, & I hope you'll be back to your old energy level soon.

    
    
       Jacques Mattheij

~~~
maryrosecook
Aww, thanks very much. I have a few heart defects, but things had been quiet
for about five years until I had the cardiac arrest.

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old-gregg
Fascinating.

On a side note: if that happened to me I suspect I'd be ruined financially.
Even though I have an insurance: they would have decided to pay for only one
or two of those MRI scans and angiograms, because they'd think that should
have been enough for a doctor to figure it out.

I have a couple of friends involved in cardiology and I suspect those are
pretty accurate predictions.

~~~
dflock
Having grown up in the UK, I've always taken for granted that this level of
healthcare is readily available to me whenever I might need it, money no
object. The concept of having to consider the cost implications of treatment
like this seems very alien to me. I'm now contemplating moving abroad and this
is something that I've been thinking about lately. Not having the NHS around
would have made me hesitate more before starting my own business, I think.

~~~
holygoat
You should always consider the cost implications. The money has to come from
somewhere — it's just that on the NHS, other taxpayers are the ones
responsible for your health problems.

(I'm a Brit who's had a little too much social liberalism today. Sorry.)

~~~
maryrosecook
Yes, I certainly know how lucky I am to live in a country with a nationalised
health service. And I am eternally grateful to the rest of the population who
have contributed to my healthcare via their taxes. I know that if I live to be
a hundred, the taxes I pay won't get close to covering the cost.

~~~
dflock
I can only speak for myself, but I'm glad some of my taxes get spent of things
like this, even if I were never to benefit, it's still an absolute good.

