General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Steve's last lesson. (my youngest son's death) [View all]BobTheSubgenius
(11,558 posts)Perhaps I hold too much empathy to be reading stories like this, but I can't look away. I'm so, so sorry that this tragedy visited your door.
I had always had a vague sense of being bulletproof, and I have never been shy about taking whatever problem I might have to the medical professionals. In late 2009, early 2010, I had a flu that morphed into pneumonia, and we just could NOT get a handle on it.
It turned out to be a Staph A infection in my heart, which is a difficult diagnosis. Not everyone is subject to this extreme malady, but I had a congenital heart murmur, and that's the underlying condition. My cardiologist and the surgeon both said it was the most damaged heart they had ever seen someone survive.
After having a chunk of the heart muscle excised, and two valves replaced, I now have a regimen of interface with the medical community, as frequently as once a week or as seldom as once a month. Although the regimen is usually not too intense, there are some annual and semi-annual rituals I have to attend as well, but all of that is a damned site better than dying.
It is something that people need to take very seriously, should they also have a heart murmur. Thank you so much for making that advice such a central part of your bitterly sad story.