[Originally post 8/2/2007]
After a six week hiatus, I'm back. I hope you haven't all disappeared and that you'll be back to reading this once in a while.
The main reason for the lapse was a medical procedure I needed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). That gave me a whole new insight into a field I knew little about. I still don't know much about it but I wanted to use this forum to muse about thoughts I had during this experience.
First, let me explain as briefly as I can what happened to me. Then in future posts we'll dig in a little deeper. A few months ago on a flight from London to Boston, I noticed a peculiar blindspot that appeared suddenly and painlessly in the central left eye vision. I consulted the ophthalmologist the next morning who determined I had a branch retinal artery occlusion. Basically, that translates to a mini-stroke in which a small clot blocked a small artery, permanently damaging some retinal cells.
The question was why the clot had formed. No obvious causes could be found. Eventually they found a PFO (patent foramen ovale) which has been statistically correlated to a higher risk of stroke. Translated to something I can understand, this means that the opening in a wall (septum) of the heart that was supposed to close after birth, didn't do so completely.
After five months of debate, the medical team at MGH approved the insertion of an occluder to seal the opening. During that procedure, the doctors did an angiogram and discovered quite unexpectedly a significant (>70%) blockage of the left anterior descending artery, which I'm told is one of the most important arteries that feeds the heart. When I woke from the anesthesia, I was told I had a drug-eluting stent inserted as well as the occluder.
I had some problems recuperating due to bleeding from the puncture site where the catheter was inserted but I'm delighted to report that my one-month checkup was very positive and I can now resume normal activity. But psychologically and theologically, I'm still trying to process what happened. Bear with me in the next few posts as I try to work through some of these issues.