Everyone's prayers have truly been answered! Our insurance company has approved Ryan for the procedure to replace his valve in Boston after our third appeal. The meeting in front of the board went well and we had some wonderful physicians that helped advocate for Ryan. This means no open heart surgery, for now! Although this is still a serious procedure with it's own inherent risks, it is much less invasive for Ryan (just going through the groin vessels to reach the heart).
Ryan and I will be flying out together on Sunday August 2nd, on Monday the 3rd Ryan will get all of his preliminary studies (CT scans, treadmill testing, echocardiogram etc.), then on Tuesday the 4th if all goes well he will undergo the procedure. They will replace the valve and possibly try to open up the occluded vessel in his heart (the right coronary artery). We are told he should only have to stay one night in the hospital if there are no other complications. Then we will stay one extra day in Boston just in case, returning home on the 6th.
The procedure is now our major prayer request. There are rare serious complications that could occur. The most worrisome being the valve itself migrating which would require immediate open heart surgery to retrieve it, a serious arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythm), problems with blood flow to the heart during the procedure (especially with his current blocked artery), injury to the surrounding structures etc.
So we ask for your continued prayers for Ryan's ultimate safety during the procedure, guidance for the doctors involved, and that the procedure will truly buy us a good deal of time before we may need to consider another valve replacement and make Ryan feel much better.
We can't thank you enough for all of your thoughts and prayers for us during this time. We are so blessed.
Love, Ryan and Kendra
