September 2015 - first dissection. October 2015 - second dissection. AGE 54

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After enjoying the day at a labor day family picnic, my husband and I went home to prepare for work the following day.  At 10 pm, he began having severe chest pain and tearing feeling in his chest.  The pain was all the way around his chest like a rubber band.  

He was brought to the local hospital by ambulance where they performed an EKG, blood work, and chest x-ray.  everything came back negative.  Then they decided to do a ct scan. At that time I went outside to call our two adult children to let them know what was going on. 

As I returned back into the hospital, I was met by the nurse who told me my husband was very I'll and he would be flown by life star to a trauma hospital 1 hour away.  The ER physician told me he had a leak in his aorta and would require emergency surgery when he got there.

When I reached the hospital 1 hour later, the attending physician told me he had a aortic dissection B and they were going to medically manage it.  No surgery!

I wondered why the er doctor would tell me his aorta was leaking and required emergency surgery?  Did he not know what really was happening?

My husband was in cicu for 4 days when they noticed diminished pulses in his left leg and foot.  On day 5, they took him to surgery where a stent was placed to restore blood flow to his left leg.  With high doses of blood pressure meds, I could take him home 5 days later.

Extreme fatigue was the first thing he noticed.  Just walking to the bathroom made him winded.

The cardiologist told him to walk, so he began walking a little more every day.

They also did a stress test 5 weeks after discharge.

The same night of his stress test, he dissected again.  This time being unconscious for approx. 4 minutes.

Life star to trauma hospital again, then into immediate surgery to replace his entire ascending aorta!  

After 8 hours of surgery, he began his road to recovery.

Returning home 1 week later, to find he lost his job due to weight lifting restrictions.  (He was a deisel school bus mechanic)

No one prepared us for anything after the surgery.

Once home, it was like we were on our own.

Aches and pains, depression, not knowing what was normal and what was not.  No one to talk to that understood.  For me or for him.

Now were just doing lots of research on the disease and trying to find someone who is going thru the same thing, hoping we can also help someone else who may be feeling the same way.