Monday, February 04, 2008

Finally, a resolution

It's been almost 10 years since the stroke that finally led to this blog, and today, it looks like it's all in the past.

The official word came today from an excellent cardiologist, Dr. Sanjeev D. Ravipudi, part of the Missouri Heart Center, that my stroke risk seems now to be in the same range as the general population.

After a procedure to close a patent foramen ovale -- a hole between the two upper heart chambers -- I waited for six months, plus a few weeks, to get the news that the hole is completely sealed, that the likely source of the 1998 stroke is no more. Defeated.

The procedure took place back in June 2007 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and I knew in late December after an echo test at the Missouri Heart Center that it was successful. I was pretty sure even before that. But today, it's official.

The blog will continue, because if I can provide even a handful of people links or resources after a stroke or help prevent one, it's worth it. Definitely worth it. Thanks be to God.

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