My Valve Disease/Aneurysm Conundrum

Yesterday I went snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida. The water was 75 degrees and waves were normal at about 1 to 2 feet. We anchored the boat about 50 yards from the edge of the reef down current. That meant that snorkelers would have to swim the 50 yards to the edge of the reef against the current. The current was not very strong, luckily. There were about two dozen people going snorkeling. They ranged in age from perhaps 11 or 12 all the way up to retirees. Since I'm a certified scuba diver with 30 years experience with a mask, snorkel, and fins, I was ready to go first in the water. I swam up to the reef then around it to the far edge, probably another 75 or 100 yards so that I could start my snorkeling there and see the entire reef. An hour later the captain blew the horn on the boat signalling snorkelers to return. I was the last one back on board. The mate told me that I covered far more of the reef than anyone else.

The nature of valve disease is such that it can cause frustration. Here I was in the water as active as anyone else on the boat, yet I have a condition that could kill me if left untreated, and will probably force me into the operating room early next year. It's a peculiar situation to live with. Basically, I can almost do anything I ever could, except for heavy exertion like running and heavy lifting. And I don't feel mortally ill. But I am.

Now added to the mix I find out that I have a bicuspid valve. Well, the literature is full of descriptions of the problems that causes. Mine is congenital, and what happens is that these malformed valves degenerate. I'm lucky to have made it to 60 with mine. Lots of people have to have surgery when they're a lot younger...in their 30s or 40s. One of the problems associated with bicuspid valve disease is aortic dilation (aneurysm,) a serious condition that is potentially fatal if not caught and treated. My aorta is dilated. So I have the double whammy: aortic valve disease plus an aortic aneurysm.

Yet, I'm still out there doing most everything including walking four miles a day, which is actually good for someone with my diagnosis. But the situation is mind boggling when you think of it.