About
The author is a 90+ year-old female who had open heart surgery 19 years ago to replace a faulty mitral valve which controls internal heart blood flow. The failing valve was replaced with an artificial valve obtained from a pig, which has a usual life expectancy in a human heart of 8 to 10 years.
The story describes events leading up to the diagnosis of a bad valve, the operation and patient's subsequent recovery, and the years following which involve medications and other mechanisms to control the heart. These include the insertion of a second pacemaker, when the first one expired after its 10-year battery life was consumed.
The patient's story is complicated by the simultaneous severe illness from cancer experienced by her husband, the co-author of this book.
The constant fear of the failure of the pig valve is described, as it has outlived its normal life expectancy.
Language - English