Triple Bypass Surgery or CABGS 3x

Triple Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

 I know when I say Triple bypass surgery lots of people don’t quite understand the full details of this surgery.  So what I’ve done is I have gone to our very famous YouTube University and found several videos to help bring a very clear understanding of what has happened to me.  I hope that you are able to watch them… I will do some that are animated and some that are real literal surgeries.  Let’s take a look and get some knowledge.  So you know I had a on pump bypass… meaning I was placed on a heart and lung machine while my heart was stopped to perform the surgery. I was the very first heart surgery of the day. The Staff and JHH was and still is amazing!

Let’s talk about Hair

Now you guys know for sure that what happens on the inside of your body will begin to effect what’s happening on the outside.. i.e. Hair, Nails, Skin, you name it.. I had no idea of the lack of blood flow that my body was receiving in the entire process. With the lack of blood circulation I began to shed a whole lot more hair then the daily natural amount of hair the body sheds…. Let’s take it back a bit.. hair was pretty simple for me as I wore a short platinum blonde natural cut… did a mohawk for a while and a few other cuts but mostly natural other than the chemical from the color… I loved it! Keep it moisturized and cut close wash and go until it’s time for color. during the winter months I noticed my hair starting to really shed a lot at night after a shower and shampoo and conditioner, I’m wondering what’s going on why does it look like my hair is falling out…. Well because it was! The edges were getting thinner and thinner as well as the crown of my head… I was starting to look like my dad when his hair began to fall out and that was a big NO for me! Well after my surgery my cousin who has been doing my hair since I was a kid said to me… cuzo after all the medicine and anesthesia you’ve had your hair is really going to shed… guys when I post the pictures of what my head looked like you won’t believe it… I will post what it looked like prior during and after or should I say right now. She has done so many different hair growth solutions for me and my hair is growing like a weed… Even though I like to cut it and keep it short it has began to get thicker and it is one thousand time more healthy.. The big question in your head is probably Ok Errica what is she using? Perfect Choice Hair Growth Products… I have a video that she and I recorded talking about it. Please watch the entire video and if you are interest in the treatments please contact my cousin Wyvonnie Gilbert at Stylistics Hair Salon @ 443-985-9069 or 410-496-3113. I will also post pictures and if you guys have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to send me a message or text. Love you guys and Remember your heart matters so again put your hands on your chest and tell me How’s your heart!

Hair Loss and Regrowth after surgery.

Here are the pictures as promised: All the photos with blonde are prior to my surgery and hair loss if you look carefully you can see where all of my hair was thinning dramatically and even with the braids you can see every area my hair was gone. Now you can see the major difference with the red hair it has gotten much thicker and growing weekly. Below the pictures you will see the information for Perfect Choice Hair.

CAD Heart Facts

 Always be mindful of your health… Never take a symptom for granted, and always be sure to attend your regular doctor appointments.

Here are a Few Simple Facts about Heart Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD), also known as coronary heart disease, is a chronic condition that occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, reducing blood flow to the heart muscle. This plaque is made up of cholesterol and other substances and can partially or completely block blood flow. CAD is the most common cardiovascular disease. 

Symptoms of CAD can range from none to more frequent and intense, including: 

·         Chest pain, fullness, or pressure (angina) 

·         Fatigue 

·         Heart palpitations 

·         Shortness of breath (dyspnea) 

·         Swelling in the hands or feet 

CAD can be diagnosed by a medical professional using lab tests, ECGs, echocardiograms, or other imaging tests. There is no known cure, but CAD can be managed with lifestyle changes, medications, angioplasty, or surgery to improve symptoms. Some recommended lifestyle changes include: 

·         High levels of physical activity (200 to 300 minutes per week) 

·         Low-calorie diet (800 to 1500 kcal/day) 

·         Weight-loss maintenance programs 

·         Eating a healthy, balanced diet that's low in fat and high in fiber, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and no more than 6g (0.2oz) of salt per day 

·         Avoiding tobacco use 

·        

What Is Coronary Heart Disease? | NHLBI, NIH

Dec 20, 2023 — Coronary artery disease is often caused by cholesterol, a waxy substance that builds up inside the lining of the coron...

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

·        

About Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) - CDC

May 15, 2024 — CAD is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart (called coronary arteries)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov)

·        

Coronary Artery Disease Prevention - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Strong recommendations include high levels of physical activities (200 to 300 minutes per week), low-calorie diet (800 to 1500 kca...

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

·         Show all

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional. Generative AI is experimental.

Featured snippet from the web

Coronary artery disease, also called CAD, is a condition that affects your heart. It is the most common heart disease in the United States. CAD happens when coronary arteries struggle to supply the heart with enough blood, oxygen and nutrients. Cholesterol deposits, or plaques, are almost always to blame.

How it all started Part 2

Ok Guys so let’s jump back into where we left off! So, we are at July 7, 2023 JHH for the Cardiac Angiogram or Cardiac Catherization, this is the test that happens while you are still awake…. SMH!  Yes, I said it still awake… you are given a twilight anesthetic so the surgeons are still able to talk to you… but I had to remain very still because my arm is strapped to the procedure table and a very thin catheter being inserted in one of two places…. Either in the right wrist artery (which is where mine was inserted) or the left groin artery.  So yall know I am jive listening to the surgeons talk through the meds LOL!  I tell them hey guys I can feel a little pressure and they tell the anesthesiologist to give me more.  So, now I’m feeling a little dizzier but still trying to ear hustle and find out what’s going on.  One of the nurses ask me am I ok and I said sure I’m good.  So, the surgeons said you are almost done we are starting to remove the catheter, all the pictures and scans have been taken so I say to the surgeons, “ok guys so what we doing a stint or two”?  I get a very swift NO and we will talk to you in recovery.  So, I got quiet and said Oh Boy!  While in recovery the surgeons said to me it was revealed that severe triple-vessel coronary artery disease, with 100% chronic total occlusion of the mid left anterior descending artery, mid left circumflex with 80% stenosis, ostial to proximal obtuse marginal 1 with 60% stenosis, and right posterior descending artery with ostial 95% stenosis. Okay that was everything in medical terms but in plain text all three of my major cardiac arteries were blocked one 100%, one 80%, and one 60%.... basically, I’m barely getting any blood through this body. The surgeons told me you have been referred for surgical revascularization.  I was told to go home and rest, do little or nothing going forward.  Very little driving, walking, working, and no exertion at all.  So, I was still trying to process all that has happened in my mind and things still seemed to be a little foggy…. Well after leaving the hospital I received a call from my surgeon’s office. His nurse Megan called to get me set up for the surgery.  Let me just say that Megan was the best of the best!  She was so sweet and helped me with everything I needed to be properly ready for surgery. She immediately did paperwork for my job to prepare for my long-term sick leave as I would be out of work for 6 months, after this call with her she set up a meeting with Dr. Aziz (my surgeon) myself, my aunt, and my mom.  When I tell you, he came in the exam room and he took me through this situation from top to bottom!  He explained how the blockages happened, he taught me about the dangers of my A1C being a 13 for long periods of time, which means the blood sugar readings were between 300-400 or higher!  And I had the nerve to try and brag and say well I got it down to a 11…. SMH!  Whoop-D-Do was the look he gave me.   LOL!!  So, I said okay Doc I got it I must do better than what I’m doing. He looked me in the eyes and he said this to me,” Errica I can fix this problem but you have to get the blood sugars under control, loose some weight, exercise, and eat to live or you will be back here with the same problem if not worst”.  I sat there on that exam table and my mom and my auntie were taking notes like crazy.  He showed me the pictures of my heart from the stress test and explained everything to me that he was going to do, he told me that he was going to remove the artery from my lower left arm, my right thigh, and from my thoracic area or my chest.  He also explained to me that the surgery would take about 12 hours. 6 hours for the procedure and 6 hours in recovery, he also explained that my lungs and my heart will be shut down and I will be on basically the life support assistance machine until my sternum is closed and the process to wake me up from anesthesia.  After this meeting I was much more informed about what was about to happen to me. Dr. Aziz informed me that he was leaving for vacation on the next day but my surgery has been scheduled for August 2, 2023 and I will need to be at the hospital at 4 am as I am the first patient on the list for surgery. He also told me to go home and continue to take it easy, if I have any issues like a heart attack, stroke, or anything out of the ordinary call 911 and have them bring me to JHH. This was July 11, 2023 so that means I have about 21 days prior to surgery. As I went home and prepared for bed that night I began to have a conversation with God and I said to Him “ok God what’s going on here?”  I heard the voice of Holy Spirit say to me, “By my stripes you are healed…(1Peter 2:24) Now endure the process”.   Guys the activities that transpire in the next 10 days prior to surgery are going to cause your mouth to fall open and make you say WTW!  Now let me say I was beginning to move pretty slow but I didn’t know that I was moving slow, I thought I was moving at my normal pace; however, I was pretty tired all the time in the morning when I got out of bed I was tired, I was taking naps throughout the day because I was exhausted and didn’t realize it.  I had no idea how close I was to death, BUT GOD! 

It was nothing but the Grace of God that kept me alive through this entire ordeal.  Now as we ended the convo last week do me a favor and put your hands on your chest and tell me How’s your Heart? 

How It Started Part One

As I sit here and evaluate all that has happened to me in the past 12 months the very question comes to mind Who Ever Knew?  What do I mean by this question?  Like who ever knew that my routine doctors visit on Tuesday May 16, 2023 at the end of my visit as normal Dr. Valeria Fomitcheva would listen to my heart beat as she normally does and typically she would listen to me breathing in and out and then say, “Everything sounds great, I’ll see you in 3 months”.  But not this time… she listens and then listens again and says to me your heart beat sounds a little irregular let’s do your EKG (Electro Cardiogram), it’s about time for that test anyway and I said ok let’s get it done.   So, she left the exam room to get the EKG equipment and we proceeded… all the electro patches were placed on my chest in several areas and I was laid back chilling on the exam table wanting desperately to take a nap, but of course that didn’t happen the test only takes about 5 minutes.  Once the test was complete she read the results and says to me, “Errica this test shows that you’ve had a heart attack”.   So, I look at her and say really… ok.  She says I need you to come back to the office tomorrow morning the cardiologist will be here she can examine you and check the test results again.   I agreed and the very next day Wednesday May 17, 2023 at 9 a.m. I saw Dr. Sirisha Donekal the cardiologist from Maiden Choice Cardiology, and she confirmed that I have indeed had a heart attack.  Now I can tell you guys in my mind I’m wondering how have I had a heart attack?  I never had any of that left arm pain or numbness, you know how we see people on T.V. shows have heart attacks or even maybe someone we know whose had a heart attack… I had none of these symptoms at all.  But they say the test shows I’ve had a heart attack, I never freaked out I just calmly followed the instructions given to me.   Dr. Donekal told me that she needed to see me in her office tomorrow to receive a echocardiogram and a heart monitor so that she can gain more data on my heart.  I was assigned to wear the heart monitor for 1 week from May 18 – 22, 2023.  During this time, I went on vacation to Punta Cana in the DR and let me tell you I had a ball, my doctor was extremely happy that I was going on vacation and she encouraged me to relax as much as possible so you guys know what I did right?   Relax, Relate, Release!!!  That’s exactly what I did without hesitation!  We are going to have to have a whole separate talk about the Punta Cana Girls Trip!  But back to the matter at hand… When I returned from the DR on Saturday May 27, 2023 (the day before my birthday I might add) I returned the heart monitor so my cardiologist could obtain all the data for more testing.  I was scheduled for a stress test on Thursday June 1, 2023, the doctor needed the stress test to obtain pictures of my heart and to obtain a correct ejection fraction results of my heart rate at different levels of exercise and rest.  

 Well when the test was over Dr. Donekal told me that it may be at least a week prior to getting the test results back, but she wanted to put a rush on them with a major look of concern on her face.   So of course, I smiled at her, I told her ok thanks, and I will wait to hear from you.  The very next day while driving home from work on Friday June 2, 2023 I received a call from the doctor’s office and she said to me” Hello Ms. Mitchener I have your test results back!  I said wow Doc that was quick!  She said “Well Ms. Mitchener I don’t want to scare you but are you sitting down?” Yes, but I’m driving, and trust me Doc you cannot scare me ok just tell me what the results are and let’s move forward.  So, I pulled over and told her ok tell me what the results are.  She said well what we thought was just a heart attack turned out to be a massive heart attack!  She sounded terrified, and All I said was okkkk… so she said let me give you a little more info to help you understand.  When you have a heart attack the area that’s been affected changes color and it looks grey… I said alright, and she continued your entire heart is grey… So again, I sat there and I listened and I really honestly had no words guys so I just said ok.  So, what do we do next.   She stated again I’m not trying to scare you and right at that point I said to her listen Dr. Donekal I said it once and I will say it again you cannot scare me I am not afraid of any of what you are saying to me! Let’s just get the facts and establish a plan so we can take care of this problem.  So, she said I need you to make a choice of which Hospital you want to have this procedure you can do St. Agnes Hospital or John’s Hopkins Hospital you need to have a Cardiac Angiogram (Cardiac Catherization) done.  This test will show us if there are any blockages in your heart.  You guys know I choose Johns Hopkins for sure right!  Don’t get it twisted y’all I’m going to the Best of the Best! 

So, in a matter of weeks I go from having my normal quarterly doctors visit to finding out that I had a massive heart attack and I’m now being schedule for a cardiac procedure to find out why all of this has happened.  Now let me tell you there is so much more to this story that began to unfold in the next few weeks…  I’m still amazed that I am alive by the Grace and Power of God to be able to sit here and give you the full story.  So, hang in there with me guys from the written blog to the video blogs you will hear, see, learn and grow with me! 

 As always, I love you guys to Life! 

 Now put your hands over your chest and tell me How’s Your Heart? 

Errica L. Mitchener