About

Hello and thank you for stopping by!

I have created this blog to keep track of my journey for my 4th open heart surgery with the hopes of expanding content down the road.

For those of you who don’t know who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Chelsea. I am a creative. I mostly speak sarcasm, but am proficient in American English when I feel like it. I use colorful language (sorry not sorry). I have no filter. Music is therapy. The kitchen is my happy place. I am a determined individual. I love making people laugh.

Most importantly though, I am a mother to this spunky little girl who is eerily just like me. Seriously, the term ‘mini me’ fits her to a T. It’s a bit intimidating arguing with a tiny version of myself. Ha! She has stellar “negotiating” skills. We reside East of the river, in Lennox, SD with our furbaby, Kash. I was born and raised West of the river, in Burke, SD. The whole East River vs West River is a very important tidbit. Ask anyone who grew up in South Dakota. #thegreatdivide

Now for the snooze fest, this blog will mostly be used to update family and friends on my surgery and recovery. Now would be a good time to grab a beverage and some popcorn.

Ok, just kidding…The following is not going to be nearly as interesting as how Sophia tells a story…but I will try my best.

I was born with a heart defect that wasn’t detected until age 3. I was diagnosed with subaortic stenosis. What in the heck is that? It is an obstruction or narrowing of the left ventricle just below the aortic valve. Because of the narrowing, the left ventricle has to work harder to pump blood. This obstruction is a membrane that grows under the valve causing blood flow interference. Unfortunately, we don’t know why the membrane keeps growing.

My first open heart surgery took place when I was 5 years old in Sioux Falls at Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford). During this surgery, the surgeons resected the membrane underneath the valve. Surgery went well and I was discharged to home. After being home for a bit I developed an infection in my incision. Recovery went well and I was a “normal” kid again.

My second surgery happened about 5 years later when I was a 4th grader. This time I was referred to the Mayo Clinic. Same procedure as the last surgery. They went in and resected as much of the membrane as they could. Again, recovery went well and I was back to being a “normal” kid.

The third surgery was also done at the Mayo Clinic in 2003. This surgery was a bit tougher on me. I ended up having to stay a bit longer. Once I got home, I wasn’t bouncing back like I did in the past. I was admitted to the local hospital and diagnosed with renal failure. They transferred me to Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls and started me on dialysis. After my two-week stay in Sioux Falls, I was able to go home and continue dialysis. The nearest hospital with a dialysis unit was in Gregory, eight miles from home. I had it three times a week. My mom took me to dialysis during her lunch break and would pick me up after school. Each session took about 5 hours. I remember arriving in time to watch Mid-Day in Keloland and getting to leave as Oprah was wrapping up her show. Anyone else measure time, as a child, based off of TV programming?  After a few months of dialysis my kidneys started functioning properly and I wouldn’t need a transplant. Thank God!