Patient Stories
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UK Mini Mitral Trial: Ady’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Over the next few weeks, in support of the South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust UK Mini Mitral Trial, a multi-centre randomised control trial on Minimally invasive thoracoscopically-guided right minithoracotomy versus conventional sternotomy for mitral valve repair, we will be sharing a number of patients stories from patients who have been involved in the trial. The first story is from Ady, an NHS psychotherapist and sword fighting enthusiast who was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation. Six months after his diagnosis of severe mitral valve regurgitation, and just before his first pre-op appointment at The James Cook University Hospital in September [...]
Penny Minney’s Heart Valve Disease Story
There is almost nothing that Penny Minney hasn’t done in her 84 years. The former Classics teacher is an avid traveller, author, has sailed the high seas, is an active philanthropist and a lover of swimming, hiking and climbing, not to mention she’s a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. However, she has not accomplished all of this without a few bumps in the road including two mitral valve replacements. But thanks to her treatments, Penny is back to living her full life as she always has - full of energy! Penny lives with her husband Robin, 86, in Witton Gilbert [...]
Mark Blatchly’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Mark Blatchly, Deputy Head Teacher and amateur athlete, lived a well-balanced, varied life with a healthy mix of career, family and marathon kayaking, until a shock discovery threatened to capsize everything. After decades of teaching others, he found himself learning the biggest lessons of his life: how to survive a terminal cancer prognosis, then heart valve disease. In 2014, Mark’s wife Rachel, a practising GP, noticed a lump in Mark’s neck. This proved to be cancer in a lymph node. Surgery on his neck followed and for a while Mark was stable. A few months later he found a lump [...]
Katharine Greenland: My Mitral Repair Story
Katharine Greenland, 71, has always been relatively fit and active so when she was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation it wasn’t what she was expecting. However after her treatment her life has quickly gone back to normal, except for the fact that six months later her twin sister would also be treated for mitral valve disease! Katharine Greenland lives a calm and quiet life in Norfolk with her twin sister Christine and their dog. She keeps herself active and busy by getting out and meeting new people, exploring the outdoors and getting involved in the local village activities. Her heart [...]
Christine Greenland: My Mitral Repair Story
Christine Greenland, aged 71, had never been in hospital before and didn’t know that anything was wrong with her heart. Six years ago, after a heart murmur was picked up during a visit to a gastroenterologist, she was eventually referred to a cardiologist where she was diagnosed with a mitral valve prolapse. Only four months prior, Christine’s twin sister Katharine had been through a similar experience! Christine, a retired library manager, lives a quiet and active life in Norfolk along with her twin sister Katharine and their dog. She keeps herself busy out in her garden and enjoys getting out [...]
Geoffrey Pritchard: My Mitral Repair Story
In 2013, Geoffrey Pritchard of North London was admitted to Watford General Hospital after experiencing an episode of atrial fibrillation and was diagnosed with pericarditis. Geoffrey received a pericardiectomy, and through the associated testing they found another issue lurking, mitral regurgitation. Geoffrey Pritchard, a former Engineer in the Royal Airforce who subsequently worked as a consultant in the Cabinet Office, had never experienced any previous issues with his heart. A keen golfer and gardener, Geoffrey has always kept himself active. In 2013, after an episode of atrial fibrillation, he was admitted to Watford General Hospital and after several visits and [...]
Terri Richmond: My Pre-Treatment Story
Terri Richmond, 66, never realised she had anything wrong with her heart as she has always led an active lifestyle, as a ballroom and latin dancer, her most recent passion, and also as someone who loved to ski, climb, run, go to the gym, swim and scuba dive all while working part-time as a hypnotherapist. However, after suffering a stroke on 26 September 2017 and undergoing a number of checks and tests, Terri was told she also suffered from mitral valve stenosis, something, it was assumed, she had from a young age presumably after suffering from rheumatic fever as a [...]
Norman Thorpe’s Heart Valve Disease Story
At the age of 92 Norman Thorpe has led a long and active life. While he has inevitably slowed down in his nineties, he has never let anything stop him from remaining independent and doing the activities he enjoys. It wasn’t until a trip to visit his daughter in Germany that he noticed he wasn’t feeling quite right and not long after his return he was diagnosed with heart valve disease. Norman was born on the 27 November, 1924 and has lived a very fit and active life ever since. His favourite activity is long distance walking and he has [...]
Patricia Khan: My Repair Story
In 2006, Patricia had a brief problem with heart palpitations, which acted as a red flag and prompted her to go and see her GP for a stethoscope check. 10 years on, she explains her story and why a “stitch in time” really did apply to her valve disease! I was 55 when an incident of alarming palpitations revealed the reason I felt less than 100 per cent. My heart had been compensating for a defective mitral valve and was getting tired of the extra work. This particular valve was ‘leaky’ and is known as mitral valve regurgitation. I didn’t [...]
Helen Sadler’s Story
Helen had always been an avid traveller, but her mitral valve disease stopped that. Having lived in Bangkok for 11 years as a teacher, she was itching to get back to seeing the world. Now, after her surgery in July 2015, she reflects on her experience of valve disease, and the questions she wishes she’d asked sooner. In 2012 I had a singular incident of severe chest pain, and took myself off for an emergency doctors appointment with a GP. She called an ambulance, believing I was having a heart attack. Once at hospital I was given an angiogram and [...]
