When we first decided to come to Nevada when my Afib medication was running out, we thought we’d come to Nevada to get the two prescriptions filled and for me to see a US cardiologist to run another echocardiogram to confirm the diagnosis I received from the cardiologist in Ecuador, revealing I have mitral valve and tricuspid valve regurgitation that needs surgery before too long.
Since this surgery would result in another open heart surgery, we took this diagnosis very seriously since I didn’t want to go through that again after my prior awful experience, requiring over a year to recover. We knew a second opinion and decision on insurance was vital for the future.
Now that I have applied for Medicare Part B (still waiting to hear if it has been processed) and a supplement, Part G has been approved, I had to decide where I’d like to have the echocardiogram and have a prognosis evaluated. After we arrived here, and after considerable thought and discussion, I decided to wait until we got to Arizona to go to the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion.
Once I have the confirmation that my Part B is in place and I receive the Medicare card with an account number, I will contact the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and make the appointment for sometime in April or May before we then head to California to see my sister and then off to Minnesota to see our kids and grandkids.
Regardless of our results, we’ll still head to Marloth Park on June 15, 2024. If I need surgery, we’ll return to the US for the operation after we’re done in South Africa if I decide I am willing to have the surgery. I want to go to the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, the top valve repair facility in the world.
Fortunately, since we can live anywhere based on our homeless lifestyle that we so choose, most likely, we’ll rent a holiday home in Cleveland and stay long enough for the surgery and recover enough to continue in our world travels.
If the Mayo Clinic evaluation determines I don’t need surgery since I have no symptoms in Arizona and Minnesota, we’ll begin with future world travel plans. Of course, we’re both hoping for this case. There’s no way I want Tom to go through what he did caring for me in 2019. It was an awful 24-hour-a-day scenario for many months. With my chosen Medicare plan, a rehab facility is an option for the first three to four weeks, the worst part of recovery.
Also, Cleveland Clinic’s recovery facility provides lots of physical therapy, a must after such surgery, which wasn’t available in South Africa then.
That’s a lot on my mind, but for now, I’ve chosen not to worry and to enjoy each day; I’m grateful for feeling so well. Now that we’ve both recovered from the virus with the cough (not Covid), nothing can stop me now. My new workout shoes arrived yesterday and fit perfectly.
I look forward to working out daily to increase my strength and stamina.
Now that I’ve lost 24 pounds, with only three pounds away from my goal, and am working out again, after only doing so intermittently over the past 11-plus years, I am building up enough strength to walk in most environments. My only concern is walking in Marloth Park with uneven dirt roads. I heard about a woman there who has a fitness center in her home, which can be used for a small fee. If I could use that, I would be able to maintain my new level of fitness.
In Arizona and Minnesota, both locations where we’ll stay have fitness centers. If I have access to a bike or treadmill and some weights, that’s all I’ll need to maintain the progress I am now building. Before we began traveling, I had worked out most of my life since I was 16, staying slim, healthy, and fit. It is time to return to that progress, and I am not letting my age or health conditions be a deterrent.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, January 17, 2014:
