Brian S. Griffin

Current Age: 45

Occupation: Mortgage Collections

Your Family: Me and my two beautiful black cats, Sheba Junior and Cool Hand Luke

When  you found out about your condition:  During a “routine physical in My of 2001

What symptoms you had:  Shortness of Breath

How you prepared for surgery:  Prayer, and more prayer and yet still more prayer

What type of surgery you had:  Replacement of the aortic valve and aortic root caused by an 8cm Aneurysm of the ascending Aorta

Medications before surgery:  Luvox (For severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Lorazapan

Medications after surgery:  Luxox, Lorazapam, Toprol XL, Accupril, Coumadin

Type of valve you have:  I have an aortic root made of a Dacron material and an aortic valve made out of titanium both courtesy of Sulzer Carbomedics

Type of valve you had:

Hospital where your surgery was done:  Good Samaritan Medical Center of Phoenix, Arizona

Your experience there:  The surgeons and Doctors where excellent, with few exceptions the nursing staff was substandard.  I suffered a small stroke a few days postop and had a difficult time getting it diagnosed.  As I am sure is common in this day and age, the hospital was dreadfully understaffed and the help was very overworked, which I am quite sure contributed to some of my unfortunate circumstances.

Your first few days home:  I suffered more as a result of my stroke than I did from the surgical procedures.  I used to be the editor of my company’s newspaper, now I nave to rely an awful lot on my spell checker and the “hunt and peck” method of typing!  But God is merciful and great and by His grace and power alone, I have recovered from my stroke and was back to work within eight weeks of the stroke and surgery.  I have also had a “Roux En Y Gastric Bypass’ procedure in July of 2000 and game gone from weighing 488 lbs to 288 Pounds.  I Had my Aortic surgery in July 2001 and am now under no physical restrictions and wm walking over three miles as a time.  I also might add that a week before my aortic surgery, while undergoing my Cardiac Catheterization,  my femoral Artery was punctured in two places and I was rushed to emergency surgery remove a huge hematoma. 

Your recovery since then:
I have recovered magnificently by God’s grace and I would encourage others faced with having this type of surgery to network with others if at all possible, check out the hospital and Doctors and above all else, Seek God.

How you found out about this site:  A person from other aneurysm sight told me about it.

Any other comments you can share:  You will feel pain from the sternumectomy and a great deal of fatigue.  It is possible that you may also suffer some postoperative depression, as I did.  I think that the main thing that kept me going was the sense of wonderment that I experienced and still experience when I think that God saved my life and He definitely has a purpose for me.  When I think of the way that I just “happened” to have the physical and went through the two surgeries and the stroke and am now a testimony and example to others, I am amazed and feel very humbles and unworthy, and at the dame time so very grateful and desirous of being used to help others.