Re: Maze success

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Posted by Henry Alken on January 05, 2002 at 12:52:13:

In Reply to: Maze success posted by Tony Spackman on January 04, 2002 at 21:50:29:

Tony, I think I have some understanding of the decision process you are going through. I spent several months reading many of the entries in various message boards before I reached a decision. Some of the boards seem devoted to discussing various medications and dosages as if they were talking about cooking recipes. The board that impacted me most strongly was this one, the Maze Alumni, created by Jack Drum, by an act of pure generosity and caring. I read every post on this board, some of them I read several times as I screwed up my courage to take the plunge.

After all, the decision came down to "Shall I take the advice of the six board-certified cardiologists, that I consulted at various times, i.e, to avoid the Maze as being experimental and unproven"? Or should I prefer the advice of folks, without any medical education or expertise whatsoever, whose only qualification was that they had undergone the Maze operation and had greatly benefited from it. I wondered "Can I trust these people's judgement and sincerity?" As I read more and more posts by Jack Drum, Carl Plaskett, Ed Wehan, Thomas Glass and many others, their honesty and kindness just shone through like a beacon. I said to myself "I am going to take a chance and I will go ahead and have the Maze based on my impressions of the character of the various persons I have met on the board" This is a decision I have never regretted.

I had the Maze three months ago and I feel about the same as I did before the operation (in good health with the Afib controlled by medication). I am able to do all the things I could do before. I am still on the same medications that I was on before, and, as time goes by, I hope that at some point I will be able to stop taking them.

Two factors that prodded me to take action were:
I wanted to get the Maze over with now, while I was in good shape, and not wait until my health had deteriorated.
I wanted to avoid the risk of stroke which increases with every year.

You mentioned 'distance' in your post. I would suggest to you that you do not let distance influence your choice of venue for the operation. We are talking about major surgery here, not a daily commute to work. I considered distance to be immaterial compared to the experience and skill of the surgeon.

I wish you success in whatever choice you make.

Happy New Year!

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