The year was 1992. Lee and I were approaching our 20th wedding anniversary. We had two teenagers; Sarah 16 and Seth 14 and 9 year old Katie. Lee was working for Boeing as an instructor, which required long hours of studying and preparation for the many different classes he taught. The last couple of years had become more difficult for him. He was tired. Very tired.
Lee had always been athletic and enjoyed lots of physical activity. He was an excellent golfer, swimmer (served as a lifeguard while in Viet Nam) and enjoyed backpacking and snow skiing as well as playing on rec teams for softball and basketball. When Lee was in junior high, his family doctor detected a slight heart murmur but attributed it to his rapid growth spurt. Most doctors, in the years that followed, didn't even hear the murmur. Lee served in the USAF and was told he had an "athletic heart." His heart rate was slow and strong. We had built a 38' sailboat (Genesis) and lived aboard with our kids for 3 1/2 years. That required a lot of physical stamina!
When the tiredness began to be more and more of the norm, we attributed it to "getting older." After all, he WAS in his 40's now. He was just slowing down. By the autumn of 1992, Lee was taking naps ... lots and lots of naps. Still, he thought it was just the rigorous teaching schedule and being in his 40's. When a close friend he worked with was diagnosed with cancer, Lee decided it was time to have a physical himself.
WHAT A SHOCK! The EKG showed some troubling rhythms and the doctor could hear a very distinctive heart murmur. He was referred to a cardiologist in Seattle. Within a very short time, we were told that Lee's aortic valve was leaking and leaking badly (valvular regurgitation.) Our only option was open heart surgery. In December, 1992, a mechanical valve (St. Jude's Valve made of pyrolytic carbon or graphite) replaced Lee's defective aortic valve. From the surgery we learned that Lee's aortic valve had been defective from birth: a bicuspid valve, rather than a normal tricuspid valve. Over the years, it had gradually degraded to a point of near uselessness. We praise God for His goodness and for His leading us to a wonderful team of cardiologists and surgeons before it was too late. The surgery was successful but damage to the heart was irreversible. The diagnosis at this time: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Atrial Fibrillation (A-fib.) We were told that someday, he would likely be a heart transplant candidate. Lee would be on an anti-coagulant (Coumadin) the rest of his life to prevent blood clots in the heart valve.
A week after this surgery, Lee felt like a new man! The kids had their Papa back. He had energy. The new valve was not a cure-all but the comparison between the old Lee and the new Lee was amazing. It was only in retrospect that I truly realized how bad Lee's color had been (he was a pale gray color) and how much he had struggled simply to get out of bed each morning.
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