Hard Work, Rehabilitation And Will
My dad was born in Montreal Canada in May 1946 and was raised there. He was the only child. He lived there until 1973 when he moved to Burlington, Ontario with my mom and me. I was an infant at the time. He worked for numerous companies in sales positions. At the time of his dissection, he was vice president of sales for an automotive aftermarket manufacturer. He was working full time until his dissection. Following his dissection, he entered a rehabilitation program at the hospital. That program was attended twice a week for eight months and was specific to cardiac patients. I attended this program with him. After almost being off of work for one year, he started back to work on a graduated return to work program through his insurance. He worked at getting back and has been employed back in his pre-illness field for over 3 years now. He is doing well and is monitored on a regular basis by both his fa! mily physician and the cardiothoracic surgeon. We are very grateful to the staff of both Joseph Brant Hospital and Hamilton General Hospital for making the correct diagnosis and helping him get well. We count every day we have him as a blessing. My dad's name is Jack Kligman and he is now 55 years old. One of the biggest things that he attributes to his recovery is the companionship of our Dalmatian during his months of recovery.
6 January 2002
My name is Belinda Kligman. I am writing to let people out there know that victims of ascending aortic dissection can make it through the experience and come out as a functioning person with the ability to lead a somewhat normal life. My father is proof of this.
Our family's experience began the morning of Sunday March 24, 1996. It was my parent's 28th wedding anniversary and my dad was on the phone with his mother and father who were in Florida at the time. My dad finished talking to her and handed me the phone as usual. He then placed his hands on the column in our kitchen and said he was going to faint. I dropped the phone and got him and that was the last time I saw him awake until April 1.
He was brought to in the kitchen by the ambulance and taken to our local hospital. At the hospital, he was x-rayed, examined and an internist was called in. The internist diagnosed the dissection, which doesn't normally happen. Arrangements were then made to transport him to the hospital in Hamilton that deals with this situation.
My mom, brother and I were prepared for the real possibility that he may not be alive when we get there. Well, to make a long story short, not only did he make it there, but he made it through the surgery. He had some problems coming to in the ICU, but on April 1, 1996 he woke up and through a lot of hard work, rehabilitation and will, he is now back to working a full time job and carrying on a pretty normal life.
My dad was 50 years old when this happened. We live in Ontario, Canada and his name is Jack Kligman.
Update: 20 November 2005
It is now almost ten years since my dad had his Type A dissection repair and replacement. He has been doing extremely well and is back to work full-time. In April this year, he was diagnosed with a 6 cm descending aortic aneurysm. The doctor's are going to replace the aorta down to the level of the diaphragm on December 2. The surgery is 8 to 12 hours. They said this can happen because of the original pathology.
Has anyone dealt with or had this and how did they progress after the surgery. We as a family are getting prepared. We are going on the "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" scenario.
I will keep the page informed regarding the outcome of the surgery.
Update: 11 December 2005
My dad, Jack Kligman, is just 8 days post-operative for a aortic aneurysm repair. They replaced his aorta from the base of his previous dissection graft to the level of the diaphragm using a clamshell incision. He spent four days in ICU because he was agitated and fighting. He had his breathing tube removed on Monday morning, woke up on Tuesday completely and on Wednesday they moved him out of ICU into his own room. Today, Saturday, he is coming home.
He still has a long way to go but his brain seems okay and he is not paralyzed. So far so good.He now has to recuperate and see if he can go back to work.
I thank everybody on the site for the thoughts and prayers.
Discussion, comments, or questions: Belinda Kligman
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Kligman
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