talk 438

My Fellow Lighters,

In the last twenty-four months, Connie and I had taken you on a stormy journey which ended in Stanford on the Fourth of May. For years, we knew it was only a matter of time before she would need a second open heart surgery to replace one or more of her heart valves that were first replaced in 1984, the year of the Lighter's Silver Anniversary. I remember that year well because that was the reason why we could not attend the celebration and festivities in Hong Kong even though we had paid all the necessary fee.

The time for that second surgery came in the summer of 2000.

Because of the serious nature of the surgery, Connie and I had studied the reports on hospitals and surgeons extensively before we settled on the Cleveland Clinics for the operation. In July 2001, her tricuspid valve was replaced by Dr. Cosgrove. Two weeks later, she was released by the hospital and came home. We thought at the time that she would be able to live a normal life for a few more years. Maybe as many as fifteen to twenty.

Unfortunately, what we thought was a successful operation had instead left a time bomb in her heart. Two weeks after we came home, Connie had difficulty breathing because of the fluid in her lungs. The medical term for her condition is congestive heart failure. We had to take her back to NIH to remove the fluid but the physicians were unable to pinpoint the source of her problem. Some said her heart was weak and probably needed a heart transplant. Other suggested that both her heart and lungs must be replaced. It was only at Stanford in March of this year that the true source of her problem was revealed: she had a large hole between her two upper atria. The hole was there because Dr. Cosgrove had removed a part of the tissue dividing the two atria and sowed the two pieces back together. In theory, the two parts were supposed to grow together and formed smaller chambers making the heart more efficient as a blood pump. Regrettably, before that happened, the seam came apart resulting in a 9x5 cm hole.

When the hole was discovered, Connie and I had little choice but to face the reality of a third open-heart surgery to repair the hole. Over the years, even when her artificial valves were working correctly, Connie had to take different medicine to regulate her heartbeat and the coagulation time of her blood. While the medicine were necessary, they had taken a toll on her liver and kidneys. Particularly in the last eighteen months, she was constantly fighting a losing battle to control the fluid in her body. As a result, all her major organs were marginal at best when she entered the operating room in Stanford. However, no one really knew how marginal they were before the surgery.

Of course, we had the option to forego the last surgery and let nature ran its course but we really never considered it. As long as there was one breath left, Connie would never give up. It was her nature to battle to the end. She was that way the night before the surgery and she was that way when she was in the ICU breathing off a ventilator. Connie was a valiant fighter from the beginning to the end. She would never back down.

My dear friends, Connie and I had always appreciated your friendship and camaraderie. Although she was not a Lighter, she had formed life long friendship with many of you. She participated in our reunions in '90, '94 and '99. Ill as she was, she was planning to go to the reunion in Hong Kong later this year. Always, she was more than happy to lend our organization a hand in every way she could. I am not exaggerating when I said she was more enthusiastic about our organization than some of us who actually graduated in '59.

Please accept my deepest gratitude for your friendship, support and encouragement you had provided Connie and myself during the long journey. Your kindness will sustain me in the months to come. Although Connie will not be able to attend our 2002 reunion in person, I am sure she will be there in spirit.

Peter.