Evening star., 1953-03-02
through Opeoion for A1tro stenosis
Former Heart. Patient MorveIs at Living
By Betty Miles

nOmemakeE, VINO only mOnCnS
ago found her home, her chill
dren, the very effort to move
and breathe an intolerable bur-
den, is in love with life these
days.
The victim of nitral Stenosis,
a gradual closing Of the mitral
valve of the heart which Is usu-
ally the result Of rheumatic
fever, Mrs. Roderick Watson, jr.,
was on the road to complete in
validism and an early death. An
operation performed by a Wash
ington heart surgeon. in which
the valve is opened either with
a finger or a delicate instrument,
returned her to health-more
buoyant health than she had
known for 10 years.
In the last three years, this
operation has become routine
and acceptable as surgical
procedure when performed by
qualified surgeons. With care
fully selected patients who are
considered fair or good surgical
risks, the mortality rate is very
low and the results of the opera
ton are excellent, even with
older patients. Yet, the Wash
ington Heart Association dis
covered, the public knows little
or nothing about it's existence.
Ever since her operation Mrs.
Watson has had telephone calls
regularly, sometimes as many as
four or five a week. from persons
with a similar condition.
after my operation I found q
Zest for living I've never lost
SINCE" said Susie Watson, an at
tractive blond, S feet. Z inches
tall. Her alive. bright blue eyes
make it hard to believe that
their once-dead expression is the
thing her friends remember so
vividly about her illness.
Everything is exciting, from
the kids in the street to leaves
falling from the trees" she said.
You don't realize you've lost
that zest while you're ill-you
just keep going down and down.
1t has been 16 months since my
operation but I still wonder at
being alive"
Stricken with rheumatic fever
as child, Mrs. Watson first dis
covered she had a heart condi-
ton when she entered nurses
training at Johns Hopkins Hos
pital. One of the interns detected
a type of heart murmur which
indicated mitrol stenoSis. Nursing
was out as career, so she went
to work for the Government in
the personnel Office of the
Federal Trade Commission.
The WatSonS were married 8
years ago. Tommy was born
while his father was overseas.
After Rod Watson's return from
the war, the couple enjoyed
themselves and felt like kids"
again living in Greenbelt while
he worked for his degree from
the U. of Md, under the CT Bill.
After graduation. he went to
work for a Washington flrm. and
they bought their home in
Wheaton.
Enter Disaster
Then came disaster. Shortness
of breath after exertion was the
first sign of Mrs. Watson's ILL
ness. This happened during her
third pregnancy, but was not
caused by it. Then one Sunday
afternoon. feeling i'll, she went
upstairs to lie down while her
husband worked in the basement.
II woke up fighting for BREATH"
she said. my husband could
hear my breathing downstairs.
thought I was going to die"
It was the first attack of noe
turnal dystnea, in which the
patient wakes from sleep gasping
for breath, more serious than
daytime breathing difficulties
since it is not brought on by
activity.
More and more I could do
less and less" Mrs. Watson said.
She sank deeper and deeper into
depression.
II couldn't go out when the
children called me to rake leaves.
couldn't pull them in the
wagon. I couldn't even lift the
new baby. I never knew what
exertion that had been possible
yesterday would be possible to-
day.
Everything was an effort. I
could hardly get up the stairs.
One morning Rod came into the
kitchen and found me leaning
against the cupboard in tears.
After IL hours of sleep, didn't
have the strength to make
breakfast"
Things like dances or hayrides
were out of the question, of
course. 1t was doubly hard be-
cause Mrs. Watson had always
been an active, sports-loving
person.
Life Distorted
Everything got so discolored,
particularly when I was tired"
she said. II got so hated the
house. It was a brand-new one,
and used to think, "A lot of
good it does me- for it defeated
me every day. I compared my
self with other girls who didn't
feel as felt, and wondered what
was wrong with me.
Really. your decline is so
gradual you don't realize how
little you can do," Mrs. Watson
added. BY the time of her opera