My heart goes out to you Shannon. Bonnie must have been a truly wonderful person and I am sorry for your loss. Our siblings are a blessing and very precious indeed. Prayers for you and your family. Jerry Smithby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was 66 yrs young in July of 2015 when my lone fib was diagnosed and it was persistent. The local cardiologist prescribed Xarelto and amiodarone; I said yes to the Xarelto but NO to the amiodarone. My wife and I went home and immediately began searching for the best EP; needless to say that road lead straight to Austin, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and Dr. Andrea Natale. I had an ablatiby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Deb and I are back home now and I must say that my experience with the Watchman FLX was very similar to Andy's except for the Salmon, ( I had the Beef Tenderloin!). It's the calibre of the people on staff at TCAI/St. Davids that makes it such a special place. After having 2 ablations by Dr. Natale at St. Davids I had absolutely no anxiety about this procedure. I feel as Andy describeby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well Carey, we both have an appt. for 12:00. Things usually go pretty smoothly at TCAI so I just go with the flow. I recall someone mentioning that Dr. Natale would be doing ablations that day so I'll bet he will see us between ablations. See you Wednesday. Jerryby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well Andy you won't be the only gray haired dude, lol. I will be the gray haired dude next door. I will be watching for you and Carey and maybe we'll have a chance to say hello. Hope you have a safe and pleasant journey to Austin. Jerryby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello Carey, I will also be at TCAI/St. David's next week for my Watchman FLX procedure on Thursday. My wife and I will arrive in Austin Tuesday afternoon and I have an Appt. with Dr. Natale at 12:00 on Wednesday followed by an echo and a CT in the afternoon. We feel as you do, that we are in the most capable and caring hands. After two Natale ablations, we are not anxious in the least anby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
In my opinion, by choosing Dr. Natale you have greatly reduced any risk associated with your ablation. Rest assured you will be in the most capable and caring hands. I am sure you will feel reassured after meeting with Dr. Natale and discussing your procedure. Best wishes.by jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
One more reason you gotta love the wonderful people of St. Davids and TCAI (and this forum). We are truly blessed!!by jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, thank you so much for that very reassuring information. We will contact Dr. Natale's office (or email Shirley) for a consultation appt., make a trip to Austin and follow his recommendation. Again, thank you for taking the time to assist us with this. You and this forum are awesome and a blessing!!by jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
No worries Shannon; you have certainly had your hands full!! Take care of your home and we can discuss this anytime--there is no urgency. I will email you with our info. We look forward to talking with you. Thank you very much.by jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hello everyone, I have been reading this forum periodically since 2015 when my husband Jerry was first diagnosed with lone A fib (persistent) . We made the trip to Austin in October of 2015 for ablation by Dr. Natale----what a wonderful experience at St. David's!! He enjoyed a year of NSR and then went into A fib/flutter so Dr. Natale did a touch up ablation in October of 2016. Jerry isby jsmith1015 - AFIBBERS FORUM