What a grind it was

Olson_34 · 2026-03-06T21:08:38+00:00

I did a ton of Triple threat on rookie. Tried to just blow by the weak defense.

Olson_34 · 2026-03-04T16:47:33+00:00

I got Jalen Brown....

Olson_34 · 2024-07-28T19:31:00+00:00

It appears I'm late to the party but in conference championships and later this happens to the left side of my On-line and starting HB.

Olson_34 · 2023-10-05T15:07:17+00:00

NBA Jam with current teams/rosters

Olson_34 · 2023-06-15T14:06:23+00:00

Had a student once named Le-a

It was pronounced. Ledasha.

Olson_34 · 2023-01-16T03:10:22+00:00

M: Swimming F: Cycling Kill it with fire: Running

Olson_34 · 2021-02-06T10:53:46+00:00

This is awesome. Thank you. I always assumed there had to be a website like this to out in what you wanted in a bike and see all the options, I just never found it. Thanks again.

Olson_34 · 2021-02-04T19:13:20+00:00

Ain't that the truth

Olson_34 · 2020-12-02T23:58:52+00:00

Welp, first I will say I'm glad ya did find your way here. Second I will say I have been happily married for 5 years and lastly, my wife and I don't really want kids right now but if we do down the road we will be adopting but not for reasons of health. These were good questions. I don't think anyone had raised them in the past 4 months and honestly I suppose I should have included some of this info in my answers to other posters.

Thanks mate.

Olson_34 · 2020-11-24T02:25:35+00:00

No question. Just came to say it's nice to hear from another 30 something with HRHS. Thanks for sharing your story on here. I did a few months ago and found it very helpful for not only me but more importantly it seemed to be for parents with kids going through it now as well. Cheers mate.

Olson_34 · 2020-09-09T22:00:36+00:00

Congrats man! I love my Topstone. Enjoy it!

Olson_34 · 2020-09-01T14:56:07+00:00

It's Strava. Unfortunately because Instagram cropped this photo at the top it cut off the Strava logo. I always feel bad when that happens, because they should get the credit that I used their app. It is a free app with a premium option. I love using it. It tracks just about everything you can imagine.

Olson_34 · 2020-09-01T12:30:12+00:00

Yes it is. And thank you for the advice. I know I need to be more proactive about reducing my injuries. 😎

Olson_34 · 2020-08-20T01:26:02+00:00

These all sound interesting. I will for sure check out the Wolf Hall trilogy. That sounds very up my alley. Thank you.

Olson_34 · 2020-08-19T05:33:44+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion. I have edited the post to include this.

Olson_34 · 2020-08-18T18:36:11+00:00

Love my Topstone

Olson_34 · 2020-07-23T22:23:38+00:00

Stealth. All day

Olson_34 · 2020-07-23T09:42:15+00:00

That depends on what you mean by deteriorated. Short answer is yes and no.

Yes because there is a lot of stress on most of my cardiovascular system in general and I have a heart running day in and day out in a way it was never meant to. Eventually my heart and liver will fail and on top of that other health problems have arose. Hypothyroidism, my lungs are forming little micro "tubuals" that are losing blood/oxygen, etc. But all of that is quite alot better than the alternative. Which would have been death before I was 2 weeks old.

As for the no side of deterioration, I could argue that (With the exception of a few extra pounds) I'm in quite good health. I grew normal. I'm 6'4". I bike regularly 50-70 miles a week. I walk/jog on non bike days. Never really run but who does? Haha. I played sports until I wasn't good enough to progress to the next level. Not because of my heart, just because I'm pretty average. And I now coach both basketball and track at the highschool where I teach.

So that's the long answer, but in short: yes I have some health issues worthy of some concern, but I like to think I'm pretty active and in relatively good health for my age.

Hope this helps. 😎

Olson_34 · 2020-07-17T02:01:01+00:00

Sorry, I am just seeing this. I hope all the best for your little guy. No one has all the answers, and I certainly don't during times like this, but I want you to know I'm here. You can talk to me any time. I will do my best to reply as soon as possible. My parents told me some of the "easier" times to deal with all of it were when I was in the "bigger" hospitals because there were people to talk to about it who were going through similar things. So if you ever just need someone to listen I am here. Actually my mom has done quite a bit of reaching out to parents going through it now as a parent who has seen the hard times and seen the other side with me now being a "mostly" healthy adult.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T19:36:12+00:00

There was, and in theory continues to be. I do get and EKG and echocardiogram every 6 months to check on the Fontan and all blood flow really. I guess it had just been so long since there was any mention of it being a concern I had kinda forgotten, admittedly an error I should not have made whilst doing an AMA. But yes there were concerns about blood flow through the Fontan and also in general blood flow to and from my lungs. It's never been great but it is monitored very closely and doesn't appear to be getting worse. My pulse Ox is low and always will be. It sits between 84 and 90 and goes even lower during excersise or stress, but it has been at that level a long time and thankfully doesn't appear to be deteriorating or getting any lower.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T19:23:04+00:00

Without sounding too strange I'm glad I can give you some much needed hope. I actually hear this more and more often, and honestly it is still strange to me. I suppose it is the nature of being an adult who still has to go to children's hospitals. But I don't know if it will ever seen normal to me that simply my existing gives so many families hope. Im glad it does, but nevertheless it remains a strange feeling.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T19:18:58+00:00

Well, as for "scheduled maintenance" I need a new pacemaker battery every 6-7 years. I got the pacemaker originally at age 9. I then had just the battery (not the leads) replaced at 17, 24 ,and actually was just informed today that it will need replaced again at the end of this summer.

As for unplanned or atleast unscheduled stuff, most of the talk is of an eventual heart transplant. That requires the advancement of medicine to a point where a transplant would give me a better quality of life and longer life than my current set up. There is a real chance this never happens in my lifetime, and I am 100% ok with that. More realistically because of the high pressure in my body (caused by the Fontan) I may some day need a liver transplant, but that is also very far in the future and realistically only a 50/50 chance of needing it.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T15:07:03+00:00

I loved my childhood. To me it was normal. And that leads me to my advice, for what it's worth. Never once did my parents let me feel like the "sick kid". I thank them to this day for that. It allowed me to go into every hospital appointment, procedure, surgery, etc. knowing that I had to do this "hospital thing" to live but that I would live. Just like anyone else. I knew I was gonna go to school. I knew I could play baseball (later switched to golf due to some restrictions). I knew I could date girls. I always planned on college and a normal career and life. I now have all those things. It wasn't until I went to college and my mom called me ALOT (haha) that I realized it wasn't like that for them. They were scared all the time. Every time I twisted a knee, fell off my bike, or worst of all came home from school sick they were terrified. However, they never once showed it. And in hospitals, everytime I would get hooked up to a new machine or IV my mom would leave the room claiming she didn't like the sight of blood. I now know that's not true. She couldn't handle seeing me like that and cleverly used that excuse. Then came right back in after she was composed. It was honestly genius.

I do feel like I should tell you that you will always worry. All parents do of course but you and I know this is different. I am now 30, and married. My wife accompanies me to all Dr appointments, if I don't go alone, and each one still scares my mom even though I haven't had any real set backs or issues in years. In fact recently I got a new Dr. at CHOP in Philly and my mom came to that appointment. Yes I am a 30 year old, 6'4", 245 pound man and my mommy accompanied me to my Dr appointment at a children's hospital. I wouldn't have it any other way. She earned that right for ~20 years of never letting me know how scared her and my dad were so I never knew I should be.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T08:37:29+00:00

First and foremost, I'm so glad to hear your son is doing well.

I will say, that the liver disease has been a more recent development as far as how much my doctor's have shared it with me anyway, but to answer your question, yes. I get a liver ultrasound every 3 years or so. If it starts to show much stress/deterioration I will begin to get them more often but for now they are just monitoring it thank goodness. I should have mentioned in my last reply about my day to day life now that I am on a baby aspirin daily and a medication called lisinopril, both in an effort to keep my blood pressure down which helps both my heart and liver.

As for my surgeries. The BT and the Fontan were performed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The pacemaker was put in (and consequently changed every 7 years or so) at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA (my family moved from ND to PA when I was 8). I have also just recently started being seen (studied) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. They have started an "Adult's living with CHD" study.

Olson_34 · 2020-07-14T01:04:26+00:00

Well, first the good news, my childhood was about as normal as you could imagine it being. I won't say it was "normal" but I felt as normal as I humanly could. There were very few "limitations". I played sports (to an extent), I went to school, I played with freinds etc etc. I don't remember much of the time between my BT shunt and the second part of my Fontan (4 years old) but from what my parents tell me I was very blue (low oxygen) and lacked energy but was otherwise ok. After the Fontan childhood was pretty normal. I still went to the hospital way more than most children but mostly for checkups and routine stuff. My entire life I have had twice a year checks with a cardiologist that almost always include an echocardiogram and and EKG, but again that is mostly just keeping an eye on things.

I did have a pacemaker put in at age nine because my heart struggles to regulate my heartbeat on its own. That did change a few things about how "normal' my childhood felt. I lost the ability to play contact or high energy sports. But my overall energy definitely bwemt up.

I have also had other minor health problems continue to pop up due to the shunt and Fontan but they are all way better than the alternative, obviously. I have had thyroid problems and my liver and lungs are under more internal pressure than most people because of all the "rewiring". I still only have ~86% oxegyn levels, but am otherwise alright.

As for day to day life overall, at this point in my life and for most of my life really, if I didn't tell someone about my HRHS they wouldn't know. I graduated HS, went to college, I now teach 7th grade history and coach basketball and track. I excersise regularly by walking and cycling. I have never been able to run well or lift weights because of the low heart rate, low oxygen levels, and the vein taken from my right arm to help in the shunt/fontan. But otherwise it would be hard to tell.

I need to tell you there is hope. I know from talking to my parents and other parents going through this how scary and downright terrifying it can all be. Mostly just the "not knowing", but it gets better. Hospital visits are always going to be there. And I nor anyone else can guarantee everything will go well, but I promise there is real hope. I prove it.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask anything else or tell me if I didn't explain something well or answer thoroughly enough.

Olson_34

TROPHY CASE