Open Heart Surgery Recovery Update - Surf’s Up!
On December 21, 2005, nearly 435 days ago, I had open-heart surgery to fix a congenital defect in the aortic valve of my heart.
After thirty four years of life, my bicuspid aortic valve which suffered from stenosis and regurgitation, needed to be replaced.
As many of you know, this open-heart medical operation (known as the Ross Procedure) triggered a series of challenging lows (e.g. cardiac depression) and a series of memorable highs (e.g. my engagement to Robyn).
Well… Two days ago I experienced another memorable high that I wanted to share with you - my friends, family and blog subscribers.
“What happened?!” you wonder as you see my smiling, much in need of a shave, face.
This past Saturday, I dug my dusty, nine-foot, eight-inch McTavish surfboard out of the garage. Then, I reached into the dark corner of my closet and grabbed my RipCurl wetsuit.
Yep…
It was time to complete my physical recovery from open heart surgery.
It was time to surf again.
The day was a surfers dream. Sunny, with just a few swooshes of cloud in the blue skies above. I think the high in Los Angeles on Saturday was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Pacific Ocean held to its name. It was symbolically calm and glassy.
And the waves…
The waves were as playful as a six-week old puppy. Perfect for a longboarder like me…
Or, more accurately, perfect the longboarder I remembered to be (prior to my surgery).
With booties strapped on, I entered the cold, salt water with no expectations.
This would be my first time on a surfboard in eighteen months. This would be the first time that my new heart would experience a surfing adrenaline shot. This would be the first time that my stitched sternum would feel forces controlled by the one-and-only mother nature.
Come to think of it, I was a surfing virgin again.
Fear and anxiety bubbled up as my chest smacked down on the white, waxed fiberglass board. I started to paddle.
“As long as I don’t break,” I thought to myself, “Everything will be fine.”
Fifteen feet into my initial paddle, however, that thought transformed.
There was no pain in my chest. There was no discomfort in my nine-inch scar. There were no heart palpitations that I could feel. There was nothing but a boundary-less emotion of joy. 
Chilly water splashed overhead as I slipped through an oncoming wave. More chilly water from the next wave and the next. About a minute after entering the water, I was outside the breaking waves amongst the other surfers in the line-up.
“Is this really happening?” I thought to myself. “This must be some kind of wonderful dream.”
I tested my chest once again.
Using my hands, I thrust my body upward to strike the traditional, surfer pose you see as you drive along Pacific Coast Hawaii in Malibu – butt on the board, legs on the side, chest slumped but upright, eyes gazing to the water’s horizon.
Again, no pain…
Hmmmmmmmm…..
“Don’t get cocky Adam,” I thought to myself, “Take it easy… You did not come out here to go nuts. Just get used to your surfboard. Paddle around a little. Then, call it a day. You’ve been through a lot.”
Needless to say, those thoughts disappeared.
In its place, came an empowering voice that screamed aloud, “LET’S HAVE SOME &$^%*#@ FUN!!!”
In the distance, I saw a friendly mound of bulging water that was going to peak about twenty feet to my right.
Instinct took over.
The time was now.
The hunt was on.
Nanoseconds later I was paddling to the peak.
“GO! GO! GO! GO! CHARGE! CHARGE! CHARGE!” the empowering voice was now yelling in my head. Like a windmill, my arms circulated, cutting through the water, powering me forward.
And then it happened….
The water’s energy transferred to my board.
The need to paddle disappeared.
I angled to the right.
There was only one thing left to do…
One thing.
My internal cheerleader rose again and rang-out, “UP!”
I lept to my feet.
I was surfing again.
I would spend the next 45 minutes frolicking in the water with Jeff. (Jeff recently had a heart attack and had three stents inserted. Already, two months into Jeff’s recovery, he’s surfing. How incredible is that?!)
The magic of the day extended when thirty dolphins or so showed up to celebrate with us.
We had our own surf party to celebrate my recovery and my belated 35th birthday.
Thanks to each of you for your support and encouragement. I’m not sure where I would be if not for your love and help during my recovery!!!
Keep on tickin,
Adam
Adam Pick is the author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. This special book divides the valve surgery process into four sections which address the challenges and opportunities faced by both patients and caregivers. To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.
Email Friend
Leave Comment
Print
Subscribe
March 6th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Adam
I emailed you about a week ago via the Ross group. I’m a fellow surfer and as you may recall i was surfing again six months or so after my Ross.
So glad to hear you’re back at it again. Water here is getting back up to the 50’s so i’ll be in the surf again soon.
Again, Congrats!! Its a great feeling, isnt it???
Mark
March 6th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Ohhhhhhhh Yahhhhhhh.
I remember!
In fact, you were my inspiration.
Seriously, after reading your note I got so fired up. I knew I could do it. I was just afraid. Well, that fear is gone.
Can’t wait til daylight savings so I can paddle out before work!
Thanks so much!
Adam
April 26th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I went through a valve replacement surgery around six weeks back. Right now I am in cardiac rehab.I spend half of my day crying. I just can’t get over with my depression. I am a documentary film maker. I was in the middle of two productions when I almost collapsed. Everything happened so quick that I didn’t get a chance to prepare myself for this long term inactivity. Now when I see my camera glaring at me, I feel the pain of my helplessness. I am coming off my upper body restrictions but still not able to pick up the camera. This disease gulped down my career as a pilot at the age of 20 and now I feel that I am losing the battle again at the age of 38. I have been a fighter all my life and now I feel very low. On top of it I feel very detached from family and friends. I don’t feel belonged to anything or anyone. If I lose my ability to make films I am sure I will lose myself completly. Your post has given me some hope but I am still very skeptical……Thanks for sharing
April 30th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Arvind, I read with interest your note of April 26,2008. I am the mother of John Turan who had a Ross procedure, same as Adam, March 5th, one week before yours? You can type his name in the search box and you can read about that. I don’t know how old you are, but as a mother, I am going to encourage you to be patient and wait, wait, wait. Everyone is different, you will not recover at the very same rate as anyone else, because, we are all made so beautifully similar, but so wisely different. You will pick up your camera again, because, as of today, I am praying for you (even thought I do not know you), I am not praying for things to speed up (again we are all made just a little bit different) but for you to be strong and patient. God knows exactly how much time each one of us needs to get back in shape, but we don’t, and we shouldn’t guess. It may feel now like you will never get over this, but also as a nurse, I can tell you that from ANY surgery, even the simplest one, you can expect you will not feel as your old self for at least 3 months, depending on the surgery even longer. So, imagine open heart surgery. You have to give it time. Where is your support team? Try not to push them away. Where are you recovering, far away from or close to your family?
John also lost his ability to fly at about age 25, when he couldn’t get a doctor to sign for him to get his ticket. He turned his enthusiasm towards something else and began diving and doing other water sports that he was “allowed” to do. This was most difficult because he grew up in a family of pilots, but he did it well, either that or he fooled everyone!
Most recently, during his recovery, he had the same problems, unable to pick up either one of his two children, ages 1 an 2, or to help his wife, who works full time as a nurse and is also going to graduate school, unable to even open the refrigerator to get juice or milk out, but, he had read Adam’s book, and he knew from Adam and from all of you who share your experience in this blog, that it would pass. And that gave him extreme hope.He also began passing his time with the things he could do, and baked and decorated a cake in the shape of an airplane for his son’s 2nd birthday, with such success, that he then baked and decorated ,without special cake pans, a cake for my birthday in the shape of a huge heart! It seems unimportant, but a huge success for someone who couldn’t bake at all before. And an accomplishement at any rate.
Find something to do that you can physically do to pass the time while you recover, and do it with the greatest effort, knowing that your inability to do what you did before is only temporary–check out Adam diving, others playing tennis, Sergio (Maribel & Sergio on the search box) going back to work and he usual life. etc. Most of all, surround yourself with positive people. Every time you say to yourself “I am losing the battle” replace it with “I am alive and made it through that super complicated surgery, so I am winning the battle”. If you haven’t read Adam’s book yet, get it and read it. If you have, read it again. Go to the part where he had to get some counseling, in case you forgot.
Cheering for you, and a great recovery, slow as it may be. God Bless You.
Mercy, mother of John
April 30th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Arvind: Please try not to feel so discouraged!! You are going to be great!!! You are 38!!! I can imagine what a perfect young guy you must be!! Believe me you will be taking pictures and filming in no time. My husband Sergio (you can look out his story as Mercy told you put Sergio and Maribel in the search box) thought his recovery was going to be long and painfull and it wasn’t because he had in mind all the time he had a project that was waiting for him so he had always a motivation to recovery. You need that motivation to go on with your life. Cardiac Depression is very common as our friend Adam says in his wonderful book so you are going to be fine. I know you might say “what does she know about it” believe me I was scared my husband had cardiac depression and so every day we made it different, one day he watched TV in our room and the next in the TV room, one day we ate on the garden and so.. this is my better piece of advice: MAKE EVERY DAY DIFFERENT, get distracted with something, look out for things in the web that are new in your buisness and that in your every day life you don´t have the time to check them out, get someone to buy you a puzzle, reorganize stuff, papers, photos, at your house you never have time to do: GET DISTRACTED. Dear Arvind I hope my words can help you, this is a small interruption in your successfull life take it as it is, you will be laughing at this in the future. Go super film maker!!!Shoot!!! You can do it!!!! Send you our best thoughts for your recovery.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Arvind,
Checking up on you. How are you doing? How’s your upper body cardiac rehab? Please remember to be patient for “this too, will pass”.Would like to hear from you on this blog site. Mostly I would like to read that you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. If not, I am ready to encourage you! As Adam says: “Keep on tickin’”. It is ticking, isn’t it? Hey, that’s a great plus! Mercy, mother of John.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Arvind,
I’m 39 years old and 7 weeks past my surgery. I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced an an aortic aneurysm repaired. I have 2 children, ages 6 and 2. The toughest thing for me mentally in my recovery has been the inability to pick the kids up and wrestle with them. I was playing in the driveway with my 2 year old the other day when he fell and scraped his knees. I wanted so badly to pick him up, it brought me to tears. I’m not sure who was crying more, him or me. I got on my knees and hugged him for what seemed like 10 minutes. He knows I have “boo boos” and can’t lift him up. After the hug, he looked at me, and said, its ok dad, when your boo boos are better, you can pick me up. I can’t wait. I definitely share your feeling of helplessness at times. Hang in there, it will get better. Maybe you could get a small handheld camera and work on smaller projects until you get your strength back. I am an avid golfer and while I can’t swing a club yet I have been spending a lot of time on the putting green. All the best in your recovery, T.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Adam: I have an appointment scheduled with a surgeon for August 20th. I have the same symptoms as you did and just had my heart catheterization to confirm everything. My cardiologist did not mention the Ross Procedure when we first consulted and I think that is the option I would want. Are there any particular reasons why they would not want to offer the procedure. I am an avid recreational athlete and waterski regularly. I hope I can get back in the water next spring.
Thanks for the inspiration.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Adam; I just turned 46 last week. I have had 3 open heart surgeries in the last 5 years. My first was the ross procedure. As an athelete and still competitive surfer, Im not sure the ross procedure was the best surgery as an athelete. I was told that the pulmonic valve could not handle the pressure on the high maintenance side. Surgery 2 was done 2 years after the ross procedure. This surgery was a repair, yet another open heart surgery. Surgery 3 was 2 months later and required a mechanical valve. A lifetime of blood thinners, medications and Dr. visits. I would love to talk with you, maybe share some waves. Thanks for the website, This will bless alot of people. Troy from H.B.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Hi Arvind
I am from India - had an Aortic Valve Replacement surgery done in Feb 08 in Harvery Heart Foundation, Chennai - No doubt I was initially depressed but as Mercy Turan says everything passed. I am avid learner of carnatic Flute which I intend to take up again and I am planning to take up my GYM workouts again (subject to of course certain restrictions that may be be suggested by my doc) shortly. You want to know how old I am? - I am 55 years old! I walk 5 kms five times during the week.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Good Day to All!
I’m 46, had a Ross procedure at 33, still going strong with NO complications. My surgeon was a genius, the post depression I was pretty sure was caused by coming down from several morphine dosages during the operation.
toughest thing was getting back to sleep after the surgery, ticking clock worked great, stay off the sleeping pills…
It’s a longish story, humorous in many places, scary in others. I work out daily, but more importantly than eating and working out, I work on my thoughts and myself. Negative thoughts are the world’s greatest killer…
Cheers!
November 14th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
More…
Arvind. Fear not, I cried for weeks after the surgery, spontaneously, and for no reason I could fathom. Think however, your body was violated (albeit for a good cause), you were sedated with morphine (read case studies on coming down off THAT stuff) and you’ll understand. Try to stay away from sleeping pills, use a noisy ticking clock if you have sleeping issues (took me 10 days to figure that out and I almost died from lack of REM sleep) because your bodily rhythms have been disrupted. Cry anyway, you are also helping clear toxins (like morphine) from your system while you do.
Everything will be great, I assure you. 6 - 8 weeks, you’ll be carrying pianos around (OK maybe not, but you’ll be fine)
Christian