Here’s an inspiring email from Melissa, a recovering patient from Sydney, Australia. With her approval, I thought you might like to read it:

Hi Adam,

I’m emailing from Australia, I’m 34 and I had my open heart surgery 4 months ago (on 14 April to be exact).

I had a quirky congenital condition that needed to be fixed – the membrane just under my aortic valve was not functioning properly. Plus, my aortic valve is bicuspid ^[1] and a bit leaky ^[2]. But, the major concern was the membrane. My cardiologist and surgeon – Doctor Alan Farnsworth, St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney – decided to wait on the aortic valve replacement for now.

My surgery was a complete success. Doctor Farnsworth was able to completely peel the membrane away. Although it wasn’t an actual, structural repair or replacement, the doctors still termed my surgery as “valve replacement” – even though it was a bit different.

As for the recovery, I only had a few weeks off work. Then, I worked from home because I could not drive after my heart surgery. I give ALOT of credit to the fantastic team involved in carrying out the surgery (surgeon, anesthesiologist, perfusionist, nurses, etc.) and all the hospital staff in the intensive care unit ^[3] and cardiac ward. They all took great care of me.

However, I was a bit surprised by the amount of shoulder and neck pain I experienced after the surgery. I am still really sore in my neck and around my collar bone area ^[4]. I’ll discuss that with my cardiologist next week when I have my next echocardiogram and check-up. I think I really need a massage!

Needless to say, I am so immensely proud of myself for getting through all this. You can have the greatest medical teams and support group, but I believe it still comes down to the individual and the attitude you have specific to the operation and the recovery.

I too wanted to let you know how grateful I was/am for your website.

Kindest regards,

Melissa Johnston