Phil's Profile

Found out when I was quite young that I had a leaking aortic valve. I went through my teens getting it checked every year and it showed not real sign of progression, during my twenties I had another check after a spell of unexplained tiredness at which point an aortic root aneurism was discovered, I managed to use denial to get through the next couple of years until now... On 1st September 2011 I went into the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast to have both conditions operated on. I went for a mechanical valve in the hope that this will reduce the need for further surgery. During the surgery and following 13 days which I spend on various wards with various complications the one constant that I could rely on was the support of my wonderful wife and family. I have found that since my surgery my upper back has progressively got more painful, I get visual disturbances similar to those I would have had when getting a migraine in years gone by but these do not lead to a migraine, they simply good as quickly as they arrive generally lasting no more than 10 to 15 seconds. I find I am constantly warm and after 13 weeks I have now developed a problem in getting to sleep. I did not attend any sort of rehab as they felt at 29 years old I was young enough not to need it but now anything more than walking leads to breathlessness. I would be interested to hear from anyone else who may have suffered similar symptoms and found a resolution or anyone who has a similar procedure coming up and has any questions that I may be able to answer... Best Wishes & Keep on tickin', Phil Orr