Ashley's Posts

Hi friends So it's been 6 weeks since I had my mitral valve repaired and things are going as well as they can. I still move at a snail's pace and am exhausted all the time but my incisions are starting to dull and be less painful which I am eternally grateful for. I also have been told I can stop the Coumadin today which I'm pretty excited about: only because the twice weekly blood draws were terrible... I was running out of healthy veins and was bruising like a ripe summer fruit. Thank you, to all of you, who wrote me back with such helpful advice regarding feeling so down 2 weeks post-surgery. It might have been brain chemicals resettling, it might have been the narcotics (which is what I suspect) or it might have been the overwhelming realization of what I just put my body through. Or it could have been all those things. Strangely enough, was turned out to be the most helpful was three things: 1. getting off the narcotics (obviously), 2. leaving town for a few days and getting away from the prison that was my living room couch and finally, 3. cardiac rehab. I started cardiac rehab at week 4 and for whatever reason, it helped me turn a corner. One of the nurses there told me that it was common, with returning to exercise, coupled with meeting people who have been through similar experiences that really helps pull you through the dark times. Go to cardiac rehab! It is a humbling experience but so totally worth it. I had my 6 week post-op check up today with my cardiologist and was really moved to see that my echo was now totally normal. Just like that and I was fixed? I'm still kind of trying to comprehend what it all means. My question for all of you regards going back to work. When did you all go back? When did you feel back to normal-- ie, could think clearly and weren't ready for a nap after walking up a hill? Foolishly optimistic, I had originally told my co-workers I'd be back by week 6, which has now edged closer to week 8. Telling my cardiologist today that I was taking almost 2 hour naps after my 50 minutes of exercise at cardiac rehab prompted her to suggest I take the full 12 weeks of recovery... saying that it takes 12 weeks for everything to get back to 'normal': swelling, regain some strength and stamina, etc. Is it just me or does 12 weeks of recovery seem like an awful long time? Thoughts on this? thanks so much in advance! xo Ashley

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I had heart surgery. I'm still on the couch, tired all the time. Achy. Cranky. Sore. But definitely know how lucky I am: my mitral valve was in really really bad shape. I have a check up with my surgeon on Monday (Dr. Vaughn Starnes) and I intend to ask him what would have become of me and my heart, had this not been caught? Would I have eventually slid into heart failure? The surgery itself went well- it was a miracle apparently (according to the other surgeons I talked to) that he was able to repair my valve at all. The hospital stay wasn't that fun- I had an allergic reaction to the pain meds and had horrible bouts of nausea... but my family was great, as were my friends who came to visit. I was able to go home after 6 days.... And now, to be honest, starting yesterday, I've been feeling down but I'm not sure why? I know I'm so lucky but the thought of having to be on this couch any longer makes me so frustrated... It's hard feeling so weak and out of control. And I feel a bit like this exhaustion will never end- which I know is unrealistic. But I still feel so foggy-- I can't read anything! How long does that last? is it from the anesthesia? Or the percocet? Am I depressed? Or just tired of the couch? Sorry for the venting, y'all. Any insight appreciated. xoxo Ashley

I realized in all the journals I've written, I haven't actually spelled out what is going to happen to me. I have mitral valve prolapse with severe regurge: my heart is also enlarged and both leaflets are dilated which makes repair substantially more "complex," as all the surgeons I've interviewed have told me. My chords or the strings attached to my leaflets are also apparently long and stringy: too long and too stringy. I'm having my surgery at USC with Dr. Vaughn Starnes: he will be making an incision below my right breast and spreading my ribs to get to my heart. I am not a candidate for robotic surgery at USC (though I was when I interviewed at Cedars Sinai) and apparently Dr. Starnes no longer uses the Da Vinci robot since he maintains there are still too many "flaws" and patients are spending too much time on the heart lung machine. He will be cutting each of my leaflets into thirds, trimming away any excess tissue, and stitching them back together before strengthening the strings by stitching a gortex-like ring into my atrium to minimize the enlargement. All together, I should be on the heart-lung for about 50 minutes, the procedure itself should be 4 hours, with a total of 6 hours in surgery. If I need a replacement valve (tissue!) then apparently he can do the replacement from the same incision without having to open my chest. Phew! xo