Aubrey Jones Jr  I can sympathize, I have some numbness at the bottom right of the incision. It may not go away. That is a risk of some of the nerves either being cut or damaged from the retractor of the chest cavity opening. I too have the sensitivity of the incision after the shirt rubs it all day but once I put on one of the soft tee shirts I sleep in, it relieves this.

Do not worry about my weights and activity. I cheated with a mini-sternotomy that only notched the breastbone and did not do a full split. That can slow you down a little and it varies by person.

Stay on your path and enjoy the recovery of getting better.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I would say it is doable if you are not having any issues. Only thing is to not over do it before or during the visit. Hope you do very well and this visit is easy. Keep me posted.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I can relate where I was. At the three week mark, I was walking about 20 to 25 minutes at a a time outside. I was able to go out to dinner and riding In the car was easy. I kept the pillow with me still during that time and used it to cough, stand up or to just keep the tissue from moving too much when I was moving around.

I could have probably done that by then but it would have to be restful going and coming. Not spend a lot of effort getting dressed up. Showering and cleaning up way early to rest before you leave so you are not tired. I would have taken some ibuprofen or maybe a single pain tablet (whatever level keeps you pain free and functional). Then on the way home maybe another to make it easy, depends on how tired you get. You will have to sit in an easy chair for some of the time you are there and rest. I would not have tried to help prepare or do much cleaning up to make sure I did not over do it.

What will make you tired is the showering, dressing and the intensity of the dinner and conversation as well as holding your arms up to eat over a long meal. Where the fatigue will show up is the chest will get touchy, you will feel it "pulling" and you could be tired either later that evening and maybe the next day will need to be a rest day if you are pushing too hard.

The measure of how ready you are is how well you are walking daily. Walking is key to building stamina and getting back to normal activities.

Also, remember I had a mini sternotomy that did not split the whole breastbone. You will have to monitor your stamina levels. If you have other complications like heart disease, diabetes, etc., it can slow down your recovery. Remember, everyone is on their own track so just make the decision that fits you. If you want to chat, give me a call at 317 847-5218 and good luck up coming with everything.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I have to thank Tammy for that one. She is relentless about the medication to keep me moving forward on the healing curve. I think she would hold me down to keep me on the right schedule.

Keep up the good work and keep posting.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Susan. Keep a positive outlook and keep your activity level going forward at the right level.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I have followed your progress and yours is similar to mine. I imagine you had a full sternotomy where I had a mini so that will be a slightly different recovery curve. Take your time and get good rest.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I had to laugh about the 3 am thing. I came home on a hydrocodone every three to fours hours and about 3 was the next dose I set the alarm for. I am with you and good luck, it gets better a little slowly but it is steady if you move at the right pace. Be careful to space out your activities and not do too many at once or you will scare the family by trying to pass out. Not recommended. Tammy still reminds me of this, lol.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I have to admit, a day later, level 5 was not so bad but I may have pushed a bit much doing 85 rpm. Little tired today so tomorrow's pace will be more like 40 or 50 and ramp out the time to 30 minutes over time. You keep up the good work

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Adam, and thank you for the site to let us share. It is great to be able to give and receive support from others in a similar situation. It is like a two way therapy. BTW, my wife and I enjoyed the book too.

The site helped me get started with my research to find the right solution for me. I did a lot of research to decide on the minimum risk option that fit my needs based on where my family and I are. As an engineer that understand fluid dynamics and how the numbers apply here, I could find the statistics the different procedures and your site and book got me off to a great start to make that decision.

Also, I gained some confidence in that two of the surgeons had reviews on your site and ended up going with one of them, David Heimansohn. Indianapolis has to very world class facilities and surgeons.

If there is anything I can help you with, let me know.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Dan, sometimes it can be a little frustrating to feel like you can do so much more and then a few days later realize the pace your progressing should not be rushed since you are already a little tired every few days. When it is your turn, listen to the doctors, nurses and your family about the pacing.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Cynthia, it is still a work in progress and Tammy is still carrying the load to a great extent. The hardest part is only going at the right pace and not the pace you want to go at. Tammy is still watching over me daily to get me totally back on my feet.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Looking forward to being able to hear about your great outcome. Just remember to be patient with yourself and resist the desire to go faster. It will take whatever it takes and pushing too hard really means going slower. Look forward to your posts.

Aubrey Jones Jr  The secret is out, take me to your leader!!!

Keep up the work and the positive thoughts. We will be better than ever soon.

Aubrey Jones Jr  You keep up the good work too. After the second day, I am really tired but I think the extra pushing effort I did in cardiac rehab showed up today. A little extra rest tonight and tomorrow should be ready to go again. Have to work to keep the positive mental attitude to keep moving forward in spite of having to go slowly. Take it easy when you get back to work and expect you will have a few days along the way of being tired. Pace yourself. Good luck

Aubrey Jones Jr  Agree, walking was my first key, along with the pain amazement from hospital and Tammy. The timing is dependent upon everyone's individual situation. 12 weeks sounds like it is right for you. Keep walking and exercising. Doing the upper body light warm ups has been very helpful for me. Keep at it!!!

Aubrey Jones Jr  It is a portable monitor they hang in a pouch around your neck. No issue. My heart is really behaving very well but I had not heart disease, no diabetes, etc. even with that. Ewing said, when I start to ramp up the walking on the treadmill, I see a few weird beats in there as the heart ramps up and warms up. This is normal and I only note it as a technical interest. They watch this and again, my situation is going very well.

Some people do this without rehab so it can be done. Depends on insurance and cost mostly. If you do it without, walking is a big key, talk to your surgeons office and get a program from them to follow. If not them, then get it from someone.

The exercise is a big key and should be done at the right pace, not too fast. I learned today that they took the breathing tube out at 11 pm the night of the surgery and they had me standing up by the bed at 2 am. Standing, walking and correct exercise has been key for me. Good luck.

Aubrey Jones Jr  They are being very cautious with me at 5 weeks. It is good to start carefully moving the upper body and since I am walking easily 30 min a day now(1.2 miles) their cardio is easy. Ramping it up will come as they gain confidence it is not stressing me too much.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Rehab is good and worth it just to get the upper body back. I think most of us can do the walking but how hard to push is a question they help answer.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Good luck with the FMLA. We have a small dachshund and she will jump on my chest. So far the heart shaped pillow is my constant companion and it has protected me. Watch for Belle!

Aubrey Jones Jr  Agreed, feeling good but still have to limit what you do. Pacing is a challenge. Tammy is watching me like a hawk. Before I start to do anything too dumb, her exclamation is "Really!" and then I stop.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I will be posting soon the results do day two rehab. It results in some soreness but seems to very worth it so far. Will let you know. Good luck on quick recovery from peri.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Carol. So far the slight ups and downs are very normal and pretty easy to take in stride. Keeping focused on sensible and steady rather than trying to move to fast seems,to be working for me.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I look forward to following your great procedure and recovery. Knowing what I know now, if I had to do it again in 20 years, no big deal. While it is not trivial, it is much easier than I thought it would be but I had great support too. The hardest part is the patience required for the recovery other than the nausea after surgery.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I like your journal a lot. Tammy tells me I am not personal enough in mine. She is right, I am an engineer and tend to write a little technically. Sorry but it is how I am wired, lol.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Hope it helps. Hope everything works out for you. It is a journey at is very doable to get decades of good living.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Jim. Could not do this ever without Tammy. She is a rock and has great judgement on the medical situations.

Aubrey Jones Jr  We started Weight Watchers about 4 weeks prior to my surgery. It was in response to my son and his girlfriend joining and Tammy and I decided to do it as well. It is much easier if the whole house is on it so you can convert to the better for you foods vs. the high calorie foods we usually eat. You start to cook real meats like roasts, pork chops, fish, etc. along with this you can cook more fresh veg and our major key is to buy fruit and yogurt every weekend. Cut the fruit into a large bowl and keep it in the frig for snacking. Buy the low calorie bread that is only two points for a sand. We quit using mayo and use mustard which is basically zero calories. Also, we eat more light yogurt, Yoplait mostly since it only counts for 2 points. It really is easy once you take a little time at the grocery store And see what is low on the points scale you like to eat. The points scale is also aligned with the calories but it is not just calories, they factor in the fat and fiber and protein as well. Their little book is very helpful.

Also, you can eat out but it is different. We go to Taco Bell and eat 2 fresco tacos and a side of the beans for 12 points for a meal. You can eat the smaller hamburgers for less points. The key for us was to convert to the fruit and yogurt and to eat smaller portions but more often and for the most part, we are never hungry. If you try to do it with larger protons, we found we were getting hungry and the temptation to cheat was greater. Factor in snacking and grazing. Good luck, once you decide to do something like having your heart valve to be replaced, it is a bit of an opportunity to extend that to a little more change in your life. I have seen people start to spend more time with family, change eating habits, increase exercise, etc. If it is something you wanted to do anyway, there is no time like the present. This surgery and recovery is a break in your regular routine that you can take advantage of. Good luck

Aubrey Jones Jr  Your right Helen, I suspect that it will be responsible for at least 5 lbs so far and may be a total of 10 before I am back to full speed. Tammy is giving me a little more than the Weight Watcher points to keep my protein up for healing and carbs for energy but we are staying pretty close to it and it is working. Yes, I am well past the worst but even then, it was very bearable and the additional years are going to be great for all of us.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Cyndee, miss seeing everyone by being so far away. Give everyone our love and we think of you guys often. Tell Faye that I dodged the lead car easily this time, she will know what it means.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Rebecca and keep up your good work on your recovery. Also, since the pig valve was put in, not sure I can eat bacon any more.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks Sherry. It has been 2 weeks and 5 days since the original surgery and 1 week and 6 days since they had to open the chest again to get the PICC line out. Truthfully, I am surprised at the rate of progress even though the 2nd opening did plateau me for about 3 or 4 days. I am sensing the stability of the breastbone is getting better in the last week and suspect the 2nd opening may have reset that a little. Still love the pillow though, lol. Thanks for the info.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Agreed. The ducolax pills were not enough. Had to add Miralax dose once a day as well and that has worked well. We called the Drs. Office 2nd day about the 2 hour ordeal to have a bowel movement and she recommended adding the Miralax. Since then it has been better. Progress is continuing and hope you keep up the good work there as well.