Hey Jeff,

My thoughts are with you!

http://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2011/06/29/journals-patients-prepare/

Keep on tickin!
Adam

My prayers are with you - just think you will soon be looking into the rear view mirror on this.
Emilyrae Helfen

I'm right there with you brother. I'm also going in tomorrow for aorta and partial aorta replacement.

Wanna' do a road race for the 4th?

Cheers
Kent Kersey

hang in there chief :) Much love

Jeff,
Will be thinking of you and praying for you this week. Will try to stop over and see you after you get out of ICU. I am on call this weekend and will try to stop over then, see ya soon. Give 'em hell on the 30th.
God Bless,
Jim D

Damn Jeff didn't know you were in town. Leaving for Hocking Hills in the morning. You still here?
David
PS call me!

Hi Jeff, I hope you have a wonderful time away from it all and enjoy the mini vacation it sound like fun!

Take Care

Bill

Hi Jeff. I'm visiting the doctor once a week to monitor my coumadin. It was right on until today. It was pretty high today so the dr made an adjustment. I go back next week to try it again. Hope your visit went well today. Jon Farmer

I hope your pre-op testing goes well. The waiting is the toughest part. I'm sure you will do great with the surgery. Hang in there and feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try to answer. Jon Farmer

Thanks for the updates. My story is very similar and I'm just a week or so behind you. Keep up the good attitude. I'll be following your progress and keeping you in my prayers.

Cheers
Kent Kersey

Hi Jeff, Sorry I have not written back sooner but have have been tired from the heart cath process and having family visit late that day. I was totally wiped out. I know what you mean about the water falls and the sharp rocks below. Take care my friend! Bill

Hi Jeff, Got your message and saw your post for today. Did you have to spend the night in the hospital after your cath? Take Care Bill

Greetings,Jeff
I'm having my aortic valve replaced in 4 weeks(July 11) and will be following your journal entries. I wish you the best in everything.

Sheila
Apple Valley, CA

Jeff,
I guess at some level I am going to leave it up to my surgeon. I have been learning about valve disease for the past several months. These surgeons have been at this their entire professional careers. I want the valve that the surgeon is most comfortable with. I suppose that if I had a choice, I would choose the St Jude valve. My birthday is 10-28. That is the feast day of St Jude. A valve named after one of the original 12 apostles can't be at all bad. Remember that even the On-X valve does not have FDA approval for lower anti-coagulant ranges as yet. I think that if I have to have my valve replaced, then I will get a home INR monitor. The surgeon that I met with said that there is only a 10%chance of having to repair or replace my valve. However, with Gods will and any luck I will live for a little while. I'm not sure that I want to have open heart again in 10-15 years.
Take care brother,
Jim

Hey Jeff. You are gonna fly through this. I was totally surprised at how fast everything went once I was there. Feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have. Jon Farmer

Hey Jeff,

You will do good... don't worry! Anyway, your just too ugly for anything bad to happen to you... ha ha.... take care buddy.... Bill G

Jeff,
Are you scheduled for surgery on the 24th at Christ? If it's okay with you and your family, I may stop over for just a brief moment while you're in house.
Jim D

Jeffrey,I hope for you to meet my son Tony.He has been very sick and Ive been doing all his blogging ad keeping up..now its time for him to take over.I know he will relate to you.He has a great wife,a beautiful daughter and strong faith . Except that this is his 3rd.you may get some strength from him and you may help him remember that he too was strong,before his first. We pray everyone in this place. We also loved the book. Trust God, Trust your Doctor and grab a heart shaped pillow,dont be afraid to take care of your pain and before you know it you will be home.
Linda (tonys Mom)

That's really cool Jeff. I've been retired for 10 months and don't miss the job one little bit. I attended the "Scuba Show" at Long Beach today. Each year it's a big to do for everything scuba. Picked up lot's of brochures and information papers. And purchased to very fine shirts.

I can't wait to get back to diving in a beautiful tropical resort! I have to miss out on a live aboard to Belize just days after my surgery.

The other thing I can't wait to experience is having a normal heart that pumps lots of blood!!!! Doctor says I'll be surprised at the difference.

Dan

Good Morning Jeff from the West Coast. It's a great day here. Thank you for your comments. I just read your story. I too have a dental appointment in a week, however, this is a routine 6 month check. I glad the timing is right for my surgery in just about 5 weeks.

The last few weeks for me as been a series of surprises. I thought I knew my condition well, had read articles frequently, and felt no fear of my condition. Perhaps I was not paying attention, or perhaps my doctors (over the years) never provided me with the bottom line truth, but now I realize how lucky I've been not to have dropped dead from all the activities I've been involved in. At the age of 40, I joined the local volunteer firefighters. Also, I just retired as probation officer after 20 years. I had wonderful assignments which included a drug task force, a street gang task force and monitoring the dangerous and high risk bad guys. I had to fight many of them and chase others, with only getting out of breath. Also, 6 years ago, I took up scuba diving. It was my last dive in October 2010, that I felt a heart problem for the first time. It scared me. But I continued to work hard around the house, lifting bolders, digging holes and trenches, etc.

Anyway, I'm being very careful now because I think I still have a lot of living to do.

I will be reading about your journey and thinking good thoughts about you.

Dan

I think that things happen for a reason. Life has brought you to this moment, with Laura by your side, to help you through this. I know that you will be OK because you have a lot to live for and people who truly love you a lot. I will be ther too. Love Mom, (Laura's mom, Donna) Part of recovery is the love you get from those who need you.

Jeffrey,
Looks like we're neighbors. You know, I have had impacted wisdom teeth for probably 20 years. If they have to come out now, I am gonna be really aggravated. They are probably cemented into my head. At least I have until September to get them out if needed.
Jim Davis

Hey Jeff,

There a lot of CC alums on this website and they can give you the total scoop on AVR there. I am no spring chicken (unlike that over-achiever Barry, who you will no doubt hear from!) and I breezed through it easily. My husband tells people that if they had seen me five days after my surgery, they would have asked when I was having the operation.

CC is just the best. I live in Colorado and would make the trip again in a heart beat. I send you my very best wishes for a successful surgery.

Anne Shannon

Good luck with the surgery... where's my Harley shirt? :)

Jeff,

Good luck with your surgery and please keep us informed through your journal. My thoughts and prayers are with you buddy.

Jeff Panning

Hi Jeff,
Looks like we are following a similar life course. I was born in 1964 too and have had a heart murmur that's been followed every year since I was a teenager. I also thought I was going to have a "see you next year" check up this year. It didn't turn out that way though. On April 19th, I was told I should have my valve replaced in the next 6 months. So, I completely understand how you feel. I'm still meeting with cardiologists and trying to figure out what to do. I know I have to have it replaced soon, but I'm not sure exactly when. I plan to head in the direction of Cleveland (I'm in MD). From what I hear, this all is very routine and safe these days. It really helps reading these journals and seeing how quickly most people recover. I figure that we are young and healthy (relatively) so we should do fine. Keep us posted.
Chris Ohannessian

You will do great. We have trips to the island to do. New people there to meet and piss off. Remember "Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Love ya buddy. David and Judy B.

Ah, Jeffrey, You are so lucky...you're close to where apparently the best valve job people on the planet are located....I traveled from Albuquerque to get my valve job done at Cleveland Clinic...and kinda put up with dreadful Cleveland winter wx this last Mar 11th to get the benefit of their team. I, too, never had any symptoms, well, recognizable when they happened. My mitral valve prolapse was discovered in 1978 and was benign....until last Nov 22nd at a routine hypertension follow-up when an ultrasound, echocardiogram, was given...and...damn...1/3rd of the blood was backwashing back through the valve. No wonder I had a breathing problem last Aug 28th and had to be towed out of a lake in Vermont about 50 yards short of finishing a 1.2 mile swim...and had labored breathing for 2 or 3 hours after. I thought it was dehydration and not good enough training at the time....geezzze...it was serious valve regurgitation and I didn't know it....like in mid Oct I ran out of steam at mile 7 on a Half Marathon. But, those guys at Cleveland, with Dr. Mihaljevic and Dr. Gillinov doing the surgery, did a bang up job. 11 wks later I'm complaining, and a little disappointed...well, the word I used is pissed, I can't run up this mile long hill without a little walking. I'm so lucky...what I'm saying in my round about way...is normally this heart surgery is more scarey in our heads than need be...it is almost routine for these docs at places that do litereally thousands of them a year. They know what they are doing, have more experience than probably anyone, and are GOOD! Barry Stone on the mtn in New Mexico

Jeff,

Think positive and feel fornunate that you CAN have this surgery!! That is what someone told me when I basically had the same thing told to me back in November! Had my surgery in January and now I am feeling FINE!!

I NEVER had any symptoms or problems, just the annual echo and expected to hear the same thing, see you next year. Realize that you are doing more damage to your heart if you DON'T have the replacement done.

You will receive alot of support here, ask questions and you will get many opinions.

Think positive and check out my journal if you want!!

Lori Wakat

Hello Jeff. Looks like we are both having surgery soon. I'm located about an hour north of you. Just stay positive and surround yourself with people that care about you. Where are you having surgery? What kind of valve did you choose? I'm at OSU Ross Heart Hospital and chose a mechanical valve. Feel free to check out my journal. Jon Farmer

You have my support 100%. Fix yourself up and get well.