Ricki's Posts

On my way home from work yesterday I stopped at the hospital to visit Linda. She looks fabulous! 2 days out of surgery and she looked like she was having a day at the spa! She's a bit concerned because her incision is longer than she had hoped but it looked great - a very thin red line that, no doubt, will disappear very soon. She clearly had a very good surgeon! She's hoping to go home in a couple of days and she told me how grateful she was for all your messages on her guestbook. Another success story!

. . . to my aortic valve. 2 years old today. For the last week I've been in France and Germany with a group of college students. We walk miles every day and the only thing in pain are my feet!! My heart to ready for whatever I ask it to do . . . so different from the many years before when I didn't even realize I had a problem - I just dragged myself along tired and huffing and puffing and thinking that was normal. These past 2 years have been amazing . . . For those of you who are facing surgery and are scared, it is so worth going through this process . . . And now I am going to bid HVJ adieu. There's a new generation of valvers who have expertise to share. I look forward to meeting my fellow Carolina girls - Linda and Linda - sometime soon. And I'll be back when my toddler valve grows old and weary - which is to say, I hope I'm not back for many, many years!! Ricki.

2 years ago today I walked from my car to my office and almost collapsed. That was the beginning of my heart valve journey. This morning I walked from my car to my office carrying a gallon of water in one hand and my very heavy purse in the other. No shortness of breath. No crushing chest pain. No dizziness. Just a walk. Amazing what a "little" surgery will do! For those of you waiting for your surgeries, I hope your results are as good as mine! By the way, I had my annual echo a week ago - my cardiologist says everything looks beautiful. Thanks Dr. Sabik!!!