Autumn's Guestbook

Autumn Stuart  Hi Andrew! Thank you so much for responding to my post. I love that you even have the same surgeon. I see that it took you 10+ months to fully feel better. How quickly were you able to return to work? How was the healing process for you? 

Andrew Dial  Yeah so I went back to work at 3months post op, and didn’t do so well.. I was definitely not ready (I work a very physical job) and was still dealing with some side effects from a high ish dose of beta blockers causing too low of BP. We had to adjust my beta blockers a few times and I eventually got to the point where I felt much better probably at around 6 months. If I was working a desk job or similar, I could have gone back at 12-14 weeks for sure. I am lucky that my wife works full time and I was able to stay at home and do some side jobs to get us by for those extra months. Sorry if that’s kind of jumbled^ 

The healing process took longer than expected, but I am glad I took those extra few months. I walked a lot, ate healthy, stayed hydrated, and slept as much as I could. My biggest thing for you especially the couple weeks after surgery- Listen to your body. If you are tired, sleep. It’s very easy to overdo it.. and will kind of just happen. But ur body will tell you when it’s time to rest.. and that’s OK :)

Autumn Stuart  Thank you so much! You are an inspiration and am so grateful you responded. It’s comforting knowing you have been through the same surgery and even with the same surgeon. I have had a surgery before and they put a mechanical valve in but it ended up being a Prosthetic mismatch. so I know that process but this is definitely a more complicated procedure. I have a pretty sedentary job but I do have to drive a lot and have to go into peoples homes so thank you for answering those questions! I know I have more questions so I will probably reach out again soon as I think of them if that’s okay!! 😊

Andrew Dial  Absolutely! Please ask away as questions come up. This website is a fantastic resource for the Ross! 

Autumn Stuart  I completely understand that feeling, I will be having my second open heart surgery soon.  I have never injured myself but I did recently have a surgery which I ended up having internal bleeding after they restarted my warfarin. They were able to reverse the warfarin pretty quickly which did  stop the bleed. I am not very active so I can’t really give advice in that area. Whatever you decide though will be right for you. I always do a pros and cons list when I am having a hard time making a life changing decision.