Bob 's Guestbook

Bob McRae  Hi Mark,
I am very grateful and blessed. Everything continues to go very well. From weeks 2- 4 post surgery, I have been jogging, walking and individual indoor cycling ( spinning ) all the while closely monitoring my heart rate under exertion ! I expect to be back out on the pickleball court in the next week or so. I had my first follow-up (4 - 6 week post op) with my cardiologist. A glowing report, no valve leakage, good BP, my heart has already shrunk back to its normal size and there was a clean echo & EKG. Moving toward my stated goal of reduction / elimination of BP med & Statins. In the process of phasing out metoprolol and back to amlodipine and statin cut in half. I know we are all subject to complications at any time, and we can never take anything for granted, so I continue pray everyday that God continues to monitor & guide my continued recovery ! God Bless all heart warriors on this great website and positive thoughts & prayers to all those coming up on their surgery in Sept and always Be Heart Strong ! Bob

  Bob, I will be praying for you that your surgery tomorrow will go well and your recovery will be smooth. Write as soon as you can. God bless you

Deena Z  Bob, thinking of you! Ask for WHATEVER you need in the hospital in near real time, don't hesitate. The nurses and doctors, etc. want you to be as comfortable as possible. you're going to a great hospital with fantastic outcomes. You will soon be in recovery mode. Focus on the prize! God Bless.

Bob McRae  Thank you, one & all for the kind words, prayers & well wishes. Had a good day ,started with a good work out. took calls & texts from well wishing friends and moved into the Airbnb to stay close to my surgical team. Fortunately, I have been able to remain calm throughout and after meeting with Dr. Johnston yesterday following pre-op testing I was very pleased with the plan he confirmed . Mini-Thoracotomy, a plate no wires, nerve blocks and he said my anatomy in there matches up nicely with what he has to do. It is all in God's hands now working through these wonderful medical professionals who will get me to the other side. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again for this support, it is greatly appreciated. Bob

Bob McRae  An Update 10 days out on 8/1- I feel really good. pain is at a minimum, have not been any pain meds since before leaving the hospital. Sleeping pretty much on my side, so I'm very grateful for that. I'm walking 3,500 - 8,300 steps a day. Sometimes, I stand up a little light headed, I'm pretty sure that is the metropolol . My plan is to get back on amlodipine at my follow-up cardiologist appt later this month. I am so appreciative to my wonderful support team I've had since my pre-op testing . There is no way I could have made it to this point with out them . Still deciding how I will handle my cardiac rehab. I have to keep reminding myself its slow & steady that wins the race and not full tilt that is my normal approach to physical fitness. Wishing all you Heart warriers the best and I'm sending prayers to all of you with upcoming surgery !! Bob

Deena Z  wow, Bob, you incorporated all of the state of the art ideas recommended from heart warriors. Unbelievable that you are sleeping on your side already!! You will have lots of lessons learned to share with other soon-to-be heart warriors. You wouldn't have gotten the "chest plate" and nerve block unless you requested such prior to surgery?

Bob McRae  Yes, I am so grateful Deena and all my ideas did come directly from Adam's wonderful website and the great input from all the heart warriers. I tip my hat & my Cleveland Clinic red heart to all of you. The other thing I did was study the biographies of the surgeons and their special areas of interests to see who matched up most closely with my specific diagnosis/ situation. Just an example, a late option after a webinar on HVS was about repairs. I asked my surgeon at our late may, first meeting, what about a repair instead of replace the AV, he said he had done the majority of those repairs at the C.C. After pre-op testing, he went into surgery thinking repair was an viable option. Once in there he found one of my tri leaflets on the valve was fryed so it had to be replaced so I ended up with a cow tissue valve with a long history that has a 75% chance of lasting 15 years and 50- 55% chance of lasting 20 years. Take Care, Bob

Bob McRae  Tracy, Thank you for your positive words. I'm 1/2 way through pre-op testing with more today including meeting with my surgeon before go time on Thursday ! Bob

D Rogers  Thank you Susan! Lost a somewhat long post and won't try to replace it tonight as the report said repeated problems.

Bob McRae  Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for writing me. That is a wonderfully encouraging story and the important details that I incorporate into my pain management plan. Thanks for the well wishes as well ! Take and stay heart strong ! Bob

Bob McRae  Hi Mark,
Thanks for sharing your story with me. Ironically after looking at 4 or 5 of the top wonderful surgeons at the C.C., my choice came down to Dr. Roselli & Dr. Johnston, it was a toss up. Ultimately, it seemed to me Dr Johnston had slightly more specialty interest in minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. I told him priority was minimally invasive to enable me to get back to my physically active workout lifestyle as soon as possible. Although all my pre-op ( heart cath, chest scan, ekg, another echo ) still needs to be done, that will confirm the incision path we. I have no / little calcification on the AV and when talking about the aneurysm at 3.9cm, he said its a slightly dilated and nothing needs to be done surgically, so at this stage b4 pre-op testing I'm confident it will be a mini thoracotomy 1st choice, 2nd choice mini 3" sternotomy and worst case scenario full sternotomy, I want plates no wire so I'd be able to raise/ use my arms sooner and I can get out on the pickleball court sooner. As far as cryo intercoastal nerve block, since I won't see the anesthesiologist until pre-op testing 2 days before my surgery , I will get the ball rolling next week by asking to speak to one before pre-op or work through the Dr. Johnston's N.P. or admin person to let my desires be known NOW. I'm looking at 3 valves to finalize my choice: Inspiris Resilia, Edwards Perimont and the Biocore from St. Jude. A couple questions for you Mark:
1) What minimally invasive incision did you have ?
2) How much longer are they telling you your Edwards Magna Ease valve will give you ? As I fill in the blanks on my surgery, I will pass them along. Staying Heart Strong ! Bob

Bob McRae  Hi Kim, Congratulations on coming through to the other side and happy to hear with not much pain. When was your surgery ? I totally agree with your approach. Did you get wires or plates to close your chest. I was told of a non steroidal, non narcotic anti inflammatory called toradol to use. Best wishes & prayers for a seamless recovery. Bob

Bob McRae  A fantastic report, thanks Wendy ! How far along are you in the process ? Did you have a a full sternotomy or a minimally invasive incision ? What type of valve did you get ? Best wishes to you ! Bob

Bob McRae  Hi Deena, Thanks for the reassuring words. I've been doing my best to stay as physically active as possible which has always been my lifestyle. I'm playing pickleball at least 3x / week and a couple weekly indoor cycling classes( spinning ). From reading your story on your cardiac rehab, I see you are working really hard, great effort ! Please keep me posted, because I'm already wondering how long it will take me to get back to where I am now feeling great. P.S. what part of Upstate for H.S., I'm from Buffalo
Bob