Donna 's Guestbook

Hi Donna- I had my Mitral Valve repaired 1.5 years ago. Recovery definitely has its ups and downs. Give yourself grace. While 5 weeks seems like a long time to you, your body is healing and that takes a ton of energy that we don’t see our body using. Make sure to get a good amount of sleep and walk when you have the time. Cardiac Rehab helped me immensely with the mental aspect of recovery. Hang in there; it truly does get better.

Welcome, Donna! You've come to the right place. I'm a fellow mitral valve repair heart warrior and am glad to read that your recovery is progressing. The mental component can be a little tricky - it is certainly a very individual journey and the trip isn't the same for everyone. I would recommend focusing on something in your future that you'd like to do or accomplish when you're further along in your recovery - give yourself a specific goal. Looking ahead does help us to overcome those occasional obstacles in our paths by redirecting our attention and energy to what we want to achieve. Professional counseling can also be helpful as post-op depression is very real. Your cardiologist or surgeon can recommend individual and group sessions that may be beneficial. You may also find that interacting with the heart warriors on this site to be healing and therapeutic. There's always someone who understands and is here to support you. Sometimes, on those bad days, you just need a receptive ear and reassurance that it does get better. (It really does!) Wishing you all the best!