Hi Duane,
I hope the spring weather is providing some opportunities to get out and do some fishing. Been out a few times this spring and have done well. ...Read more
Hi Duane,
I hope the spring weather is providing some opportunities to get out and do some fishing. Been out a few times this spring and have done well. Have a trip planned to the far north of NH at the end of the month for 5 days. Now on some meds that I dislike, but otherwise all is good and hope you are feeling better.
Tim
Bstonehope@icloud.com posted a note for Duane that says:
Hello Duane,
Really enjoyed your post, very funny!
Thought I was reading a Dave Barry book👍
Good that you can still laugh in spite of the serious complications ...Read more
Hello Duane,
Really enjoyed your post, very funny!
Thought I was reading a Dave Barry book👍
Good that you can still laugh in spite of the serious complications you experienced.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”
Duane Beeman Just checked in for the first time in a while. Glad you enjoyed the post. If I didn't laugh, I'd cr ... Read more
Duane Beeman Just checked in for the first time in a while. Glad you enjoyed the post. If I didn't laugh, I'd cry. It's not always easy but it sure beats the alternative.
Duane-I appreciated your encouraging note so much - I actually read it out loud to my dad. And I do think it helped. Unfortunately, still waiting to feel ...Read more
Duane-I appreciated your encouraging note so much - I actually read it out loud to my dad. And I do think it helped. Unfortunately, still waiting to feel the sun on my face when I get discharged. Nonetheless, very happy to have the surgery behind me and hoping today is the day!😍
Duane Beeman Just checked in. So happy for you....and for your dad. Now go live your new life....it' a good one. ... Read more
Duane Beeman Just checked in. So happy for you....and for your dad. Now go live your new life....it' a good one.
Hi Duane, Larry here. we share the same surgery date for aortic valve.
glad to hear you're still ornery as ever.
visiting northern mich first week of oct ...Read more
Hi Duane, Larry here. we share the same surgery date for aortic valve.
glad to hear you're still ornery as ever.
visiting northern mich first week of oct
life is good
larry
Duane, thanks for responding to my first fear and loathing post here... I would not have known about your Journal otherwise...I read it all last night ...you ...Read more
Duane, thanks for responding to my first fear and loathing post here... I would not have known about your Journal otherwise...I read it all last night ...you are amazing....your children must respect you so much...and a life lived gratefully without remorse, resentment and regret is very attractive...I believe reading your Journal may help me self correct...the surgery scheduled for me is 4/24/17...where is your boy in FL? We are in Tampa Bay area💟🐟🥇
Duane Beeman He's in Brandon......he hates me. Just kidding !!! Muhammad Ali once observed that, "a man who look ... Read more
Duane Beeman He's in Brandon......he hates me. Just kidding !!! Muhammad Ali once observed that, "a man who looks at life at 50, the same way he did at 20. has wasted 30 years of his life." I feel the same way about heart surgery !! Every day from here on out is a gift....pure, simple and undeniable.
Duane, just read your journal.. with less than 3 weeks to go, I wasn't sure I wanted to read a journal of someone who had some major complications. But, I ...Read more
Duane, just read your journal.. with less than 3 weeks to go, I wasn't sure I wanted to read a journal of someone who had some major complications. But, I have to say, its an amazing road you traveled and with a great sense of humor.. your posts put a smile on my face as I was reading and then concern as I read your adventure, but now, I have more faith than ever that we can all get through this.. we need to trust the surgeons and the Guy upstairs that all will be ok.. thanks again for the humor ..
Duane Beeman My adventure was the exception to the rule. I believe it can't get much worse than what I went throug ... Read more
Duane Beeman My adventure was the exception to the rule. I believe it can't get much worse than what I went through, so you SHOULD be encouraged. They replaced my ascending aorta with dacron, threw in a heart valve and sent me to ICU in "extremely critical condition". Then the fight really got started !! Civita....I promise you that you'll be sitting in the sunshine two months from now and all will be well with your world.
Duane I saw a old post from you and I would like to know which valve did you get .I got a bovine valve at 67 in 2010 and now at 74 doing good. Duane did you ...Read more
Duane I saw a old post from you and I would like to know which valve did you get .I got a bovine valve at 67 in 2010 and now at 74 doing good. Duane did you visit Edwards Lab and did say how long a bovine valves last.
Duane Beeman Bovine valve Peter. I did not visit the lab as I didn't think it would make any difference in my deci ... Read more
Duane Beeman Bovine valve Peter. I did not visit the lab as I didn't think it would make any difference in my decision. I think the longevity of each valve differs based upon the age, make-up and lifestyle of the recipient. I am glad you are well. I know people that are on year number 14
Jane Welp I chose bovine tissue for AVR & at age 67 years I am hopeful it will last well! So many unknowns.
Duane Beeman Life is an unknown, eh ?. You buy your ticket and take your chances. I don't worry about it. I jus ... Read more
Duane Beeman Life is an unknown, eh ?. You buy your ticket and take your chances. I don't worry about it. I just get up every day and understand that if this happened forty years ago I'd probably be a dead man. I consider each day going forward a gift of medical science
Duane-where are you at in No. Mich?
Larry Fuller
If you got an Edwards Valve you should inquire about their open house in So Cal.
I got to go last year, ...Read more
Duane-where are you at in No. Mich?
Larry Fuller
If you got an Edwards Valve you should inquire about their open house in So Cal.
I got to go last year, was treated like a king and got lots of insight on the valve making process-very rewarding( and free)
Duane Beeman I was born and raised in Traverse City but now live Hubbard Lake near Alpena Michigan. I went from L ... Read more
Duane Beeman I was born and raised in Traverse City but now live Hubbard Lake near Alpena Michigan. I went from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron !!
Hello heart brother. So great to hear that you are living every day to the fullest. You did have a scary fight! You won the fight and I am so happy for you. ...Read more
Hello heart brother. So great to hear that you are living every day to the fullest. You did have a scary fight! You won the fight and I am so happy for you. You have really made me stop and think about how I can slow down. My heart valve anniversary will be 3 years in July. Give me a call sometime and we can have an ice tea! Night my heart brother. Enjoy opening day fishing!
Your heart sister Mary
Hi Duane. Found your journal today as a result of your update. Wow...what a journey you had. I am 6 weeks post op Bentall Procedure...new cow valve and bitchin' ...Read more
Hi Duane. Found your journal today as a result of your update. Wow...what a journey you had. I am 6 weeks post op Bentall Procedure...new cow valve and bitchin' Dacron shield replacing ascending aorta and the root (aneurysms had developed on both sides of the valve)....
Recovering well, as best I can tell...
Sure loved your most recent update. So glad you are doing well after all you went through.
I chuckled about the 'Cardio diet' in the hospital. While I was there, I couldn't figure out...for the life of me...how anyone could mess up scrambled eggs. They tasted so horrible. Then...come to find out...they used an 'egg substitute'. Not a real egg to be found. LOL...
Too funny.
Anyway, thanks for posting the update...and stay the course!
Duane Beeman Larry: That food was worse than they feed people in jail !! I ate a steak tonight and I'm heading f ... Read more
Duane Beeman Larry: That food was worse than they feed people in jail !! I ate a steak tonight and I'm heading for the ice cream soon, My Michigan Wolverines lost by a point so I'm pouting....it's ALL good brother. We'd be headstones if this would have happened to us fifty years ago ! Suck up all the air you can, cause I'm breathing deep. Take care
Larry Ring Too funny that we have such parallel tracks. I'm an attorney too...(hated to admit that to the medic ... Read more
Larry Ring Too funny that we have such parallel tracks. I'm an attorney too...(hated to admit that to the medical team that supported me through this journey)...
Back to work in five weeks....my youngest daughter is finishing nursing school so retirement isn't in the cards...LOL...
Sole practitioner, so definitely honing down the stress levels at work.
So you've stopped drinking completely? If so...good for you! But now...do you wish you'd opted for mechanical? LOL...
I, too, have a bovine valve...left the choice up to my surgeon who assured me (like yours) that he would select the best option once he "saw" the valve area.
I am banking on TAVR in 15-20 years if the cow valve needs replacing.
I am thankful that I don't have to take warfarin for the rest of my life...don't have to worry about what/how I eat...and can have the occasional binge night...LOL
So great to connect with you.
Duane Beeman Wow. What a coincidence. You think the practice contributed to our current circumstances ? I was f ... Read more
Duane Beeman Wow. What a coincidence. You think the practice contributed to our current circumstances ? I was fortunate that I had some good years before this happened and paid all my debt off before the steam roller hit me. Practiced in the Detroit Metro area most of my career. Also, I'm VERY lucky that I had a long term disability policy in place. It covers me until I'm 65 and then I'm on my own I guess. It's not the heart valve replacement that took me out of circulation or rendered me "disabled". It's the aortic dissection. I have to take 850 milligrams of blood pressure meds every day to maintain a satisfactory level and to keep the dissection stable. That alone makes it pretty tough to function at times. I just have to take everything slow now. Sometimes when I stand up I have to close my eyes and compose myself for 10 seconds to make the dizziness go away. I also had a stroke during surgery that has impacted my ability to focus at times. Not a good trait for an attorney. As far as drinking, I will swear under oath that I have not had a drop of hard liquor since my surgery......and I was a pro back in the day. I do have an occasional glass of wine and I will have a beer but I ain't even on the charts compared to what I did back in the day. Should have done this years ago, but it seemed like a good idea at the time !! You're not kidding about re-thinking the mechanical valve thing. I'm scared to death of replacement surgery. But I am truthfully living a simple life now. I loved the practice and the fight at the time, but in retrospect, it was all bullshit. I'm enjoying this "no stress" life more than you can imagine. I would have NEVER have quit practicing but for this physical problem, but I have no regrets. I'm loving the forced relaxation. I was steelhead fishing on the AuSable River last week on a sunny Tuesday morning, thinking about the poor bastards sitting in a courtroom or office somewhere, selling their heartbeats for a dollar. I just smiled and thanked God for kicking my ass and giving me this opportunity to live like a man should.
Larry Ring I had a bicuspid aortic valve...congenital defect...and the sequela of events (calcification...stenos ... Read more
Larry Ring I had a bicuspid aortic valve...congenital defect...and the sequela of events (calcification...stenosis...aneurysm) seems to be quite common. When the bad valve was first found (10 years ago), my cardiolgist said I had a 50/50 chance of needing replacement surgery by the time I was 70. I drew the short straw and needed it at 59. LOL....
I have kept my stress level as low as possible since opening my own practice. So, no...I don't think it contributed...
Now trying to lower stress levels even further...LOL...we shall see.
Duane Beeman I was two years from diagnosis to replacement. At least I didn't have long to agonize over it. Bicu ... Read more
Duane Beeman I was two years from diagnosis to replacement. At least I didn't have long to agonize over it. Bicuspid aortic valve just like you....