Herb's Guestbook

  Happy first Anniversary Herb. You are doing great and I pray you will continue to stay healthy. Stay in touch and God bless you

Herb Greenberg  Deena, thanks very much. Our anniversaries are weeks apart. Glad you are doing so well. If this journey did nothing else it reminded me how remarkable the human body's ability is to heal and move on. Ana and Susan, thanks and always great hearing from both of you. We are all in this together!!!!

john roland  Hey Herb I followed you like a hawk because I was a few weeks behind you. Your blogs were great and I felt a lot of relief after reading them. My one year anniversary is coming soon and I just can't believe how fast and far I have come. It was an amazing journey and I just can't thank everyone enough from the Cleveland Clinic to Adam and you bloggers for all the advice. Life is so good, the bump in the road was over in three months, now if only the roads in New Jersey could be bump free in 3 months.

Herb Greenberg  John, glad you bounced back. And glad I could grease the skids with my insights, as others did for me. The speed from zero to three months is quite a thing to behold. I felt terrible that you had to do in during the early part of Covid, but as they say - alls well that ends well. This has been a fantastic forum. Too bad we all can't meet in person. Hard to explain to anybody this crazy connection. Cheers.

john roland  Maybe some day Adam will come with with a heart valve reunion date. Every year at a big hotel in a different part of the country. Take care

Herb Greenberg  Kathleen, it's an older type of tissue valve, tried and true, but depending on his age and where he is having it done, they may use something else. I would go with the surgeon's recommendation. (Please tell me that unless this is an emergency, you got a second opinion regarding the surgery.) Before surgery I spent a lot of time researching surgery. I concluded that for most people the odds of a great outcome are very high. Hospital and surgeon are important in the selection process. Post-surgery was not as bad as I had expected. I hear that over and over. The first few days are not the most fun, but the meds they give you do wonders and as long as you follow instructions and protocol the healing will progress. Attitude going in is very important. The more positive, the better! This IS a big deal but these surgeons do it every day; it's their day job. For the rest of us, hopefully it's a rarity in our lives. And with my surgery a year in the rearview mirror, I view the experience positively. Let's put it like this: Two-months post surgery I would have felt comfortable (if Covid hadn't been a thing) hopping on a plane to travel cross country to a business event. If he would like to chat let me know.

Bob Fessler  The surgery for me was a lot easier and wayyyy less painful than I thought possible. I had an Edwards bovine 3300 4 years ago. It felt like a truck had hit me afterwards because I had no energy. Totally tired but.....no pain. Your husband can do this! Contact me if you want more detail about my recovery.

Herb Greenberg  Bob, maybe it's our brains doing selective memory and blocking out the bad stuff. I do recall, at one point in the ICU, saying to myself, "Better me than my wife." But things rapidly improved.

Herb Greenberg  Hi Ben, thanks very much. After reading some forums I over-visualized the drainage tube removals. Big mistake. (Was not as bad as I thought.) Everybody has a different experience with recovery, some harder than others. But I was fascinated in reading through the comments on so many forums the number of people who have said it wasn't anywhere near as bad as they had expected. These surgeons - replacing valves and repairing hearts is their day job. If I didn't have this 9" scar I'd never know I had surgery. And FWIW - my chest really never hurt much at all. My back after surgery - yes - that's quite common, but it went away within a week or so. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Ben Landry  That is such a relief Herb. Truly, thank you. My imagination is definitely running a bit wild. I met with the surgeon today and he also helped put me at ease... Thanks again.

Herb Greenberg  Jim, thanks. Isn't Dr. Griffin fantastic? Glad to hear she is doing so well; hopefully I can match that.

Herb Greenberg  Hi Kari -

All went well and surprised how good I feel, even with a 10-inch scar, which I forget is there. Ran into Desmond pre-surgery. Looks like he is doing tremendously well. His valve surgery certainly is deep history. Thanks very much.

Herb Greenberg  Mike, yeah you were right - they know what they're doing in Cleveland. I'm stunned at how well I feel. Now if only it would stop raining I can go out and walk.

Herb Greenberg  Susan, thanks very much. People like you inspire and comfort people like me. In a great headspace today, pre-ops later. Cheers! Herb

Susan Lynn  Thank you, Herb! Glad you're feeling ready and confident. You've got this! Cheers to you! 🥂🍾❤

Mike Roskowinski  Herb cheers and good luck on your journey these next few days. It gets better quickly just keep strong and keep fighting. See you on the recovery side

Herb Greenberg  Susan, once again, thanks!
John, following in your path here. The fun starts at 6 a.m., with surgery by 7.
Mike, thanks. I followed your journey closely and was impressed with how you rolled with it. See you then.

Herb Greenberg  Hi Ron, we are definitely tracking somewhat similarly. I just updated "my story," since the one I posted there was several years ago. Things have changed slightly. I'm currently continue to lean toward CC, where I have remotely consulted with Dr. Svennson. Other people here have used Dr. Johnston and many others - all seem to have had good experiences. I'm also now considering Mayo b/c of family ties. My goal is somebody who does almost nothing but aortas; just a personal preference. I'm now told by every doctor I see that it is not a question of "if" but "when." (Tick, tick, tick....!) In the interim I am making sure I'm in good shape by exercising very regularly, for my heart and my core. Sounds like you are on the right path.

Herb Greenberg  Hi Jennifer, thanks for the update. I went through your journal - that's quite an impressive recovery. I was especially struck by your comments about how "calm" you felt. I'm certainly calmer than my wife! I've also done years of research and I believe the only way you can go into this is with resolve and optimism. I think we'll have the images sent off to the surgeon next week for a more realistic assessment. Pre-daughter-s-wedding or post-wedding, that will likely be the question. Key for me is to catch it before it becomes a serious issue. And NOBODY can ever predict that, which is why there is a Class 2a of grading risk/reward. I don't want to wait to become Class! 1 ;-)

Herb Greenberg  Hi Jennifer, thanks for the update. I went through your journal - that's quite an impressive recovery. I was especially struck by your comments about how "calm" you felt. I'm certainly calmer than my wife! I've also done years of research and I believe the only way you can go into this is with resolve and optimism. I think we'll have the images sent off to the surgeon next week for a more realistic assessment. Pre-daughter-s-wedding or post-wedding, that will likely be the question. Key for me is to catch it before it becomes a serious issue. And NOBODY can ever predict that, which is why there is a Class 2a of grading risk/reward. I don't want to wait to become Class! 1 ;-)

Jennifer McInerney  Herb, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me. Email is: jenniferj164@gmail.com