Kevin's Guestbook

Hey Kevin! How are you doing? I’m having a hard time with some collateral side effects from surgery & feel like I’m not doing as well as I wanted to be! I know everyone is different but since are same day surgery buddies I was wondering how you are doing! CKB

Kevin you look great and it's fantastic seeing you out walking. Just passing on some info my cardiologist gave me after surgery. Almost all of us can't wait for the day we can sleep on our sides. Doctor warned me not to do it for at least 6 weeks. He said the wires could bend under the weight of our top shoulder and arm pulling down especially in a deep sleep. He also said some people have lifelong arthritic type pain because of it. Be sure to get an ok from your doctor. When it's ok to sleep on our sides, a firm pillow next to the body is a good place to rest the top arm and keep the shoulder from rolling forward and placing all that weight on sternum. Best of luck to you.

WOW Kevin! Your description of how you feel is probably textbook (everyone is different, I understand), but everything you wrote was my experience. It will be up and down for awhile, but you are young and will feel better each week. I remember hanging onto my walker just to go into the kitchen. I wasn't going to cook, but it gave me a rush of happiness to make it that far and stand at my sink again. I live in CA and yesterday we went to the grocery store and stopped to take pictures of us in the beautiful wildflowers along the walking trail in our neighborhood. What a difference ! Didn't think I'd be here so quickly. The months have flown by. I am on warfarin for another month and still get cold easily, feel a little prick in chest now and then and am still a little hesitant to push myself. But, I am slowly putting thoughts of surgery behind. You WILL be much better as you gain strength. If this 73 yr old lady can do it, you can too. It just takes time, rehab and moving as you feel better. Always wishing you and others the very best in surgery and recovery.

my brother was 40yrs old and had a valve replacement and they wrapped his aorta with a dacron wrap. he is now 55 and doing very well. It came out of nowhere and we learned he has a weak connective tissue disorder. Initially they determined it to be Marfans syndrome but i believe it was later learned to be a genetic deficiency. Something related to callagen and elasticity which causes the aorta to dissect. A dissected Aorta is typically lights out. God spared him to raise his family. Best of luck to you and God Bless.

Hi Kevin. Your last words posted were, "it needs to be done". You have a choice to accept that and do it the easy (well, easier) way or get a big case of the "what if's". It's OK, we all got anxious. When it was over most of us wish we hadn't put ourselves through so much worry and stress. Your body needs the calm, energy producing chemicals to help heal. The mind is a crazy thing. We sabotage the calm and grateful mind with worry when the opposite will bring the best results and we can't seem to stop. You might try sitting down and writing 2 or 3 reasons why worry and anxiety will give you better results with your surgery. Don't just think about it. WRITE IT. On paper write the following questions and answer them after thoughtful consideration: 1. Will continued worry and stress increase my chance of the best possible surgery? 2. Can I think of 2 good reasons why I want to continue thinking like this? Then write and answer this : How would I be feeling if I dropped those thoughts causing anxiety? I hope you feel some relief. Praying for the best possible outcome for you.

Kevin! Your surgery is on the same day as mine?! We are forever heart buddies, you're right! How are you holding up? I feel like I would lose my sh*t if mine was postponed. You're in San Francisco, is that right? Not too far! We should do a family meet up in like 6 months to compare war stories.

Kevin! Thank you for your support and encouragement. You are so brave!! I am impressed. What are you doing to get ready? I will be rooting for you. Six days to go. You are getting close!

Hi Kevin I live in Northern California and have a similar situation. I am 61 Surgery is next Monday the 25th. Be at peace with our situation. We are lucky to be living in the times that we are with all the medical advances. We will both be up and running in a couple weeks. Lets chat when we get home.