Lily's Guestbook

Thanks Lily. I was also operated by Dr Adams in March, a few days before your operation. He repaired my Mitro-valve, tricuspid valve and VSD. I also walked to the atrium while I was there and my wife bought a few things from the gift shop. I have a question, my heart rates were in their 70s since surgery. However, starting last week, my heart rates increased to high 90s and low 100s. I realize that recovery is a individual process, but I wonder if you know anyone had such experience: regular heart rates for several weeks before jumping to high rates.

Hi lily, I was actually happy when my scars started to fade away, I could not wait to get back to work unfortunnaly i had to wait for my body to catch up with my mind, it\'s been a long recovery for me.

Oops on the bike riding, I didn\'t even think of that either I probably would have just got on the bike and went for a ride too....:)) I\'m not doing too bad I suppose getting a little more nervous about my upcoming big day (May 7th). Finished up with my dental stuff last week, not as bad as I was expecting but not fun either, actually have a followup tomorrow for the implant they put in, not sure what they are going to do to me (yikes). Went to an Autism event this past weekend for my little nephew and struggle some with the walk, but I have been having a lot of symptoms. So just going to try to relax as best I can, my last day at work is April 30th, then driving up to Lubbock the following day for my son\'s ring ceremony, then back down to do my pre-op, I think it\'s going to fly by. Talk at ya later, let me know how your follow up with the surgeon goes.....Cindy

Lily, Did your surgeon say bike rides were ok? I want to try Riding but my hubby thought it might be too dangerous. ( what if I fell off? Sternum not fully healed, and not allowed to drive until 6 week mark) All his concerns. I only have 1 week Of restrictions left so I figured I\'d wait. I have been known to fall from my bike. I\'d love to hear your thoughts. Stephanie Cole

Hi Lily, just wanted to drop by and see how you are doing? Hope the weather is still cooperating and you are getting out to enjoy more bike rides. Take care, Cindy Pastrano

Hi Lily, I know what you mean about wondering what it would be like to not work. Ive worked my entire life and look forward to having the summer off...even if I have to have heart surgery to get it. Your bike ride sounds great. I wish we had flat ground near my house. It\'s all hills and hard to navigate. I\'m much more of a stroll in the woods type of gal. Take care. Nancy B

Lily, I have a dermatologist friend and asked her what she recommends and she said ScarGuard. I actually have ScarGuard MD (not sure the difference) and it seems to be working well. Using it about 2 weeks now. Definitely has shrunk the scar (not as raised). It has Silicone, Cortisone and Vit E in it. You can go to their website and learn more. Hope this helps. Jeff Shebovsky

Hi Lily, I don\'t have any input specific to your sternum scar, but I know that after I had surgical repair of a wrist fracture, my therapist had me massaging the scar with vitamin E cream. She said it was important to keep the scar pliable so that it didnt adhere to the underlying tissue. I\'m not sure if the same applies to a scar on your chest, but I would imagine it would. Nancy B

Hey, Lily -- I\'ve been watching your progress, since you\'re walking the path a few weeks ahead of me. I love that you\'re doing so well. Seems to me I read somewhere, either here or at the valve replacement forum, that the most important thing is to keep your scar out of the sun for awhile. You might do a search, cos people had some good ideas about it. Someone theorized that what you put on it doesn\'t much matter, but it\'s the act of rubbing it that smooths it out and makes it fade. But, whaddo I know? I haven\'t got one.....yet!

Hi Lily, Thanks for wrting to me. I have been following your story for awhile now adn I\'m so glad that you are feeling better and better each day. I did consider going to Mt. Sinai and also Col. Presby. but I truly hate going into NYC and it\'s not a matter of driving I just can\'t function in the city and it\'s almost like a panic attack overcomes me. My friend who is driving with me to Cleveland (if infact I go there) would be happy to drive me into NYC.....she loves the place. I finally heard from CC yesterday and I can\'t say that I am very impressed by their communication skills (or lack thereof). there was zero personal contact...just a form letter giving me a date to report and a packet of information which only leads to more questions and no one to answer them at CC. They present a very cold, impersonal approach which surprised me after all the good things I heard about CC. I asked for Dr. Gillinov who is suppose to be this great, caring friendly guy and was told by other folks here on this site that I would get a call from him personally. Didn\'t happen!!! Anyway, the whole thing might be a moot point because the date they gave me is 3 mos. from now and I\'m suppose to be a critical patient according to my cardiologist. I had planned (once I decided in Feb. on the surgery) that I would have the surgery by May at the latest and be up and running by Aug. 1 so I could put my home on the market and get it sold by Fall (hopefully) and get the heck out of N.J. and move to my Florida home. Now everything is up in the air and it almost makes me want to go back to smoking and forget the whole thing. I quit 8 weeks ago and it is hard at times since I smoked for 50+ years. Amazingly my lungs are in good shape which totally baffles my doctor. BTW I went to Mt. Sinai\'s website and checked out Dr. Adams and he has a very impressive resume, but it seems he specializes in mitral valves and my problem is aortic valve. All for now, but keep feeling better and if you get to Sparta to visit your friend I would love to meet you....and you can bring your pups too. What is her name...maybe I know her as I have lived here forever. Blessings, Joan D. j.davenport@att.net

Awesome; great to hear how well you\'\'re doing. What a coincidence: When I was walking in Central Park right after my surgery, Feeling Stronger Every Day was one of the songs that popped into my head. Also. Donna bought Heart 411 right after we returned home, and I too have found it highly valuable. - Jim Smith

Hi Lilly. I just had a chance to check out your journal. Glad you did so well and made it out so quickly. As you have seen, it literally gets better daily. As folks told me, progress is not always linear, but generally moves in the right direction. Keep doing what you can, try to do a little more each day and also do what your body needs, when it needs it (naps!). I am almost 10 weeks post op, and doing really well. I need to listen to my own advice and nap a bit more, but overall, I am quite pleased with my progress. Keep up the good recovery work! Take care, -Mitch Friedman AVR and root repair 2-2-12

Hi lily, Tylenol extra strenght does not really help for this kind of pain, but it\'s better than nothing, maybe you can get oxycodone with tylenol in it from your doctor, they also have it without tylenol, wich is the one I got since tylenol gives me stomach aches and I couldn\'t take ibuprofen due to warfarin. Oxycodone is very strong, I would ask my doctor to see if this is a good alternative to percocet. Patricia De Leon.

Hi Lily, Firstly, I want to apologize. I did not realize you had surgery already. I just read your journal more fully. Congrats on getting through with flying colors. I walked to the atrium too and recall it wasn\'t as easy to get to as I thought it would be. I wound up at Mt. Sinai because I chose a Ross Procedure and Dr. Stelzer is the best and most experienced at doing it. I didn\'t get alot of the nurses names either but I did get my two ICU nurses and also at 7 west, I found Jill and Abel were especially great, though all were outstanding. I just posted my one month update so you can see how I am doing. Overall great! Hope you make a super speedy recovery. BTW I had plenty of visitors in NYC since I am from Brooklyn originally and still have lots of friends and family in and around the metro area. Jeff Shebovsky

Hi Lily, I just had surgery at Mount Sinai 1 month ago today and I can tell you that it was an incredible experience. They really have it down to a science there. The nursing staff was amazing and I can\'t say enough about them all. I see that Jim and Donna Smith wrote to you as well. Jim was having his surgery as I was leaving the hospital and we got to meet in person. Jim can tell you more about Dr. Adams and I hear great things about him especially for mitral valve. My surgeon was Dr. Stelzer and he is incredible. Best of luck to you Jeff Shebovsky, Orlando, FL

Hi Lily--we\'ve enjoyed reading your journal. When we were in NY for Jim\'s surgery, my whole family ate at Yo In Yo Out several times. I just loved it and loved the owner. Great food and relaxing atmosphere. Yoanne makes you feel like long-time friends. The crepes were great! I haven\'t seen that cooking show; I\'m glad she got to go visit her grandmother. Happy Easter! Jim and Donna Smith

Hey Lily. There is no reason to be in pain - it is just plain unpleasant and it slows healing. So you are doing the smart thing in getting it taken care of. Yay for you! -- DVB

Hi Lily, Hope you have a great Easter weekend and thanks for the post about pain meds, I think my pain tolerance used to be pretty good, I\'ve had 3 kids, 2 of them C-sections and I did not take anything for pain, but I had my Gallbladder out in 07\' and wow that was terrible for about a week. I hope your pain starts to subside. Take care of yourself, Cindy Pastrano

hi lily, i was just talking to my family about pain meds last night, i am waiting on my operation date for bicuspid aortic stenosis, and im talking to the surgeon, i like you do not have a addictive personality, when i had my heart cath they told me (while on the table) that they could not give me much for pain meds,i was in so much pain, this time i will make sure they do not withhold the meds, i will try to straighten this out while im still on this side of the operation, i remember when i had sinus surgery, i had people that would go wide eyed at my pain meds, (i needed them ) and when i didn\'t, i stopped taking them. and brought them back to the pharmacist for disposal, i hope you get well soon thanks for your journal it has helped me a lot.. Diane

Hi Lily, I was on tramadol(sp) and Percoccet. I would take the Tramadol during the day and the Perc at night. Call your Surgeon\'s office and they will refill what you need. I had the tramadol refilled 4 times because I found that I could use that at night and it helped. They will also write you a script for percoccet uf you need it. Good luck with the Pain. Jimmy Johnson

Hi Lily, I watched that episode of Chopped Judy last night! The woman\'s name is Yoanne (like Joanne with a \"Y\". during the show, she fell while running with a boiling pot of potatoes and got 2nd degree burns on her legs. The man that won was very generous and donated the money to her so she could visit her grandmother (like you said). It was very touching and brought tears to my eyes. Imso glad you\'re making great progress in your recovery. It helps when the weather is beautiful and spring is in full bloom. Take care, Nancy B

I remember having one of those outdoor walks after surgery too, it was glorious. I love reading your journals, they are so full of life and uplifting, it\'s great! The streets of NY sound very much llike downton Denver. Blessings Patricia De Leon.