Melinda's Guestbook

Melinda Donahue  HI Richard!!!  I hope you are feeling well - I hope you have gotten positive news regarding your testing.   I am feeling a bit better thank you - riding the bike for 15 minutes, that's progress lol. Walking increasing daily and cooking too.   Still having chest pains - muscular and nerves, still cannot do certain things and breathing is not 100% and still very anxious - but trying to post less about it.  I read some of my posts and I did not want to be burden

Richard Munson  You will never be a burden. You just need to give your body time to heal. 100% means different things to different people. Am i better than i was before the surgery is a good question to contemplate. If the answer is yes, than you are making progress. Chances are you won’t feel better than you did when you were 22, surgery or not. 

Richard Munson  Not even sure they still make this brand. Its well made. I will  be sure and lock my doors in case melinda comes lurking around to borrow it. Lol. It weighs a ton. 

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  I´ve have only a bicycle- I´m living in a small flat, with a big park in front of. ..... to walk.

Rose Madura  So for cold months, I found a YouTube Channel that does indoor walking.  It's called the Miracle Mile.  It does get your heart rate up but you basically walk in place with a few moves and you gradually increase your pace.  It has worked well for me.

Kimberly Eisenhut  A friend of mine in high school had a Roadrunner he souped up and that thing was a rumbler for sure! I'll never forget a trip to the city and parking by the lake. Cars were so well built back then and made to last if taken care of. Same for all the appliances we had. Had the same stove, washer/ dryer, vacuum cleaner, coffee pot, toaster, etc for 25 years! They made things to last back then . Miss those days. 

Melinda Donahue  You certainly are!! I wish you only good news as you are such a great friend to all of us on this site and I, for one appreciate you. I wish you the best news possible !

I do feel better. I had mitral valve and tricuspid valve repair surgery but it was discovered after surgery I had a congenital atrial defect and had to go back into surgery. Following this and like many of us, I had to get several transfusions. My heart rate would not go past 39, I was told I was going to have to have a pace maker. Finally after 7 days of intense fear, my heart rate rose to 78! Now I have a high heart rate, high 90's and am on metroprolol like many of us but I feel even more wacky than I normally do.

Following all of this I had clusters of optical migraines with aphasia and could not see right for quite a while, had first degree block and SAM, but was told I would be fine, then my pacing wire was snipped and not taken out so we could stay in my body forever which makes me insanely nervous. I feel that when you leave the hospital you do not know if you are okay or not.

My big issue is I'm quite the researcher and nervous wreck! I was asymptomatic, before this surgery was keeping up with a 3 year old from 6:30 am until 4pm and having the time of my life! I thought there was nothing wrong at all! Since then, I have increased my steps, can walk without any breathing issues but still have pain around the tube site and also around my incision. I know the issues I have are expected and am grateful for this.
I read about all the things which can happen and of course think it will happen.

Anyway - I do feel better - it has been exactly 6 weeks and am improving.

Richard Munson  Thats an uplifting response. A secret between only you  and me. I knew you were feeling better. Sometimes those asymptomatic symptoms are not really that and once you have the surgery you realize that. In my case i now recall a few instances of feeling lightheaded on a dog walk. Now i wonder if my mitral valve was a contributing factor. Who knows. Anyway, you are a welcome addition to the site. Don’t go away. 

Melinda Donahue  Thanks Richard. I cannot imagine going back to work feeling like this. I won’t be able to function normally. I am a math teacher.  You are correct I need to just focus on getting better. 

Richard Munson  Math teacher. Play it by the numbers. One step at a time. Add up your surgery minus your damaged valve equals a healthier melinda.

Melinda Donahue  Thanks gentlemen!!!  I will retire at the end of this school year. It’s time to smell the roses !!

Melinda Donahue  Thanks Fidel. I think it’s time I did not get to meet them at all this year. That is a blessing in disguise. At least I didn’t have to leave them.

Richard Munson  I can barely handle my 81 year old wife of almost 60 years. However, after 3 days of me and my shadow ( song ? ) i do appreciate her. She would be the anti melinda when it comes to health issues. The eternal optimist. Very private. When she had her breast cancer diagnosis a few years back she barely even told me. No one at work had a clue. She had the surgery and missed a few days of work. Then came the radiation early every morning so she would not miss work. To this day, since retired, no one she worked with knows. Only me and the kids. Her siblings, nope. The goods news, its been 15 years. 

Richard Munson  She is amazing, me, not so much. I had a funny experience last week preparing for my prostate mri to check the cancers progress ( hopefully not). I preregistered over the phone and the lady that interviewed me was rattling off a list of dos and don'ts. One don't was no sexual activity for 72 hours prior to the mri. I said i’m 83, no worries. Well, this lady laughed so hard she dropped the phone and we disconnected.

Kimberly Eisenhut  Oh Richard, thanks for the chuckle today! Please let us know your results, I didn't know you were going for this test . Sending big hugs and prayers and love🙏❤️

Richard Munson  Lets get you straightened out then i can think about my prostate. The thing about blood in stools and urine is that most of the time it is not detectable by sight. Hence the tests. 

Melinda Donahue  Hi. Thanks for asking.  I went to see the surgeons yesterday and they said that I’m doing very well. The pacing wire stays in. I’m actually not happy about that but they said that in many cases, this is how they do it. They said it’s in there with the wires that are holding our ribs together as well. My complaint was how about if that gets infected, I don’t wanna become septic and they said that’s very rare and if there’s any sign of infection, they take it out along with the wires that hold the ribs together. I can walk further but still get a bit winded right now my chest hurts and my back hurts and the ribs. I feel like I went a few rounds in the boxing ring lol. I’m on metoprolol 12.5 mg am and pm and 325 mg aspirin daily. 

Right now, I am pretty emotional constantly thinking something is going to happen. I blocked a lot of the occurrences out of my mind for the past three weeks and slowly am letting things back in and am revisiting the series of events and it’s a lot. Honestly, I do not know what I would’ve done and still would do without this group.

still don’t see normal, but my taste is coming back. I am about three or 4 pounds away from my pre-surgery weight and have to lose the water weight on my own because they can’t give me Lasix. Something about my heart needs volume and I’m not sure what that means.  

I do trust my surgeons 100% but I think I have to come to terms with what I’ve been through and it’s a lot but I imagine you all know that

Deena Z  It is a lot to go through, Melinda, in so many ways.  Mind boggling.  

It takes months to normalize.  In the next week or two you will see some major improvements in your ability to walk further and that helps - a lot- with you your feelings, especially anxiety.    Just think- you got through the anticipation, the surgery and then the ICU.  Your operation was successful and you are in healing mode.  Blessing. 

Richard Munson  No going back in time. You made it. Accept it. If i can’t start my car i can use you to jump it with your pacemaker wires. When they say your heart needs volume it means its too quiet. You should have received a small dial on your skin so you can turn up the volume. Nurse marie can tell you where its located. 

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  My surgeons told me that after surgery, the heart needs remodeling and even re- shapening and makes itself strong. That is why the rehabilitación is carried out. Exercise, above al walking at the beginning and gym when 6 months have passed IS very important as otherwise has said here by some of us. A positive mood IS also very good, although I recognize it's easy to say but more complicated to do It .

Melinda Donahue  Thanks Deena. I know what you are saying is true. I have to realize that my issue was fixed and that was the purpose of the surgery and mission was successful. I just have to get passed the what ifs. The ‘stuff’ left inside consumes me at this point and I have to adjust.  Thanks so much for your supportive post 

Melinda Donahue  Fidel I go to the regular cardiologist today and am walking back  it may take a while but it’s a goal !  You are correct exercise is key. 

Deena Z  Melinda, got ya.   Warriors recover emotionally in different ways and paces.  It’s healthy to accept your current anxiety and live it out.  Maybe consider writing about it in a journal?  Almost sounds like early PTSD.   My PTSD took two years or so to appear.  Still kinda there. 

Melinda Donahue  Deena really?  I I am in great company. I am 65 and my cardiologist told me today I’m doing great but maybe in 20 years it may leak again and I will need some  surgery 🤦🏻‍♀️ 

Pamela Gregory  Melinda, I remember feeling very emotional for months after surgery. I think heart surgery does that to you. It is a very emotional experience from all the stress before, to your body going through such huge trauma after. Then comes a sense of relief that you might actually be ok and all of that is very overwhelming. You are still quite early in recovery and went through more than most of us. Give yourself a break and try to breath, walk, and be thankful that you are on the mend now One day at a time

Melinda Donahue  Pamela thank you so much. It means so very much to know that people share in your feelings and in the experiences of your journey. I appreciate you.

Deena Z  Yes, Melinda, for real.  It's a tough surgery, even though the odds are so incredible for not just survival but for a long healthy life.  It seems from reading online comments the robotic/Minimally invasive is somewhat less traumatic, given the sternum is not cut (yet the same thing happens to the actual heart. ).  I can not have - probably ever- the minimally invasive surgery,given my severe calcification, so that thought always is with me.  --all the time. 

Melinda Donahue  Ahhh I think about it too. When I spoke to
my cardiologist I waked of I ever would have to do this again. He said maybe I. 29 years and that would bring me to 85 and they would do a valve replacement thru the groin. I hope never ever. 

Melinda Donahue  I am grateful we clicked Rickard and value your friendship.  I just went for a little walk and was a touch out of breath got so nervous. I think I need to calm down!!   

I do expect recovery to be in a snap!!!

Pamela Gregory  Hang in there Melinda! The weight from surgery will go away. We all got that. I hope things are on an uphill slope and you will start to be able to walk a lot soon. I think that walking, although challenging at first, really gets things going in the right direction. Sending my best thoughts and prayers your direction

Melinda Donahue  Hey guys just got out and on the way home. You are my life line and I appreciate you all so
much and hope to provide the same support. I will update later on tonight the extra time on the heart lung machine got the best of me for a while. 

Melinda Donahue  Hi!!! Thanks for all the love.  I have another question. I was put on the heart lung machine for an extended length of time due to a hole between my two valves. After surgery, I had to go back in and have another surgery. I seem to be having some strange effects from this heart lung machine. My vision seems to be as if my pupils were just dilated. Everything is extremely bright. My taste is  unusual, especially if it has sugar in it. Did anyone have anything happen to them like this?

Richard Munson  Its normal and will eventually go away. Just be happy you are repaired. Sit back and smell the roses. Not the one in ohio. 

Rose Madura  Melinda, I did not have a taste for any sweet s either for a few months but it came back.  Yours will too, more than likely.

Susan Lynn  Melinda - Visual disturbances are pretty common and temporary as Richard said.  My taste for sugar was voracious - all I ate in the hospital was fruit, but I would have eaten candy if they offered it! I'm a sugarholic and always have been, though. 
Hope you're feeling a little better every day.  Take your time.  You'll resume your normal activities before you know it.  

Pamela Gregory  I had strange vision things and ocular migraines (without the headache thankfully!)  Would cause partial blurry areas for around a half hour that went away. Personally nothing tasted good for about a month. Slowly got better.

Melinda Donahue  Rose I hope so. Right now everything I eat tastes like I am eating with a very bad sinus infection🤮. I wanted a Hershey kiss so badly but 🤢. Lol

Kimberly Eisenhut  Oh, the alarms go off in ER for me now with my low heart rate when laying down, not looking forward to that all the time. Hope you are doing a little better today Melinda

Melinda Donahue  Thanks Tim - went home today with all my water weight - my heart rate was low for a while so they could not give water pills.  They took out the chest tubes and and heart wire today - pretty crazy some of that stuff is in there. 

The food comes in those green dishes and I have never seen so much food on one plate - after a surgery eating not something I wanted to do.  

I went for a walk tonight and got winded and got scared :(. 

I thank you  so much.

Kimberly - pretty soon for you and I cannot wait until you are thru with this as well!!

Melinda Donahue  Hi just got moved to a step down room.  Heart rate is finally normal. Heart wire still in.  Still up 30 pounds in fluid.  All in all if feel better you are so right. 

Richard Munson  Yea melinda. Step down is good. Its a step up. The fluid is normal. I’m thinking they will be tossing you out the door soon. On my way home from boston i had to go soooo bad i told my wife to pull over to the side of the road. I got out and did my thing in the bushes. She was mortified. I told her she was jealous she couldn ‘t do it. I just lifted my leg like shadow.

Kimberly Eisenhut  Melinda, glad you are now in step down room. I hope the weight comes down quickly and you are able to get around a bit better and get better day by day. Please let us know how it is going when you are able. You are a warrior now for sure!!! So much love and big hugs sent to you today

Richard Munson  The icu is just a phrase they use when you walk around in a hospital gown. Can you  still call them johnnys ? Is that politically  correct in 2025. 

Melinda Donahue  Hey Kimberly, I had surgery on Thursday and I got out of ICU today on Thursday into the step down room. It seems that I’m going to be allowed to leave on Sunday. They want to make sure the heart rate is OK. Yesterday I had four obstacle migraines one right after another, which Greek havoc with my head today so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and I’ll be able to walk around so looking for a better day tomorrow.

Melinda Donahue  Hey Richard, I can’t wait till they toss me out. Honestly, my legs are huge so hopefully they’ll give me some kind of Lasix tomorrow. They couldn’t give it to me because they were worried about closing my blood pressure to go lower and my heart rate to go lower

John Cook  They gave me bumex, potassium, & magnesium.  The bumex dropped my electrolytes a lot.  If I didn’t have the supplements, I’d go into V-tach.

I had to drop about 20lbs of water after my surgery. The process made me so grumpy I had to apologize to the nurses after.

John Cook  They gave me bumex, potassium, & magnesium.  The bumex dropped my electrolytes a lot.  If I didn’t have the supplements, I’d go into V-tach.

Edema has been so persistent for me, I didn’t come off the bumex until last week.

I had to drop about 20lbs of water after my surgery. The process made me so grumpy I had to apologize to the nurses after.

Melinda Donahue  Potassium and magnesium. They said my hherart needs the volume so they are not getting rid of all the water yet I have a a few more days here. 🤦🏻‍♀️

John Cook  Also, if you are on Amlodipine, it causes a lot of people to hang onto water, especially in their legs and feet.  If you end up on it long term & have that problem, I recommend medium strength compression socks (20-30mmHg).  They have helped me out a lot.

John Cook  If you mean ‘breathing,’ I did not notice a problem with normal breathing.  However, I did have problems taking deep breaths because the bottom of one of my lungs wouldn’t fully expand for a while. I was on oxygen almost all the time I was in ICU while trying to drop the water.  They kept x-raying me every day to check on its  progress.

I know fluid in the lungs can become a problem with edema.  Make sure you keep working on your spirometer. I know it’s tough but it will help strengthen your lungs and get that fluid out.

John Cook  My breathing was only labored when they had me taking deep breaths or when I was using the spirometer.  Mostly, it was more shallow than normal.

You have 5 to 10lbs more water you are dealing with than I did. It could be part of that.

My head didn’t feel great.  My everything didn’t feel great for a long time. Frankly, I didn’t really want to look at any part of me other than my face and hands until I was out of ICU and for a couple more days in the regular hospital room.  It was probably around Day 7 that I felt good enough to care about other things like brushing my hair & teeth, showering, underwear, what my incision looked like, etc.

Melinda Donahue  John, I went into the hospital at 135 or so pounds and today I am still like 159 I lost a few pounds of water. My top weight was 163 when they try to give me medication to reduce the water weight, my blood pressure dropped so I had to stop then I had to increase potassium And magnesium. Then my heart rate was called junctional so we were worried about something else at this point now I’m just like in a white state. I am using this parameter. I’m listening to what you’re saying and I’m doing it 10 times an hour. I just wanna go home. I understand what you say about not looking at yourself in the mirror. I don’t wanna look at myself either right now.My hair is a disaster. 

John Cook  I finally remembered what it was they said was wrong with my one lung: Plural Effusion.

It was fluid outside the lungs that makes it difficult to fully inhale.

Melinda Donahue  John, I went into the hospital at 135 or so pounds and today I am still like 159 I lost a few pounds of water. My top weight was 163 when they tried give me medication to reduce the water weight, my blood pressure dropped so I had to stop then I had to increase potassium And magnesium. Then my heart rate was called junctional so we were worried about something else at this point now I’m just like in a wait state. I am usig the spirometers and dosing what you’re saying and I’m doing it 10 times an hour. I just want  go home. I understand what you say about not looking at yourself in the mirror. I don’t want look at myself either right now.My hair is a disaster lol. I have been out of icu for 1 day so I guess I should bbe patient. 

John Cook  Sorry, last night and today have been busy.

Getting out of ICU is great.  It’s progress.  It means you are getting stronger and stable.

My blood pressure sometimes dropped really bad with the diuretics too.  I had a couple days at home where my diastolic was in the 80s if I took my diuretic later than my other pills.

I went into surgery at 242lbs, went up to around 258lbs, and dropped down to 231lbs before they released me. I had a lot of PsA edema pre-surgery. I’m now fairly steady at 236lbs & been off diuretics for 11 days.

Diuretics, low BP, electrolytes problems, & arrhythmias seem to all go together. They just need to figure out the right balance for you to help you get the water out without dropping your BP and how much electrolytes you need to not cause an arrhythmia.

I think my last 3 days in the hospital was just trial & error on finding the right balance on BP meds and waiting on my electrolyte blood tests to stabilize.  Occasionally, an orderly would take me on a wheelchair ride for a chest x-ray. I’d make race car noises along the way to keep myself entertained.

When you feel up to it, make sure to get your laps in around the ward. Movement will help you feel better, help get the water out, and reduce the risk of having muscle weakness in your legs when you’re discharged, like I did.

Melinda Donahue  Hi friends!!! Out tomorrow. My heart rate is finally normally I will elaborate when I can type better.  Thank u all for your support and kindnesss

Kimberly Eisenhut  Melinda, that is so great! I am so happy you did not need the pacemaker!!! Yippie! Looking forward to seeing your updates when you are HOME :)

Rose Madura  God bless you Melinda. Praying everything will turn around. The doctors know what they are doing.  🙏❤️‍🩹

Melinda Donahue  Hey Deena and Rose thanks for writing today! I thank you for all of your support! Your your comments and support was invaluable

Melinda Donahue  Hey Richard! Feeling a little better today. I actually ate some soup. I had to change like the whole menu because eating has been a little difficult. I gained 20 pounds in water weight. It’s crazy. I look like the Michelin baby when I walk down the hall, I go boom boom I make the PT laugh. I can’t wait to put my pants on too not have an underwear is a big thing for me. Sounds weird right I guess I must be feeling better. I’m still in ICU. I still have the chest tubes in. I think it’s supposed to come out later thank God Wire to my heart has to stay there until my heart is at a normal heart rate. It’s a little low right now. 

Geoff Curtis  It's a process!  Take it slow & steady & easy.  Recovery will.come over the days weeks and months to come.  It'll get better and easier day by day!  

Melinda Donahue  Hi! Feeling a little better today walking is not that easy yet. Yesterday they took out the Foley and today I believe they’re taking out the tubes thank God! This was a bit much more than I thought. I really have no appetite and cannot eat. They had to put me on the heart machine twice maybe that has something to do with it. The thought of food makes me sick. And like 20 pounds in water fluid.

My heart rate is still low, which makes me nervous. They started talking about putting me on a pace maker, which is upsetting. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  Melinda, even if you need a pacemaker, it will be fine :)
One day at a time, one step at a time, one "I can do this" at a time I am where you were a few weeks ago and anxious about my upcoming tricuspid repair, but you made it through and you are in good hands and will get better bit by bit. I will too!

Kimberly Eisenhut  Thank you so much Melinda. Cannot wait to be on the other side of this, so sick of thinking about it every day. I look forward to your updates and hope you are doing better today

Melinda Donahue  Kimberly, I so understand how you feel. Every single day you wake up and you one day closer but it’s pretty overwhelming. When you get the surgery, it’s going to be so fast that morning. They take you in and you remember nothing. That night listen to what everybody says, trust your doctors. It is very scary. I’m going to be totally honest with you. You’re by yourself and some people need blood products as I did. It will come out on the other side. Everything all these great people say to you is true every time they talk about it I cry. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  I was thinking of her today also! I do hope she will touch base in a few days when up to it I am looking forward our next warrior success story

Melinda Donahue  Hey guys! Thanks for checking in on me. I had a tricuspid and a micro valve repair and they also found a little hole between the Michele valve and the tricuspid that they had to fix. Right now I’m not doing the greatest but hopefully in time I will be. I’m a little weak and haven’t really walked yet. I just got out of surgery Thursday night at around 8:30. They had to put me back in on the heart and lung machine. Hopefully I’ll be back soon

Kimberly Eisenhut  I am so happy to see your post Melinda! Did you have a sternotomy or a mini thoracotomy? I cannot remember. Big hugs and lots of love and strength sent to you today

Ana Brusso  It’s nice to see your post and know they seemed to have fixed everything that needed to be fixed. Please take it easy and don’t try to do too much. You went through a lot. You will be in my prayers. God bless you 🙏❤️