Nancy's Guestbook

Thinking of you today and praying for a swift and successful surgery! I’m excited the worry of the unknown will be behind you! Positive thoughts abound for you!!

Good luck today Nancy! Visualize a successful surgery and hospital stay. Place your fate in the hands of your surgeon and hospital. Think positive and next thing you know you will be being discharged. One day at a time!

Good luck Nancy. You will do fine. Best advice, stay ahead of the pain for the first week. Knowing what to expect will take some of the worry away. My surgery and recovery were not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Relax, rest and before you know it, life will return to normal. And do follow the staff's discharge instructions, don't lift anything, especially that gallon of milk that is only that really short distance to the fridge. Have patience and wait for help. (someone who knows) My surgery was aortic valve replacement two years ago. Oh, and a sense of humor will help get you through.

Hope everything goes well for you (and why wouldn’t it?). I will say a special prayer for you tonight. In terms of preparation; I trust the champagne is on ice. The recliner is in the correct position and you are calm and confident or at the very least are not hiding under the bed. Hang in there, this will be over and you will be on the other side recovering. I’m thinking of you “heart” sister. You go girl!!!!

Hi Nancy I am having my 12 week follow up this week with my Surgeon Mr Kevin Lim at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Scotland. I wish you well for tomorrow and will pray for you. You have to submit to the process and deal with one step at a time, there will be time to take on the world once you are recovered. The special people who look after and work with you every step of the way are highly skilled and do this work all year round. They have chosen this work and care deeply care for each individual. Looking forward to reading of your recovery. Take it easy :)

Hi Nancy! Please read my story. I posted it for you after reading your questions. I hope it helps you not worry, and know you will feel like a new life has been given to you after it’s replaced! What a difference it makes!

Hi Nancy. My husband is having his surgery on Sept 25 in Missoula MT. I see yours is the day after but not the same doctor. Probably not the same hospital. Anyway. Good Luck to you and I'm sure we will be communicating on this site.

Nancy, saw your reply to my post! Glad to help, though as you know I am in the “waiting room” with you. Looking forward to us getting this done! Saw your other post asking about regional vs big center. I chose Cleveland Clinic because of my success there with a total hip replacement. Excellent care from all involved and super experienced due to high volume. Cardiac care is even better! I spoke with my orthopedic surgeon team and they gave me some insights. The profiles of the imaging cardiologists is so detailed and the videos help select a handful of possible surgeons. I would have been privileged to have any number of them! Based on the experience for the hip, I felt I had gained a foothold in the CC system and knew better how to manage the organizational challenges posed by such a large institution. That said, it was harder to “swim the moat, scale the wall” then I thought it would be. But now that I am “inside”, I have had direct access to my cardiologist in person and on the phone. He was awesome! The other imaging cardiologists I thought were rockstars also reviewed my test results even though they were not my selected/assigned doc. So I got what I was hoping for in the first place but got in the door faster (several weeks faster, in fact) because I didn’t wait for a specific cardiologist. (Plus, I had opinion of my local guy already. I did not get a referral, however. Got to CC on my own!) I have yet to meet or talk to my surgeon (but that is scheduled the day before surgery — after heart cath — and is necessary because of distance between home and Cleveland. My cardiologist selected him for me based on my needs, discussed my case with him in person and my date was set! I too am interested in the different bioprosthetic valves and am craving more info on success (or complications) others have had with those. I feel great about the process and my team, but I am a data hog! (Or maybe I should say cow?).