Roger's Guestbook

Sally Strand  Hi Roger I hope your surgery will go really well and will also look forward to reading your updates in due course.

Roger Bideleux  Hi Bob, thanks for taking the time to write, some very good tips which I will apply next week.
As for strengthening the legs, it is a bit late with surgery now just a couple of days away, hopefully. However while waiting for the op I have maintained a regime walking several kilometers a day and hopefully this will help. Also, having had 4 unsuccessful rotator cuff repairs my shoulders are weak so I tend not to pull myself up that way 😊
I was in the same hospital for diagnosis of my problem and have planned to take my tablet to watch TV. The hospital charges an arm and a leg for the basic free to air TV channels so will not be paying for that! (No cable TV there I am afraid.)
Hopefully I can get the internet on my tablet with a USB dongle to help pass time when not sleeping.
Thanks again, Roger

Roger Bideleux  Thanks so much Scott, but sadly the day did not go as planned! I went to the Admissions dept at 6.15am and at 5pm was told to go home!
Apparently the patient in theatre before me had many complications and the surgery team worked alll day to preserve life.
So it is back to the waiting, waiting, hopefully not for too long.
Thanks again for your message,
Roger

Roger Bideleux  Hi Matthew

Thanks very much for your message, glad to know another Melbournian is here!

Wow, your speedy recovery is amazing, hope I can do so well.

Clearly those at The Alfred looked after you very well, I was well cared for there during the time I was in for investigation.

Professor David McGiffin will be my surgeon as far as I know and I have total faith in him. Desperate to get a date so I can get it over with.

Struggling with the anxiety a bit at the moment but your story is very heartening.

I am still learning to navigate this web community but will post more details soon. Let's keep in touch, please.

Keep up your current rate of progress and do as the experts say! Best wishes,

Roger

Matthew Russo  Roger, a friend of mine from cardiac rehabilitation was operated on by Professor McGiffin and she was full of praise for him. She was recovering well when we last spoke. I have so much gratitude towards all the staff at the Alfred.

Yes I can relate to the anxiety and uncertainty. Initially, it is a difficult to associate yourself with someone who requires open heart surgery (my diagnosis was very unexpected) but as you come to terms with it, you will find an inner strength. Key for me was to focus on the recovery phase, not the surgery itself.

Heart surgery is a major surgery but it is also not uncommon. Put your trust and faith in the medical team that do this everyday. When I first met my surgeon, I cheekily asked her how many open heart surgeries she had performed previously and she replied with over 4000! This gave my a great deal of peace of mind and confidence in her ability and allowed me to surrender myself to the process and ensure I was physically and mentally prepared.

I had a great deal of support from both family and the wonderful people on this forum. and am happy to answer any questions or concerns you have leading up to the surgery day. Can have a chat on the phone if you like too :).

Take Care
Matt

Roger Bideleux  Hi Matt,
I was so pleased to see your message, thanks for writing again. It's good to hear of someone who has been a patient of Professor McGiffin. I have only met him once, immediately prior to being discharged last month when he explained the diagnosis and how he planned to fix the problem. Straight away I had confidence in him and felt no need to look for an alternative.
I have now had all the checks required and attended the pre-admission clinic so simply have to wait for a call to go in for surgery. As a matter of interest, did you get a week or a day's notice of your surgery date? Not sure if I should be ready to go straight away!
So far I am just over 30 days into the '90 days' window during which Cat 2 patients should be treated. Could be a while yet therefore but I do understand the wait is really inevitable.
Thanks for the offer to talk on the phone, I'd like to chat when the time draws nearer!
I hope you're recovery is continuing to go as planned. Did you start back at work on shorter days to begin with and did you get more tired than you expected? I am retired so there's no need to get back to work but I will find the'no driving' a bit of a pain!
Take care and keep in touch, best wishes, Roger.

Matthew Russo  Hey Roger. I was also classified as a category two patient and was initially given a date of January 19th (back in December). I had my pre-op about 10 days before this.

6pm the night before surgery (it was changed to Wednesday 18th as the Alfred called and explained that my surgery needed to be postponed as I had not had an angiogram done during pre-testing and this was required as part of the pre-surgery preparation. I had the angiogram about two weeks later and then was operated on, on the 27th Feb. I was given 10 days notice for this second date.

I did start back at work full time, although my job is as an IT Manager so a large component of it involves sitting. Key for me was walking every day from the moment I arrived home. I started at a few hundred metres and slowly increased the distance. I am now doing 5km some days and I can feel the energy and stamina returning. I have three pups so that is definitely a motivating factor to keep moving!

Keep my updated on your progress Roger. Your mindset seems positive and I know you will do great. Happy to chat anytime!

Roger Bideleux  Hi Matt,
Thanks again for your reply. Nice to know they don't spring your date on you with only a few hours notice.

I am trying to maintain a positive mindset, certainly when posting here! Haha

I'm currently having difficulties figuring out where to post messages - it seems hit and miss whether they appear in my own Journal or in a general chat thread. I am sure it will all make sense eventually. Maybe its an age thing!!
Very interested to hear about the return to work timing. - must have been a huge step forward psychologically to feel you were making tangible progress. Keep it up,
Best wishes as always
Roger

Laura Jacobs  Best wishes to you Roger for the day of your surgery and recovery. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. Take care.