scott's Guestbook

Scott, I am praying for you and the Dr, along with the surgical team for a successful surgery and for a successful recovery. God is with you and your family.

Hello Scott, let her know that the fear is worse than the reality, and thank God its 2014 and not 1970. Were very lucky to be living in these times very lucky. All the Best,

Scott, I know what your wife is going through as my husband when through the same thing. Its hard to tell someone everything is going to work out fine in some ways or it is for the most part out your hands. But these surgerys happen all the time and the dr's know there job. Have faith in them and god and things will be fine. I send my prayers to you and you wife knowing you will be fine.

As I was the one having surgery, I can only tell you what my husband told me. He was nervous since our kids are still young, 13, 7 and 4 years old. He said he really had to hold on to the belief that nothing would happen because the kids needed me. He has a strong faith and put it into God's hands. He also said it helped that he had people to wait with him. His sister came to keep him grounded. My sister, who is a nurse, also came and helped explain some of the updates given by the nurse. Good luck with your surgery. I am 28 days post op and just started rehab today. It is a relief to be done with the surgery. Take care.

Scott My husband just had mitral valve surgery on January 24 at U of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. He is home now and recovering exceptionally well. Being the wife, I can relate to your wife's fears. Open heart surgery is scary. But NOT having it is even scarier!! The worst part is the waiting. The most important thing now that you have made your decision is to TRUST, trust that you have made the right decisions, trust in the surgeon and the health care team that you have selected, trust yourselves, and trust that the future will unfold as it should. The last couple days before surgery were the most difficult. I'd find myself thinking about all the bad things that could happen. What worked for me was to never let my thoughts continue down those negative paths. If I found myself beginning to worry about the what ifs, I would redirect my thoughts to more positive images such as how much more energy my husband would have, and how we would be able to take our dogs on long walks together after surgery. I firmly believe that we are what we think, so make sure your are always thinking positive thoughts. Check out this Kaiser Hospital website for some hints on how to prepare for surgery: http://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/Preparing_for_Successful_Surgery_tcm75-155273.pdf Something that really helped both my husband and I those last 2 nights before surgery was listening to CDs on our cell phone MP3 player. One that was particularly helpful was the one mentioned on the Kaiser website: "A Meditation to Promote Successful Surgery" Audio CD by Belleruth Naparstek. It can be purchased on Amazon You will both do great. Just keep believing that you will, and you will.

Scott, Welcome to our community. I am 56, married 33 plus years and we have 3 adult kids, the son?-in-law and a 15 month grand daughter. I had a bicuspid aorta valve from birth and just had it and my aorta replaced on Dec 27th in Kansas City. We had been monitoring it, but it finally got o the point where my cardiologist felt it was time and sent me to one of the areas leading heart surgeons. They both made it clear that there was a slight risk of surgery, but not doing surgery was not an option, as at some point (sooner than later) the stretched aorta could burst, which would be fatal. So doing he surgery was a no brainer. I plan to go to graduations of the grand kid(s)! Facing surgery was scary and first, especially between the time of the surgeon consult and a few days prior to surgery. But the holidays made it more at ease (although we thought it might have been prior to Christmas, but it worked out). The holidays and the music both traditional and Christian songs helped put me at ease. Specifically I heard my 3 favorite Chrsistian songs the morning before surgery as I was coincidentally making on of my last journal entries before surgery. At that point I knew I w in Gods hands and He would wath over me, the surgeon and the medical team. Inte resting lay enough, after the surgery, my adult kids and son-in-law all commented on how calm I was the morning of he surgery. I know you will be in good hands and that God will watch over you, your family and the medical team. I unknowingly ran across this website while researching John Fox's surgery in November. Then a coworker who hard aorta surgery last year pointed me o it for journaling. I have found it very useful for myself and others. I highly encourage you to use it and interface with the rest of us. Feel free to email if you have any questions. Tom