Hello heart sister! I hope life is going well for you. This time of year brings me back to this site to check in and was happy to see your post. I am well ...Read more
Hello heart sister! I hope life is going well for you. This time of year brings me back to this site to check in and was happy to see your post. I am well and grateful for 6 years post-op. How are you?
Merry Christmas and blessings to you in the New Year
Tammy Pilcher Hello heart sister! Elaine, it is so good to see your post this morning! I’m so happy to hear you ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hello heart sister! Elaine, it is so good to see your post this morning! I’m so happy to hear you are doing well! I’m doing well and also so very grateful for 6 years post-op! I don’t post much anymore, because it gets harder to remember everything about that time with each year that passes. I do check in now and then to see if there are any updates from any others from 2014. It’s always so nice to see our heart family doing well! I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year! God Bless You!
Tammy, it was so nice of you to send me a message. I too am relying on my Lord to get me thru this situation. He will not fail !
Were you able to find reasonably ...Read more
Tammy, it was so nice of you to send me a message. I too am relying on my Lord to get me thru this situation. He will not fail !
Were you able to find reasonably priced accommodations for whomever went with you? Did you have open chest surgery? Did you travel by auto? Just wondering about the trip back home when in pain. Thanks so much for your help.
Tammy Pilcher Pamela, you are very welcome and yes, there is a Comfort Suites across the street from the hospital t ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Pamela, you are very welcome and yes, there is a Comfort Suites across the street from the hospital that many patients and families stay. They will even arrange for a shuttle to take you and your family to the hospital entrance the morning of your surgery. I did have open chest, my surgeon called it a hemi- sternotomy. We did travel by car and I did fine. The hospital told us to stop every hour and walk around for a few minutes, so it just added an extra hour to our trip home. I didn’t really have much pain at all. I had more of a discomfort than pain after I got home between my shoulders in my back. All I took was extra strength Tylenol and it worked fine. If I can help further, let me know. You are right, He will see you through this! Psalms 28:7. God bless, Tammy
HI Tammy, I was thinking about our shared heart journey from 2014, and saw your name so I wanted to send you my Christmas greetings and blessings from our Lord. ...Read more
HI Tammy, I was thinking about our shared heart journey from 2014, and saw your name so I wanted to send you my Christmas greetings and blessings from our Lord. I hope you are still doing well, and you are still rejoicing in our Saviour. You were such a blessing to me and I will remember you fondly always. Your AVR heart sister, Elaine
Tammy Pilcher Hi Elaine! It's so great to hear from you, heart sister!! I am still doing well, and absolutely rej ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hi Elaine! It's so great to hear from you, heart sister!! I am still doing well, and absolutely rejoicing in our Saviour. You were a great blessing to me, too. I hope you are doing well and wish you a very Merry Christmas! In His love, Tammy
Hi Tammy! I know you haven't been on here in a while but I was wondering about your experience with Dr Accola. I am from Albuquerque, NM, but live part-time ...Read more
Hi Tammy! I know you haven't been on here in a while but I was wondering about your experience with Dr Accola. I am from Albuquerque, NM, but live part-time in St Pete Beach, Fla. I saw Dr Accola about a week ago and really liked him, but have not committed myself to a surgery date yet. I am a Christian and have been praying for wisdom where to have the surgery and when. If you are willing I would love to chat with you!
Blessings,
Therese
Tammy Pilcher Hi Therese! I would be happy to answer any questions about my experience. Dr. Accola is wonderful! ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hi Therese! I would be happy to answer any questions about my experience. Dr. Accola is wonderful! I feel so blessed to have found this incredible site before my surgery. Adam, his book, and all of the sweet people here helped me so much! I wrote a post in my journal about my surgery that might help, too. You are also welcome to email me at bearcreek64@yahoo. God bless, Tammy
Hi Tammy, how are you doing these days? Hope all is well.
Tammy Pilcher Hey Enrique, it's so good to hear from you! I am doing well and will have my next echo in August. H ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hey Enrique, it's so good to hear from you! I am doing well and will have my next echo in August. Hopefully it will also show all is well.:). I hope you are doing great, too! Thank you for your checking on me. God bless you, heart brother!
Enrique K Great to hear from you Heart Sister, glad everything is going well for you. Things are going very wel ... Read more
Enrique K Great to hear from you Heart Sister, glad everything is going well for you. Things are going very well for me. I have not heard anything from you in a while so I thought I check in:). Take Care and keep in touch. Good luck with your echo.
Tammy Pilcher Thanks so much, Enrique! Great to hear you're doing well also! Take care and God bless!
Tammy, it's your heart sister, Melinda, here. My family and I are going to be at Topsail SP for 5 days starting tomorrow. Would you like to get together for ...Read more
Tammy, it's your heart sister, Melinda, here. My family and I are going to be at Topsail SP for 5 days starting tomorrow. Would you like to get together for lunch or something?
Tammy Pilcher Hey heart sister! It's so good to hear from you!! I'd love to get together while you're here. I ju ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hey heart sister! It's so good to hear from you!! I'd love to get together while you're here. I just sent you an email.
Hope everything is good with you Tammy. I think of you often as you were such a great support to myself and others when we had our operations a couple of years ...Read more
Hope everything is good with you Tammy. I think of you often as you were such a great support to myself and others when we had our operations a couple of years ago. Take care x
Tammy Pilcher Hi Louise, it is so good to hear from you! Thank you so much for your sweet note. I, too, think of ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hi Louise, it is so good to hear from you! Thank you so much for your sweet note. I, too, think of you and so many others here that were great support for me as well. I am doing well and will have my next echo in August. I hope you are doing well, too! I still keep all of our heart family in my prayers. God bless you, heart sister!
Hey Tammy! I saw a link to the page and have been going through some memories. How are you doing? We are over 2.5 years now! My valve is doing fantastic last ...Read more
Hey Tammy! I saw a link to the page and have been going through some memories. How are you doing? We are over 2.5 years now! My valve is doing fantastic last check. I have another next month. Still some problems with heart failure but managed pretty well and when I got my ICD my EF went up to the 40's. So that was great. I switched my care over to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. They have a heart failure clinic and it was my best decision.
Tammy Pilcher Hey Kathleen, it's so good to hear from you! I know, over 2.5 years post op now is sometimes hard to ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hey Kathleen, it's so good to hear from you! I know, over 2.5 years post op now is sometimes hard to believe! I'm so glad you are doing well. I am too and ever so thankful! It's good to hear you've found a great place to manage your care. I'll be keeping you in my prayers for continued great check ups! My next one is in August, but so far so good. God bless you heart sister!
Hi Tammy. Can you give me any advice about meeting with Dr. Accola? I haven't had a heart cath performed yet and was hoping he could do that in Orlando. ...Read more
Hi Tammy. Can you give me any advice about meeting with Dr. Accola? I haven't had a heart cath performed yet and was hoping he could do that in Orlando. I have had an echocardiogram, a CTA and an aorta ultrasound. By the way, who is your cardiologist? It has been a crazy, stressful last two weeks and I am more than ready to move forward.
Tammy Pilcher Hi Carmen, I'm so glad you're going to meet Dr. Accola. I know you will really like him! I was so m ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Hi Carmen, I'm so glad you're going to meet Dr. Accola. I know you will really like him! I was so much more at peace with everything after meeting him and knowing he was going to do my surgery. My cardiologist is Dr. Charles Mayes with Sacred Heart Medical Group in Destin. He did my heart cath at Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, in Destin. I also had my echo and CT done in Destin. I took my echo, CT, and cath results with me to Orlando when I met Dr. Accola. My bicuspid aortic valve opening was at 0.39cm2, which is considered at the critical stage of stenosis. We met Dr. Accola for the first time on a Monday and he did my surgery on Friday that same week. I was so happy he was able to fit me in that fast! I don't know if you've had a chance to scan through my journal, but if you scroll back a ways you'll find the posts I did about our meeting him and a post detailing my surgery experience. I feel truly blessed to have had Dr. Accola and his team at Florida Hospital Orlando do my surgery. God is so good! I hope this helps and if I can answer anything else, let me know. Your heart sister, Tammy
Carmen P Thanks Tammy. If I am reading my echo correctly (and that is a big if) , my aortic valve opening is ... Read more
Carmen P Thanks Tammy. If I am reading my echo correctly (and that is a big if) , my aortic valve opening is 0.5cm2. Should I go to Orlando with plans to stay? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Not yet a heart sister, Carmen
Tammy Pilcher You're very welcome, Carmen. We actually came back home that same day, because we didn't go prepared ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher You're very welcome, Carmen. We actually came back home that same day, because we didn't go prepared to stay. We got everything we needed done at home on Tuesday and went back to Orlando Wednesday. I had to have all my pre-op things done on Thursday at the hospital and spent the night at the hotel that's there on the hospital campus. They sent a shuttle to pick us up Friday morning to take us to the hospital for my surgery. They will give you all the information about that at Dr. Accola's office Monday. They are wonderful and will take really great care of you and your family. I don't know if you will be scheduled that soon, but you might want to go prepared just in case. I'm actually in Chattanooga today and about to leave the hotel for the day, but will check to see if you have any other questions tonight. You can also email me at bearcreek64@yahoo.com. God bless!
Tammy I wish for you a very happy new year 2016. Thank you for your inspiration and words of hope to all of us here. May you have a wonderfully abundant new ...Read more
Tammy I wish for you a very happy new year 2016. Thank you for your inspiration and words of hope to all of us here. May you have a wonderfully abundant new year and continued health. Continue to move Onward & Upward! God bless you & your family. XO John
Tammy Pilcher Thank you so much, John! You have always been an inspiration to me, too! I pray that you and your f ... Read more
Tammy Pilcher Thank you so much, John! You have always been an inspiration to me, too! I pray that you and your family also have a Happy, Healthy New Year! God bless you!