Therese's Guestbook

Therese ODell  Hi Elaine! I am so glad you are doing well! Congrats on the new baby! I have 9 grandkids ranging from 23 years old to 4 months. Being a grandparent is the best! I am doing pretty good, see my surgeon on Monday and get stitches removed. Looking forward to that. Back pain has been the worst of this journey along with tiredness. It was not nearly as bad as I imagined!

Therese ODell  Hi Anna! Surgery went very well! Praise the Lord! Loved Dr Accola! My nursing care was amazing. I did have one nurse in ICU that wasn't as attentive as I would have liked but I think she was swamped. I was doing so well that they gave her another patient. I am not sure if he was difficult or in difficulty but all she did was walk out of his room and He was ringing for her. Other than that the nursing care was outstanding. If being in a Christian hospital is important to you Florida Hospital will meet that need. Dr Accola will be happy to sit and answer questions for you, at least he did with me. Still praying for you!

Anna Jones  Thank you Therese. Yes, being in a Christian hospital is very important, and I thank you for letting me know. I need to call Dr. Accola's office today to make sure they have the referral from my insurance company. Then, I will send him my CDs and reports.

I'm so glad you are doing well. I've been praying like mad!

pat vassalluzzo  I am 4 weeks post op for aortic replacement. And mitral repair. I still feel fatigued a little short of breath and very depressed. How good am I supposed to feel. Is it normal to feel fatigued and a little short of breath. I am getting occ pvc and this makes me anxious. Anyone. Can give me some help. Thanks

Suzanne Finn  Fatigue definitely for quite a whole le. I’m 11 weeks from AVR and still feel I need a nap. At 4 weeks, I took 2 naps a day. The shortness of breath could be meds, several can cause that symptom. Check with doc on that. It takes a while, but you will improve a bit each day.

pat vassalluzzo  Hi. Just a note on the shortness breath. Remember we had major major surgery. While on the coronary bypass machine they also collapsed the lungs by being put on respirator did not inflate them all the way. This is were the insentive spirometer come in handy



Use it daily at least 3 times. Keep walking to tolerance. The shortness of breath will slowly improve. It may take 8 weeks for the lungs to fully expand ( pat. Retired physician) he this.helps

Anna Jones  Terese, I, too, hope you are well enough to be released from the hospital.

Elaine, very happy to read you are easing into recovery.

Therese ODell  Thank you so much! Overall doing really well. Hopeful going home on Sunday! A few issues with retaining a little fluids so on lasix but feeling pretty good. Praise the Lord! He is so good!

Therese ODell  Hello, This is Loretta, Therese’s sister. She asked me to Keep you updated on her surgery. Her surgery was at 7:15 this morning and was over by 10:45. The surgery went very well. The surgeon put in a #23 valve and enlarged the aortic root. We are praising God for a successful operation. She will be moved to ICU after a couple of hours where the family will be able to see her.

Therese ODell  Thank you for all your support. Angiogram went well no blockages! They went through the groin so a little sore but not too bad! It was not a bad experience at all! 7:15 surgery tomorrow. See you on the other side!!

Anna Jones  Glad angiogram went well and and there are no blockages. See you very soon. Prayers are with you for an easy surgery and recovery, prayers are with Dr. Accola and his team. God bless.

Therese ODell  Amen to that! I have been praying for You! Keep me posted how you are doing and I will do the same.

Therese ODell  Thank you Anna! That is such a confirmation for me! The Lord gave me that scripture 2 years ago and several other people have sent it to me in the last two months! God is so faithful! Thank you for praying for me.....don't stop. I have been feeling anxious today and I really want to walk this out in peace. My prayer has been that God would be glorified during this whole "adventure". How are you doing?

Anna Jones  "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform" - William Cowper

I am well thank you. I am keeping my eyes open for your posts and praying for you.

Therese ODell  Thank You so much! Praying for you too. Let me know what the surgeons say. I will keep you posted.

Therese ODell  Praying for you too! You have your surgery the day before mine. I will be thinking of you and praying for you. Have you had an angiogram done? I am really nervous about it.

John Watson  I was informed I may not need one as I am young and it seems like we caught this at the perfect time.

Therese ODell  Hi Tammy! So sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you! I came down with a horrible case of bronchitis and am still fighting it. I have a million questions to ask you but the biggest one is will you please keep me in your prayers! I made the appointment for the surgery. Yikes!!!! It will be February 6th and the angiogram February 5th. Feeling a little scared and apprehensive but I KNOW God is a good good Father and He loves me! I will write more a little later when I can get to my computer. Thank you for your willingness to answer questions about Dr Accola and the surgery.😗

Tammy Pilcher  Oh my, Therese. I'm so sorry you're dealing with bronchitis now, as well as preparing for your surgery. I will absolutely keep you in my prayers! I understand completely about feeling scared and apprehensive. One thing I did that helped me so much was to start a journal of some favorite scriptures. Whenever I would feel those fears start creeping into my mind, I would take out my journal and read the scriptures again. I promise this was a huge help to me! These are a few that really spoke to my heart, Isaiah 41:13, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 34:4, Psalms 28:7, Numbers 6:24-26, Psalms 73:26, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 56:4. The morning of my surgery I wrote this one down on a little piece of paper and took it with me to the hospital, Isaiah 41:13, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee.". It was the last thing I read before they took me to the prep room. I just kept reminding myself that He was holding my right hand and I would be okay no matter what happened. You will be, too! You can email me also with any questions at bearcreek64@yahoo.com. I hope you feel better soon! God bless, Tammy

Therese ODell  Hi Tammy! Tuesday is the big day! Feeling a little anxious today! Having an angiogram on Monday. Have not had one before, how bad was It? Do you have any suggestions for my hospital stay and the 2 hour drive home? Does Florida Hospital provide a heart Pillow? I have read your story and feel encouraged by it. Hanging on to the scriptures the Lord has given me and am believing for the best. Please continue to pray for me and any suggestions you have for hospital stay and/or recovery are greatly appreciated!

Tammy Pilcher  Hi Therese! I know our Lord led me to check in on you tonight and I read your note to me. I just said a prayer for you and will continue to do so. I had a heart cath. here locally by my cardiologist the week before my surgery. I took the reports of all of my tests with me to see Dr. Accola. I'm not sure if a cath. is the same as an angiogram, but my cath. wasn't bad at all. They were able to do it through my wrist and I didn't have any problems. Yes, Florida Hospital gave me my heart pillow and I used it so much! I had all of my nurses and doctors sign it, too. They will all take very good care of you and everyone there will tell you that Dr. Accola is the best! I had a 7 hour drive home, but did very well. We stopped once every hour and I would walk around some. Just take your time during recovery and don't rush yourself. It takes time to heal and feel like yourself again, but you will. I will be praying for you to have the same great results I've had and please give Dr. Accola a hug for me! God bless you! Your heart sister, Tammy

Therese ODell  Thank you Tammy! I am holding onto Isa:41:13 fear not, I will help thee. Please continue to pray for me! I know God is good and He will get me through this. I will keep you posted! Love that we are not only heart sisters but sisters in Christ!

Therese ODell  Thank you Bonnie! I am praying for your upcoming surgery. I saw my surgeon last week but have not scheduled it yet. He wants it done pretty quickly, like next month! I just can't make myself pick up the phone and call! I will be traveling from Albuquerque to Orlando for the surgery. We have a condo in St Pete so I will recuperate there. I really loved Dr Accola and am confident in my choice of surgeon but I just am nervous about making the commitment to next month!

Anna Jones  Therese, I think most of us are scared of making the commitment. It is like a sword of Damocles hanging over all of us.

For me, I try to view it as taking charge of the situation or letting dumb luck and its consequences make the choice. Either way, the surgery will be performed... but with dumb luck the question is who will perform it and under what circumstances?

Sending prayers for strength and acceptance, and gentle hands to care for you.

Therese ODell  Hi Anna, I met Dr Accola last week and loved him. He was the third surgeon I interviewed and he was by far the most compassionate and caring doctor of the three. He was very informative and happy to answer any questions. He kept reassuring me that he would take good care of me and he knew this was a scary time. I will be traveling from Albuquerque to Orlando for the surgery and recuperate in our condo in St Pete Beach. The only problem with this plan is all my family and friends are in New Mexico! My son's will be there during the surgery but will have to leave and go back to their own lives. I have a wonderful husband who will be the main caregiver. Praying for you!

Anna Jones  Thank you, Therese. I would be traveling from Texas. My Cardologist/Interventionist wants me to have surgery with Dr. Gerald Lawrie in Houston, TX. So, I've put Dr. Lawrie on my list of surgeons. Apparently he was the surgeon for Barbara Bush. Houston is a long drive for me and it would take me about the same time as it would take for me to fly to Orlando.

No matter where I go, I will be facing this alone. My plan is to use a home health aide agency to send aides to check on me throughout my stay at the hospital. After that I want to be transferred to a rehab hospital for a few weeks until I am well enough to travel home. You may want to think about hiring a little help too to give your husband a break, if he needs it.

I'm thinking of you and sending prayers. I hope you will post here to keep us updated.