Thomas's Guestbook

Hey, Thomas! Thanks for posting in such great detail; it's a real help to those of us new to the process. I hope and pray that your recovery continues to be stellar.

Hi Thomas, I had mitral valve repair over 5 years ago. Wanted to comment on your visual disturbances/aura that happens after exercise. I had this and never thought to tie it to the surgery. Asked my Opthamologist, she had no idea. But I figured it out and they’ve gone away. For me, the solution was drinking electrolytes before and after exercise. They almost magically were eliminated. After reading your post, I experimented and tried exercised without taking them: the aura came back. For me, it’s a simple imbalance. I don’t take Gatorade or Powerade, although they work fine. I ordered something called “Hi-Lyte” from Amazon and just add drops to my water bottle. Hope this solution works for you.

Tom, thanks for the "Happy" Christmas wishes! Yes, it's what they say here and actually it's kind of a nice change for me! Your words and encouragement are sincerely appreciated and I'm glad to hear that you are doing well! I'll try to keep all of you posted as best I can, and if I don't "talk" with you before my op again, Happy Christmas to you and yours!! All the best and enjoy this wonderful time of year. ❤️

Thinking about you this evening, Thomas. I prayed for you this morning as I knew you were scheduled for surgery today. I hope it went exceptionally well and that you are resting well. I'll be interested in hearing about your surgical experience. Take are of you.

Hi Thomas, good luck with your surgery tomorrow. High volume/expert surgery centers like Northwestern have this dialed in, you will do great. I am 51 and had very similar path as you leading up to surgery in Dallas, and recovery has been very smooth. Look forward to your post surgery update!