Tina's Guestbook

Thank you, Tina, for this wonderful forum to learn and to ask questions. Can you speak to the emotional ups and downs within the first month after your surgery? My otherwise very healthy friend just had MR repair and she seems to be bouncing all over the place with highs and lows. I didn't expect that.

Hi Tina, My name is Ruth Ann and I'm 5 months post aortic valve replacement. The best advice I can give is: Join cardiac rehab. It is the fastest way to get back to yourself and helps you as you are with others going through the same recovery. Another helpful item is a wedge pillow to keep in your bed. Looks like a big wedge of cheese. I now wish I had rented a remote recliner. The shower chair helped a lot too. I had meditation, spiritual CDs to listen to as well-helped calm me when I felt a bit overwhelmed once at home. You will be strong again soon. I promise.

Had my valve replacement and aneurysm done 6 weeks ago...glad is done and over with it...had and still have lots of support from family and friends...all went well...after a week in the hospital ..had my operation...out of recovery the next day and spent the rest of my stay in cardiac post op..with stomach tubes pacemakers for the next 4 days..went home and still recovering...taking it easy...thanks to family and friends..hope all is well for you and all new patients...

I drank lots and lots of water to keep hydrated, especially since I knew that I wouldn't be able to drink water for about 24 hours. I was so thirsty when I woke up from surgery. As for food, I kept it fairly normal. I didn't eat a lot so that I wouldn't get constipated in the hospital, as some of the pain medicine can do that to you. I was put under at 6:30 a.m., my surgery was done around noon, and I didn't wake up until about 5 pm that day.

Hi Tina, I'm responding to your post about how you feel after you get home and whether or not you need someone to take care of you. I had my mitral valve repaired using the DaVinci 6 months ago. My bedroom is upstairs and I was able to go up and down the stairs (SLOWLY) after I got home from the hospital without a problem!!! I just had to rest a bit after going up or down the stairs. I am a female in my early 50's and fairly fit. The chords in my heart also broke, so my mitral valve was flapping quite a bit. My surgery was on a Wednesday morning and I was released from the hospital on the following Sunday around noon. My doctor told me that I should rest at home after I did an "activity", such as climbing the stairs, taking a shower, etc. I could walk without any problems, but I walked very slow. I found myself "resting" quite a bit....even after washing a couple of dishes. On about the 3rd day home, I felt like I needed to take the vacuum cleaner to the kitchen to get a couple of dust bunnies....big mistake! Even though I felt pretty good, my strength wasn't there. I had to hurry to the couch and rest for about 45 minutes because my head was spinning after that little task! I was able to do everything (the basics) for myself, but I was really slow at it. One helpful hint is for your to get a plastic stool to place in the shower so you can sit down and rest when you shower. You can get a cheap plastic stool at Walmart. After my surgery, I didn't have the energy to stand up in a shower and wash my body and then shampoo my long hair without resting. The stool in the shower was great because it allowed me to sit down and rest before finishing my shower. For about the first week, I rested a lot. At around 7 days after surgery, I was feeling fairly decent. Ten days after surgery, I attended a family wedding 4 hours away from my house (was ok'd by my doctor because my husband drove and I wore compression socks); I was feeling pretty good. My family was amazed at how well I was doing! Sleeping was a bit difficult because the wounds under my right breast hurt a little bit when I tossed and turned. Overall, the experience was so MUCH easier than I had imagined. I didn't have anyone to take care of me during the day while my husband was at work, but I knew hat he was only one phone call and 20 minutes away if I needed him during the day. I didn't have to call him for help. The good Lord really watched over me!!! Praise be to God. I will keep you in my prayers.

Best wishes to you Tina for a very successful day on Wednesday, and an even better recovery!!! Looking forward to hearing how things went for you in the coming days. All the very best to you.

Hi Tina - Will be thinking of you on the 27th! Sending you many positive thoughts and prayers! I was where you are now 18 month ago and can say recovery goes slow in the beginning, and faster after 9 months or so. Thanks for asking about the WomenHeart group. I see you are from Indiana so here is a link to a list of the groups in that state:  http://www.womenheart.org/?page=Support_INNetwork And if you don't find one is close to you, there is info there on how to match up with a heart sister.