HI i just joined and I wanted to say hi to somebody and yours was the first pretty face that drew me in … I hope you don’t mind my brash ...Read more
HI i just joined and I wanted to say hi to somebody and yours was the first pretty face that drew me in … I hope you don’t mind my brash honesty . At any rate I was hoping we could be friends on here
An amazing journey! Wow, but I didn't see who your surgeon was. I had Mitral valve repair 4/5/17 at the clinic, with Dr Marc Gilinov! He is wonderful and ...Read more
An amazing journey! Wow, but I didn't see who your surgeon was. I had Mitral valve repair 4/5/17 at the clinic, with Dr Marc Gilinov! He is wonderful and now actually heads the cardiac surgical unit at Cleveland! Hope things continue to be great for you, it's a wonderful feeling - a reconnection to what really matters!
T
Valerie Archual Dr Gillinov was my surgeon as well!!! He is wonderful!!!!
I had missed several of your blogs, but just went back to catch up a bit. I hope you are continuing to do well and are almost at your "6-8 week" recovery point. ...Read more
I had missed several of your blogs, but just went back to catch up a bit. I hope you are continuing to do well and are almost at your "6-8 week" recovery point. You've had a bit of a rough road there. Being able to write has to be quite a blessing.
This might be a silly thing to share, but my partner and I decided to name my valve "Valerie"! :-)
Laura Jacobs That is great!!! Humour is important!
Rose Madura Valerie, I too named my valve Elsie and my Dacron sleeve is named Louise. Both after two of my great ... Read more
Rose Madura Valerie, I too named my valve Elsie and my Dacron sleeve is named Louise. Both after two of my great aunts. My surgeon thought it was hilarious. Wishing you the test in your recovery.
Civita Fahey my friend has started calling me Bessie ( for the cow valve) lol. .its all in good fun!
Laura Jacobs My nick name has been Moo Moo...I think I like Bessie better!!
Valerie Archual You guys are funny!!!! You have to find the fun side of all this don't ya?! I say this as I'm sittin ... Read more
Valerie Archual You guys are funny!!!! You have to find the fun side of all this don't ya?! I say this as I'm sitting in my local hospital while they do in-house med adjustments 😂Lol
It was good to hear from your husband about your successful surgery and to see you post yourself. Hopefully, as you feel better, we'll hear more from you about ...Read more
It was good to hear from your husband about your successful surgery and to see you post yourself. Hopefully, as you feel better, we'll hear more from you about your journey.
You're at the top of the list! Soon you'll join us on the other side of surgery. I don't know if I mentioned how much we enjoyed dinner at Etna Ristorante in ...Read more
You're at the top of the list! Soon you'll join us on the other side of surgery. I don't know if I mentioned how much we enjoyed dinner at Etna Ristorante in Little Italy, not a very far distance from the hospital. We actually walked there and then took the bus back to the hotel. If you're there in time (I think it's 3-4), you can get a chair massage up by the roof terrace. The fresh omelets in the cafeteria were incredible. If you need anymore info, or just need to vent, chat or angst, I'm here for you.
Valerie Archual Thank you so so much Phyllis. You are a God Send
Hi Valerie! I noticed in the feed that we're "surgery date sisters" -- I'm going in for my aortic valve replacement/ascending aorta repair on May 16. I will ...Read more
Hi Valerie! I noticed in the feed that we're "surgery date sisters" -- I'm going in for my aortic valve replacement/ascending aorta repair on May 16. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers as we go through this "heart stuff" together on the same day. :) Vicki
Sean Hunt Wishing you both luck and praying for a speedy recovery for you both. My aortic valve replacement an ... Read more
Sean Hunt Wishing you both luck and praying for a speedy recovery for you both. My aortic valve replacement and ascending aorta repair is on May 25th.
Valerie Archual I will be thinking of you and praying for you too Vicki!! My nerves are a bit shot- how are you doing ... Read more
Valerie Archual I will be thinking of you and praying for you too Vicki!! My nerves are a bit shot- how are you doing? We are several hours from my hospital so we leave tomorrow, testing Monday and of course Tuesday.. Thank you for your prayers Sean. Man, I never thought I would be doing this now. My cardio doc said it MIGHT be a possibility when I reached my 60's. Wrong-o
Oops... we are also monitoring a new symptom of mild diastolic dysfunction, left ventricle abnormal relaxation pattern. Also, starting 6 months after surgery, ...Read more
Oops... we are also monitoring a new symptom of mild diastolic dysfunction, left ventricle abnormal relaxation pattern. Also, starting 6 months after surgery, one of the MV leaflets had somewhat fixed / limited mobility. We are meeting this week with the cardiologist for a regular checkup and we can hopefully get more info on these issues. For context, we made the mistake of neglecting regular exercise and going back to normal salt diet about 4 months after surgery. Blood pressure went too high: 160/80, that is when we discovered the new (severe) MV leak, and the new mild diastolic dysfunction.
Cleveland Clinic. I will say that their care is very good there, and besides the leak returning, the normal migraines for the first few weeks after surgery, ...Read more
Cleveland Clinic. I will say that their care is very good there, and besides the leak returning, the normal migraines for the first few weeks after surgery, and PACs and PVCs for about the first month or so after surgery, there were no other problems from the MV repair surgery, and healing was quite rapid.
Hi Valerie, I do not wish to complicate your preparation for surgery, but I wished to share that Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York has an expertise for re-doing ...Read more
Hi Valerie, I do not wish to complicate your preparation for surgery, but I wished to share that Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York has an expertise for re-doing Mitral valve repair surgeries that failed the first time. (My family member's mitral valve (severe regurgitation) was repaired robotically and started re-leaking 9 months after surgery. We are currently in watch and wait mode, working to keep blood pressure low through a very low salt diet and keeping the heart healthy with cardio rehab style exercise.) It may be worth getting a second opinion from Mt. Sinai, since they have a lot of experience seeing how these MV surgeries fail and may be in a good position to avoid pitfalls. They seem to have a good track record of successful repairs and re-repairs... https://www.mitralvalverepair.org/content/view/141/
The Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center at Mount Sinai now offers patients the highest percentages of mitral valve repair anywhere in the world., One main area of expertise of our valve repair team is cardiac re-operations and valve re-repair surgery.
Valerie Archual I am actually having my first surgery but was curious about if they had to replace it- where did your ... Read more
Valerie Archual I am actually having my first surgery but was curious about if they had to replace it- where did your family member go for repair?