Sep 17 marked 5 years since my son had his bicuspid aortic valve and aneurysm repaired. He is now 24. He still has some leakage but things are stable! The ...Read more
Sep 17 marked 5 years since my son had his bicuspid aortic valve and aneurysm repaired. He is now 24. He still has some leakage but things are stable! The black shirt pic is a few weeks before surgery. The rubber ducky shirt is this week from work. Difficult journeys often lead to beautiful destinations.
4 years ago today my then 19 year old son, Sebastian, had his bicuspid aortic valve repaired. Things are still stable with his repair and aneurysm and we ...Read more
4 years ago today my then 19 year old son, Sebastian, had his bicuspid aortic valve repaired. Things are still stable with his repair and aneurysm and we are still thankful for every day of good health.
Klara Čičić Yaaay! Congrats! You are a beautiful family! Wish him many more healthy years...
Rose Madura Glad all is well with Sebastian! Congratulations.
Patsy Stewart Happy Anniversary to Sebastian! What a great update! Stay happy and healthy!~❤️
Kimberly Eisenhut Way to go Sebastian!!! I and all 3 of my children understand what anxiety and depression are like an... Read more
Kimberly Eisenhut Way to go Sebastian!!! I and all 3 of my children understand what anxiety and depression are like and how hard it can be, so you are not alone, and neither are you Jill. Love the update and smiles! Many more to come!!!
Susan Lynn It's great to see all of you!!! Happy 4th Anniversary, Sebastián! Wishing you many, many decade... Read more
Susan Lynn It's great to see all of you!!! Happy 4th Anniversary, Sebastián! Wishing you many, many decades of good health and future celebrations.
Three years today since Sebastian had his bicuspid valve repair. I am very thankful for every day he remains stable.
Shelly Hubbard hi I also have bicuspid. Have not had surgery yet but also very depressed about it. I had to go back ... Read more
Shelly Hubbard hi I also have bicuspid. Have not had surgery yet but also very depressed about it. I had to go back on antidepressants. I thought they can only do open heart with only 2 heart valves as not FDA approved to do less invasive? I would like to know more?
Susan Lynn Yay!!! Happy 3rd Anniversary!!! It's hard to believe that much time has passed! Keep in touch and ... Read more
Susan Lynn Yay!!! Happy 3rd Anniversary!!! It's hard to believe that much time has passed! Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing!!! ❤❤❤
Deena Z Fantastic update! Sebastian rocks. God bless him.
Happy 3rd anniversary Sebastian, continued good health and God bless you
Martin Smith Please relay my congratulations to your son, Sebastien. I'm a fellow BAV patient who will be one-yea ... Read more
Martin Smith Please relay my congratulations to your son, Sebastien. I'm a fellow BAV patient who will be one-year post-op in a few days. Glad to learn that in spite of all the challenges, you and Sebastien are doing well.
Jill Mullikin The site ate my journal entry but tomorrow is 2 years since his BAV repair. We are still having some ... Read more
Jill Mullikin The site ate my journal entry but tomorrow is 2 years since his BAV repair. We are still having some trouble finding the right job for him and there is still some leakage but the cardiologist said to keep doing what he’s been doing.
Marie Myers Wow, time does fly! How has your son done emotionally? Heart surgery at a young age is not an easy j ... Read more
Marie Myers Wow, time does fly! How has your son done emotionally? Heart surgery at a young age is not an easy journey, I am sure.
Jill Mullikin Hi Marie. The further we get from surgery the calmer I get, however, I think it’s working in rever ... Read more
Jill Mullikin Hi Marie. The further we get from surgery the calmer I get, however, I think it’s working in reverse for him. He is very apprehensive about doing anything physical and any twinge of illness makes him panic. He had issues with anxiety and depression before we learned of his valve and aneurysm and he was a bit traumatized by the surgery. The fear of Covid has also not helped.
Marie Myers I hope things settle down for him. I understand that anxiety about future /possible issues. I still g ... Read more
Marie Myers I hope things settle down for him. I understand that anxiety about future /possible issues. I still get high BP readings when I visit the doc, and getting an echocardiogram can definitely raise my anxiety levels. Again, I hope things settle down for him as he matures.
16 months post BAV valve repair and still doing well! I am very thankful for every month of good health and hope his repair lasts a very long time. He’s ...Read more
16 months post BAV valve repair and still doing well! I am very thankful for every month of good health and hope his repair lasts a very long time. He’s working at Subaru assembling cars and, so far, it’s working out well.
Skipper Kagamaster A fellow Subie lover; awesome! My '04 STi is one of the best things I've ever bought.
Rita Savelis Great news Jill. So glad to hear Sebastian is doing well.
Joey Hardee Awesome update! Happy that Sebastian is doing so well!
Jill Mullikin It’s a small Subaru world! I have to give them props for their safety program. Anything over 10 p ... Read more
Jill Mullikin It’s a small Subaru world! I have to give them props for their safety program. Anything over 10 pounds had a lift assist so I don’t have to worry as much about him over exerting himself. He was given a 50 pound restriction to hopefully prolong the life of the repair. Thank you everyone for your kind words! This is a hard road for everyone but to see the will to persevere is uplifting.
Rob Sparling Jill, so happy to hear Bash is doing well! We all want to hear more good chapters in the Book of Bas ... Read more
Rob Sparling Jill, so happy to hear Bash is doing well! We all want to hear more good chapters in the Book of Bash! Take care !
The kids went on a work trip to 🇨🇦 with me a couple weeks ago and we were able to see Niagara Falls. Bash continues to do well coming up on 8 months ...Read more
The kids went on a work trip to 🇨🇦 with me a couple weeks ago and we were able to see Niagara Falls. Bash continues to do well coming up on 8 months post BAV repair.
Thomas Brusstar Thanks for the update! So nice to see him happy.
Jill Mullikin Thank you Thomas and thank you being one of his biggest cheerleaders! Your kind words have helped me ... Read more
Jill Mullikin Thank you Thomas and thank you being one of his biggest cheerleaders! Your kind words have helped me tremendously!
Jill Mullikin He started working last week and is greatly looking forward to having a paycheck again! I wonder if ... Read more
Jill Mullikin He started working last week and is greatly looking forward to having a paycheck again! I wonder if I’m ever going to be less jumpy when it comes to his health. Every time he tries something new I worry!!
Catie B You guys look great--so good to hear all is well!
My daughter and I were happy to support Bastian today while he took his GED exam! 4 of 5 sections have been scored and he’s passed them all. Amazing how ...Read more
My daughter and I were happy to support Bastian today while he took his GED exam! 4 of 5 sections have been scored and he’s passed them all. Amazing how different he is 12 weeks later!!!
Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since surgery! Bastian will be 20 this coming Saturday and went to his dad’s this weekend to celebrate. I love seeing smiles! If ...Read more
Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since surgery! Bastian will be 20 this coming Saturday and went to his dad’s this weekend to celebrate. I love seeing smiles! If you look closely you can just see his incision.
Susan Lynn Happy Birthday, Sebastian! 🎂 You're looking incredible!!
MARIE PICUN Happy birthday, enjoy your day 🌋🎆🎊🎋🎈🎉🎇🎁
Dan Vechiola His smiles ARE great after his surgery. Hopefully he is beginning to feel good again and getting his ... Read more
Dan Vechiola His smiles ARE great after his surgery. Hopefully he is beginning to feel good again and getting his life back as he knew it.
Dan Vechiola One thing that Sebastian now has and that no one can take away is his courage and peace of mind. Way ... Read more
Dan Vechiola One thing that Sebastian now has and that no one can take away is his courage and peace of mind. Way to go Sebastian!
Rob Sparling Sebastian, congrats Buddy! Looking good. You took one of the hardest challenges any adult can face a ... Read more
Rob Sparling Sebastian, congrats Buddy! Looking good. You took one of the hardest challenges any adult can face and made it look relatively easy. Keep knocking down every challenge life puts up!
Jennifer McInerney Looking great Sebastian. You have lots of life experiences ahead. One day this will seem like a min ... Read more
Jennifer McInerney Looking great Sebastian. You have lots of life experiences ahead. One day this will seem like a minor bump in the road. Well done and I’m looking forward to hearing about your recovery
Meredith Geneja Congratulations, Sebastian! Some of us are right behind you, in more ways than one:) May each new d ... Read more
Meredith Geneja Congratulations, Sebastian! Some of us are right behind you, in more ways than one:) May each new day bring restored strength to you. What a great family you are!
Susan Lynn Great picture, Sebastian! You did it! You look fantastic and every day brings you a step closer to ... Read more
Susan Lynn Great picture, Sebastian! You did it! You look fantastic and every day brings you a step closer to making this whole thing ancient history! If you can manage to down a cup of regular coffee (have your mother pick up Dunkin Donuts), you probably won't have any issues with your final "task". Best of luck - please continue to post your progress once you get home!!! We're all cheering for you!
Susan Lynn Fantastic!!! How's Sebastian feeling? Is he walking, yet?
What floor are you guys on? I'm tryin ... Read more
Susan Lynn Fantastic!!! How's Sebastian feeling? Is he walking, yet?
What floor are you guys on? I'm trying to see if the nurses look familiar to me. I was on the second.
Valerie Altman We are looking forward to the thumbs up pic someday soon! Please tell him he has been an inspiration ... Read more
Valerie Altman We are looking forward to the thumbs up pic someday soon! Please tell him he has been an inspiration to me and I'm sure a lot of us on here! Facing fears is awful but he did....like a BOSS!!!
Jill Mullikin Hi Susan. We are also on the second. He’s still having trouble with pain but he has walked to the ... Read more
Jill Mullikin Hi Susan. We are also on the second. He’s still having trouble with pain but he has walked to the bathroom a few times. Our current nurse is Kari but we’ve had several!
Rob Sparling Wonderful! Tell Sebastian he is an inspiration!
Meredith Geneja WOW! Great news. You "rock" SEBASTIAN. You'll be a mobile man again soon. I'm feeling the joy & relie ... Read more
Meredith Geneja WOW! Great news. You "rock" SEBASTIAN. You'll be a mobile man again soon. I'm feeling the joy & relief.
Thomas Brusstar Sebastian will do great! I’m 54 and I healed fast, and he’s just 19. So he’ll be the best hea ... Read more
Thomas Brusstar Sebastian will do great! I’m 54 and I healed fast, and he’s just 19. So he’ll be the best heart patient ever!
Dan Vechiola You got this Sebastian. I was your age when my aortic murmur was diagnosed and I ran from doctors fo ... Read more
Dan Vechiola You got this Sebastian. I was your age when my aortic murmur was diagnosed and I ran from doctors for 40 years because of it and that was not the right thing to do. Today's technology will be great for you. I admire you!
Jennifer McInerney Good luck Sebastian. I was born with my issue but they couldn’t fix it. I lived with it without a ... Read more
Jennifer McInerney Good luck Sebastian. I was born with my issue but they couldn’t fix it. I lived with it without an issue for many years. You are young and look good, you will be a superstar and do fine. I’m waiting for your updates. God Bless from another heart warrior
Rob Sparling Sebastian, set your sights on what you will do after surgery! Like write a play, become an architect ... Read more
Rob Sparling Sebastian, set your sights on what you will do after surgery! Like write a play, become an architect, produce movies, become a world-class heart surgeon. You know, stuff that leaves an impression on humanity.
You can do this and everything else that follows!
We all want to hear an update from you afterwards. Will you please send one? 🙏
Valerie Altman We all know how you feel believe that! Prayers for strength your way
Marie Myers Wishing all the best to Sebastian! He will do well, being a young healthy man. Looking forward to his ... Read more
Marie Myers Wishing all the best to Sebastian! He will do well, being a young healthy man. Looking forward to his updates!
Joey Hardee Praying for Sebastian! I am sure he will feel better than ever after he recovers which, at his age, w ... Read more
Joey Hardee Praying for Sebastian! I am sure he will feel better than ever after he recovers which, at his age, will be fast! :-)
LINDA ROBERTS Wishing Sebastian a very successful surgery!
Each step forward feels like it has 2 steps back but we are still moving forward. After our mini sternotomy disappointment earlier this week I’m happy to ...Read more
Each step forward feels like it has 2 steps back but we are still moving forward. After our mini sternotomy disappointment earlier this week I’m happy to report I’ve found a surgeon that does aortic repair via mini thoracotomy. Sebastian has been re
Susan Lynn Jill - great news! Your story is cut off, though. I think there's a limit when you're posting a ... Read more
Susan Lynn Jill - great news! Your story is cut off, though. I think there's a limit when you're posting a picture. Please let us know your good news on the journal page! Thanks!
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. 😄. It’s been a difficult summer but I keep this meme in mind...and a little bit of Dory from Finding Nemo. 🐠 ...Read more
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. 😄. It’s been a difficult summer but I keep this meme in mind...and a little bit of Dory from Finding Nemo. 🐠