Lisa's Photos

Rita Savelis  Cool. I got my xrays 10 min after they were done. The
large circle is the mitral I assume. The sternal wires are cool. And i admire how clear your lungs are! I had lots of fluid in mine. Take care.

Emily Rowley  Lovely photo of you girls all in red fighting for research into very important area ~ being Heart Disease. Keep up the great work! I'm curious about what future advances in heart problems, as I do medical research in Uni and we have a research centre too. 💗

Kathy Blank  Keep up the campaign! I am so grateful for the research that allowed my to have robotic surgery but there is so much more research can do to help save lives!

Marie Myers  Great story! Unbelievably, I also met my first year nursing school roommate after 40+ years at a reunion, and found she had the same AVR surgery for bicuspid valve and ascending aortic aneurysm resection that I did. I definitely felt better hearing her story, but I still was very anxious about having to go through it... Crazy coincidence!!

Lisa Ferguson  Isn't that crazy Marie! What are the odds you would have that in common with an old roommate! I felt better hearing my friends story too, it's supportive in a very comforting way :)

Lisa Ferguson  Glad to share! I never tried scar creams since I read many mixed reviews so I used a silicone gel sheet. I starting as soon as the scabs dropped off. The one I bought was called Cica-Care but there are lots of choices on Amazon. It fit over the entire scar in one piece and it was washable so I could use it for a couple of months before it lost its stickiness. It's clear and tacky so it sticks well (unless you really sweat) and it was not really noticeable. I was VERY committed and I wore it for most of the year. It's not cheap, but just one sheet lasted 6 months - it came in a big rectangle shape so I cut it into 3 strips. It definitely kept the scar from turning keloid permanently. In fact, my scar would sometimes form a firm ridge down the center but I would wear the gel sheet overnight and it was gone in the morning.

Clare Auten  My whole scar looks like the bottom of your 9 month picture. Maybe even a little more red/purple. I am 3 years post op.! I think it is like everything else. ...unique to each individual.

Adam Pick  Lisa, Thanks for sharing the comparison. I agree. We are all unique -- as is the healing process. So you know, my scar started to REALLY fade after 12 months. Now, it's nothing more than a white line. Here's my comparison at https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/open-heart-surgery-scar.php

Lisa Ferguson  Thank you Adam! I am glad to get in a few more months of healing so I can feel more beach ready like you for summertime :)

Rita Savelis  It takes time. The color wil definitely change. If you avoid the sun completely for at least a year, your scar may eventually resemble the color of your skin.
I've now (2 years later) got tiny broken capillaries (blue!) around my scar.... Bummer, as otherwise the color matches my skin. Dermatologist said it's because my skin is thin.... Darn!

Lisa Ferguson  Thanks for sharing that Rita! It's good to know 2 years later something else might change so it's helping to set my expectations! I was really bummed about the red veins that showed up just a couple of weeks after surgery and was already planning a cosmetic surgeon visit, but they are fading too.