Mike's Photos

Mike Roskowinski  If you are waiting to get surgery just it done as soon as possible and then you can get back to normal life quickly!

Sarah Trotter  I have had a leaky Mitral Valve for about a year and I'm just now in the talks of surgery :) I'm so incredibly ready to have my heart fixed and start hiking again

Sandy Raeder  Thank you Mike for your post of "Hope"... I am 8 weeks into recovery from my August 20, 2019 aortic valve surgery.. I need to feel normal again. It has been slow but progress is being made.

Frank DeGrazia  Sounds great Mike! It must feel great that the only thing you can complain about now is your putting! All the best. looking Good

Susan Lynn  Amazing! Incredible statistics - perfect heart rate!
You function on 6 1/2 hours of sleep? How do you have so much energy? I'm completely jealous.

Peter Eglinton  Awesome! They added strength training to the cardio exercise at my cardiac rehab yesterday. Felt good. Best wishes to you!

Carlos Banuelos  That's a lot of steps pre- or post-op! Btw, how do you like your fitbit? I'm thinking about getting a fitbit watch or iphone watch. I don't like wearing watches generally, but seems like it will be good for tracking heart rate and exercise progress.

Scott Ainsworth  Wow Mike! Bloody Awesome mate. I did just over 15,000 steps in 2.5 days last week and was stoked with that lol. Have to pick up my game now!

Joey Hardee  WOW, WOW, WOW!!! That's awesome, Mike. Thanks for inspiring, brother! I'm blocking it out for now and trying to get the most out of each day so my anxiety doesn't kick in. Updates like this one really help! :-)) Thanks again, Mike!

rich monoson  Great stuff Mike!! Back to focusing on the fun stuff again. How are the Vikes looking this season? I'm a Giant fan and hoping for a good season. Love Barkley and finally have some OL help.

Civita Fahey  Cool.. being a big football fan I love that. I like the Vikings though I am a Patriots fan through and through. Cant wait for football season! enjoy

Mike Roskowinski  Sleep is improved a little bit but I also got in my normal walks to add to my milage. Little windy but a beautiful day here in Minnesota

Marie Myers  Sleep was a big issue for me also during recovery. Hang in there, and nap when you need to nap. You have been through a lot, and you really do need to rest.
Sounds like your activity level is really good! Congratulations!

Joey Hardee  There ya go, brother!!! That is fantastic. Heck, that was a good activity day when I was asymptomatic! :-))
Sorry the sleeps a little rough but seems like most of our fellow HW's have had that issue. Good news is that it will get better. I'm pumped for you, Mike. That is awesome!

Susan Lynn  Wow! Doing great, Mike! I have to take a nap after reading those statistics. Your sleep will improve - time and patience are your friends. Continued success! ❤

Heidi Rockwood  Wow mike! All those stairs too! That’s great! So glad you are getting more active and always look forward to your updates!

Adam Pick  Just wanted you to know that you are not alone when it comes to pacemakers. Here's more about that... https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2016/04/14/pacemaker/

rich monoson  Congrats on the new "racing stripe" and glad you're home. Mike, my presurgical pulse rate was in the low 40's and post surgical I'm up in the 70's. I know you have the same concern but I guess it will return to our normal in good time. Thanks for sharing your experience as we all were rooting for you.

Alan Jamieson  I had a stuffed pineapple and a stuffed chicken in the room from my kids. They’re the sweetest aren’t they!

Debbie Kelly  How sweet! So glad you are on the recovery side. Looks like you have had some or all of the tubes removed. Wishing you the very best!!!!

  Welcome to the recovery side Mike!
Praying for a complete and total recovery for you my fellow Heart Warrior!

Naomi Gray  So nice to see you again, Mike! I'm glad your surgery went well. You reminded me to pack one of my stuffed chickens for my trip.

Tom McDonald  Hey Mike,
Looks like a fun night. From the looks of it you have great support group!
You are gonna be in good hand tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing post surgery updates when you can. Prayers to you, your family and the medical team.

rich monoson  Mike, you'll do great. That I have no doubt. It is such an amazing procedure and I think you'll find it a very positive experience. I cant tell you how you'll be up and around in no time. You'll be up walking and talking and thinking to yourself "Did I just have a major surgery"? Mike, cant wait until I hear of your experience and don't be surprised how good you're going to feel right after. My thoughts are with. I walked in your shoes 19 days ago and I'm telling you Mike it's like it never happened. I think you'll find a certain exhilaration from this experience. I cant say why or for what reason this exhilaration occurs but it does! The people who take care of you are awesome and they'll become like friends. Get it done my friend and when you're able I would love to hear about it. Warmest regards Mike, Rich

Tom McDonald  Good for you Mike. We finally are getting some warmer temps to be outside. Enjoy it. Your going to be on the road to recovery soon! T minus 30 for my day.

Mike Roskowinski  Hey Kevin we are in Estero. Going to check out some Spring Training today with the Twins vs Yankees. Where are you at?

Kevin Bradley  Mike, I live exactly 2 hours east of where you are in West Palm Beach. I love me some baseball. I just saw a spring training game at the new Palm Beach stadium they built for the Astros and Nationals a few weeks ago. The the best part of recovery will be relaxing in the recliner watching baseball! Enjoy the game!

leslie terjesen  As I mentioned, I bought one too that lifts you up, also, but I don't need or did not need it but it'll be good for my husband who has Parkinson's. I purchased everything before hand knowing I was not going to be driving but found I have lots of extra stuff around the house. I took my suitcase on wheels to the hospital with my 3 pair of open in the front pajamas and my non-skid slippers and my pillow. The nurse asked what I was doing when I was putting on my PJ's and she said I have to wear a hospital gown. Then I was putting my slippers over my skidproof socks and they told me no way. Except for my pillow I could have brought all I needed in a paper bag LOL! Enjoy your vacation and remember you are going to the Best place in the country!

Dianne A  good for you! We have a manual recliner that I couldn't get in and out of; so we figured we would just go the medical equipment rental route. Well, that fizzled right out when they quoted my husband $700 a month; rental.

Mike Roskowinski  I thought about renting but I figured I can get a brand new one for a decent price and then try to sell it after I am done for like $100. Then it is like renting a brand new chair :)

Mike Roskowinski  HOM furniture in Lakeville. Try it out. So worth it for that little money. I think what we need it for it works out great. Comfy cozy and easy to get out of.

Roxanne Baumgartner  That looks similar to the one I bought for my aortic valve surgery last November. I had minimally invasive surgery (no pain to speak of), so the lift mechanism was not necessary for me, and I slept in the bed at night, but I appreciated having the recliner for naps in front of the wood stove :-)

Fay Kozas  Beautiful, refreshing photo. Mike, I read you story. The waiting is worse than the actual surgery. Enjoy your vacation in Florida and try not to think of your upcoming surgery. Remember, when you wake up, your risk will be over. Keep us posted!

leslie terjesen  Enjoy your vacation and remember on your next vacation this will be all behind you. I'll be 3 weeks post op tomorrow and feeling great. We moved to a 55+ community two years ago and then I retired but have had such wonderful times here and unbelievable people and such enjoyable warm weather activities and pool time, I focused all my thoughts on that before surgery and while in hospital. It's so true positive thoughts make surgery and recovery easier. Plus you're going to the best hospital in the country. It'll be over before you know it. But have a great vacation! We are lucky where I live at the Jersey Shore, we've have very little snow this winter!

Mike Roskowinski  Thank you Fay and Leslie for your comments. I am 39 and in pretty good shape so I am hoping that I will be able to bounce back from this surgery pretty quickly and maybe get a summer vacation in also! Setting goals might just make things move a lot faster for me. I plan to do lots of swimming with the kids, some golf with the father-in-law and some time on the beach with my wife. Maybe sunny Florida will get my mind off things for a little bit and let me get rested up for the road ahead. I get back 4/2 and meet with the Mayo on 4/4 to discuss the next steps. Rewarded my good friend with a nice bottle of Scotch for being there and shoveling for me this miserable winter. 6th snowiest one here in Minnesota on record. I wonder if I picked a bad or good year to find out about my heart issues. :)

Mark Jaycox  Mike, I'm 57 and decided to have my surgery while I was healthy and active. My recovery has been really good so I'm sure you'll have the same results seeing your a lot younger.

Fay Kozas  Mike, it's good that you are setting goals to keep your mind off the surgery. It will also help you a lot if you set goals for "after the surgery". And don't worry--you will bounce back pretty quickly since you are in good shape. Your recovery will be much easier. Good luck and keep us posted.

Lisa Kane  Hi Mike, where are you going in Florida? I lived there for 15 years. How fun, the perfect time of year to go☀️