Robert's Photos

Robert Frederick  Started playing my saxophone again before surgery (with Drs. approval). Has been a great activity for me these past five years as well. https://youtu.be/jkX8YFbcQMg

  Thank you for the treat of your music playing. I personally love the sax and that particular song. Wishing you many more years of recovery and music playing. Happy New Year and God bless you

Robert Frederick  My appreciation also goes out to Dr. Clifton Lewis and his team at Princeton Baptist for repairing my mitral valve and providing excellent care. They were all glad to be with me and saw me through it.

Catie B  Congrats on your recovery! It's so cool that you've stayed with the rehab folks who helped build your strength after surgery! What a cool picture. :)

Cardiac rehab is such a great program, and the staff are so supportive.

I fell in love with the staff at mine, and will miss them big time. But a change in insurance came and it's much closer and cheaper to work out in my town. That starts this week.

Robert Frederick  Not to mention my heart rate went up to 145 and they had to put me in time out for a couple of minutes. I recovered quickly and carried on. 11 weeks post mitral valve repair with ddi Vinci robot under the control of Dr. Lewis at Princeton Baptist.

Petey Bello  Congratulations Robert. I just read your 'story'. Very detailed & inspiring. I am due to have (hopefully) a mitral repair in April. Both my leaflets are damaged, but they say there is a good chance of a repair. I am glad all went well for you! Great pictures :)
God Bless!

Tina Maroon  Congrats that your doing so so well at cardiac rehab. That is very inspiring. Hope you continue to do so well!! :)

Barbara Laurie  Robert, wow! You look terrific! Are you sure you're a cardiac patient? Congratulations on your continued recovery 💕❤️

Robert Frederick  Being back at work is a mentally challenging. Have several items that could be done, but am holding back to make it through the week. So have to adjust to an "interim normal".

The people at work who have been doing things for me have been very kind and encouraged me to go at a slow and steady pace.

Rehab orientation was today, and I start re-hab tomorrow. Rehab nurse asked me my overall goals. I said, "I want to loose three pounds." She and my wife both laughed. I said, "Well after I loose three, then I could try for three more!"

Robert Frederick  I also had time to tell them the heart surgeon joke I had prepared for them before my surgery, but was scrapped because I went out before I got to the operating room last month.

They laughed really hard (the doctor was not there).

Robert Frederick  I learned from the anesthesiologist that they perform the highest volume of valve surgeries in the nation for a private hospital. They are number six if you include university medical centers.

The place is a hidden gem.

Wanda Mroz  That's great! I got to meet my anesthesia team. They came to see me when I got out of ICU to see how I was doing!

Adam Pick  Dr. Lewis is a great guy and a great surgeon. Here's a video I filmed during a visit to Birmingham in which I got to see Dr. Lewis operate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JzAn372f1o

Robert Frederick  Adam: Your video was one of the main reasons I got interested in Dr. Lewis and Princeton Baptist. It is a great video. After being there, I can say that they have a wonderful program at every point. Since they have high volume of surgeries their skills are excellent. Because it is a relatively small hospital the doctors, nurses, and staff all have great relationships that allow them to provide the best patient care.

Robert Frederick  A copy of my favorite heart surgeon joke.

A heart surgeon came home early for a dinner party that his wife had been planning for months. Several important people were attending. However, a plumbing problem had caused all of the facilities in the house to back up and created panic in the house.

His wife exclaimed, "You are always at the hospital and never have time for things like this! Get this fixed now and I mean it!"

The heart surgeon got a plumber on the phone fast. "Get over here stat, and I will pay you whatever you ask." The plumber was there in 5 minutes. He emerged from the bathroom after two minutes of work and everything was fixed and running perfectly.

"That will be $300," said the plumber wiping off his hands and placing his wrench in the toolbox.

"Three hundred dollars!," exclaimed the heart surgeon. "That's $9,000 per hour!" I am heart surgeon and I don't make that kind of money.

The plumber closed his toolbox and mumbled, "Yeah, I didn't make that much money when I was a heart surgeon either."

Robert Frederick  Maybe it was a good thing that I went out before I got to the operating room. They might have had to call the plumber to operate on me.....

Robert Frederick  I was a probably little too talkative as my nurse anesthesiologist zapped me with a good dose of Versed as we left for the operating room. I was talking away as we went down that long hallway to surgery and that is the last I remember until I woke up in the ICU.

  Great picture! I had a similar experience (sans joke). :) I started to tear up as I was being wheeled back. I remember a nurse telling me everything was going to be ok and next thing I knew, I was waking up after surgery!

Jean Raber  Hahaha! I've been given that zap of "shut up" anesthesia for several medical procedures, because the stuff they give you for "relaxation" made everything seem hilarious. I'm glad you went in happy (though I'm sorry you didn't get to tell your joke). How are you feeling now?

Robert Frederick  A heart surgeon came home early for a dinner party that his wife had been planning for months. Several important people were attending. However, a plumbing problem had caused all of the facilities in the house to back up and created panic in the house.

His wife exclaimed, "You are always at the hospital and never have time for things like this! Get this fixed now and I mean it!"

The heart surgeon got a plumber on the phone fast. "Get over here stat, and I will pay you whatever you ask." The plumber was there in 5 minutes. He emerged from the bathroom after two minutes of work and everything was fixed and running perfectly.

"That will be $300," said the plumber wiping off his hands and placing his wrench in the toolbox.

"Three hundred dollars!," shouted the heart surgeon. "That's $9,000 per hour!" I am heart surgeon and I don't make that kind of money.

The plumber closed his toolbox and mumbled, "Yeah, I didn't make that much money when I was a heart surgeon either."

Robert Frederick  Take the freedom to leave the table shortly after meals when you first get home. You will appreciate the rest.

Whitney Nelson  Hi Robert! I am from Alabama as well and am seeing a surgeon at UAB, however, he is the only one I have seen so far. Can I ask what made you choose to go to Princeton and your surgeon? Also congratulations and I will pray for a speedy recovery!!

Ginger Marine  To me the only thing better than leaving the hospital was the surgeon saying, "You can drive now!" I had been away from my home, garden, chickens, and cats for 5 weeks,and I burned up the road getting back!

Robert Frederick  Whitney:

For the surgery I was facing, mitral valve repair, I wanted the following: 1) robotic surgery for a repair and not a replacement, 2) a surgeon who did a good number of these operations, and 3) a surgical/hospital team that had good experience with all that this would entail.

If I could get all three in Alabama, it would be much easier for my family to provide me with support during the process.

So I found that Dr. Clifton Lewis and his team are quite good. Some of the nurses told me that he has done as many a 7 operations in one day although that is not his normal routine.

The hospital is no 5 star hotel, but I felt like everyone was capable and interested in my welfare. The doctor was never far away and I saw him every day after surgery. The staff definitely know the way he wanted things done.

My opinion is that Dr. Lewis might consider the robotic surgery on a broader array of clients that perhaps other hospitals because of the experience of his team and his own strategies for success. But I can't really speak for him.

So, I felt that Princeton Baptist and Dr. Lewis' group had what I needed.