Robert's Photos

That's probably a bit off-topic but one of our big customers is Medtronic. When I got my first mitral valve repair they put a Medtronic ring in. So I designed this shirt to show my appreciation (I know their dedication as I have worked on the technical side of the healthcare business pretty much all my life). I am not much of an artist but if someone has some ideas for improvement I certainly would appreciate it. The idea is using the Intel logo "Intel inside" but with a heart and of course Medtronic but I am not stuck on any particular design.

That's probably a bit off-topic but one of our big customers is Medtronic. When I got my first mitral valve repair they put a Medtronic ring in. So I designed this shirt to show my appreciation (I know their dedication as I have worked on the technical side of the healthcare business pretty much all my life). I am not much of an artist but if someone has some ideas for improvement I certainly would appreciate it. The idea is using the Intel logo "Intel inside" but with a heart and of course Medtronic but I am not stuck on any particular design.

I just saw this picture from @Cathleen Wee with this tasty food. I made some cheese quiche yesterday and with the leftover dough I made some very simple pizza. When I took it out of the oven I realized it was in the shape of a heart...

Today was my first day back to work, i.e. 12 weeks after my second mitral valve surgery in 2022. It's good to back plus my PTO was about to run out anyways. Interestingly, the company asked me to provide a "Fitness for Duty" certification (a form from the insurance company) from my surgeon. I thought this was only necessary if you want to return earlier than the suggested recovery time. It's a minor thing but did others also have to submit such a form?

And I baked some bread the day before returning to work.

Two months after my second OHS I started using power tools again. I had to create a platform with standoffs for the cows "tummy" to accommodate the short flowers. Now you can actually see the flowers I had to use a jigsaw and jigsaws aren't good right after surgery due to the vibration. Same goes for the power drill in hammer mode I used the same day to install security cameras, mostly to see where pupper is in our backyard. My chest felt the same the next day so I guess it was ok. But don't do this until at least 8 weeks out or when your surgeon says it is ok (same goes for massage or anything else that vibrates your chest).

I got a big early Christmas present I had my mitral valve surgery 10 days before Christmas performed by Dr. Luis Castro at Sequoia hospital. I scheduled it so it would be after Thanksgiving and before Christmas and within this year as I had the same surgery earlier this year (not by Dr. Castro), hence for insurance purposes it was buy one heart surgery, get one free Back in February they kept me for 7 days because my heart wouldn't beat by itself for the first few days. This time it was all good and they let me home after 5 days. Dr. Castro also did a great job in actually repairing the valve so that was a relieve. Pain was minimal so I just got some Tylenol the second day after surgery and nothing after going back home. Everything went really great and so I was able to join our yearly family Christmas celebration with close to 50 people. What a Christmas present I am so thankful for the great surgeons out there and for this forum for all the support. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

How do I post surgeon reviews? I did search for surgeons on this website. Some have a "recommend me" button but others don't. However, even the surgeons without a "recommend me" button have reviews. So somehow it is possible to review them. I just didn't figure out yet how. Any pointers are appreciated.