Nicholas's Profile

Hi! My name is Nick. I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve. I am 50. I have been extremely athletic my entire life. The activities that bring me the most joy are backpacking and strength training. I am also—very unfortunately—an “ultra-fast metabolizer,” which renders the strongest narcotics known to man utterly useless for pain control. I have learned the hard way that I must be very vocal about this with doctors and surgeons. In 2011, I was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. To discern the cause, I was imaged and tested extensively. Unfortunately my local hospital did not see any obvious cause, so when I went down for open-heart, I believed it would be a “one and done” aortic-aneurysm repair. When I awoke, I was told my valve was essentially bicuspid (2 leaflets fused, which made it difficult to image) and was replaced with a bioprosthetic. In late 2021, I developed a raging bacterial infection from a dog bite. It got into my blood. Although no endocarditis was identified, my valve began to deteriorate shortly thereafter. In 2023, the stenosis became too severe to soldier through, so I had a TAVR to place a new bioprosthetic. All seemed well until, in 2024, another bacterial infection swamped me. This time, it latched onto my valve. The endocarditis quickly led to calcification which steadily worsened. On May 28, 2026, I had to undergo what I had been dreading for 15 years—another open heart. I had researched thoroughly and decided mechanical was the only way: I never wanted to go through another open procedure. However, based on my fitness level, desire to return to intense exercise, outdoorism, and youth (lol…hold your laughter) my surgeon recommended a Ross. I was so torn. Ultimately, and because my surgeon is an expert in the field, I went with his recommendation. Open-heart surgery is the crown jewel of extreme surgeries (and not in a good way). It is the most intense, extensive, complicated surgical assault on your body—and its most essential organ—imaginable. There are so many things we may anticipate. But there are so many more we just don’t see coming. Hundreds of things, big , small, pre op, op, post op, that we wish we’d know beforehand. The decision about which procedure at what hospital (if you are lucky enough to have a choice) can feel “life or death.” So many “what ifs.” That is why it is so important for sites like this to exist. The folks who have gone through this (sometimes multiple times) are brimming with hidden knowledge, tips and tricks, and helpful guidance. Reach out early and often! If you have surgery in your future, best of luck. But also know that for something that seems so huge and frightening, open heart is just another blip on the radar. Perhaps that sounds glib, but it’s true. I’m still mending, and full recovery is gonna take a while, but man does it feel good to have that in the rear view! And how the time has flown. It feels like yesterday that I was walking into the hospital, predawn, losing my mind with anxiety. Yet here I am. ✌️