Bailey's Journal

Susan Lynn  Happy Second Anniversary!!! Wishing you continued good health and many decades of future celebrations!

Klara Čičić  Hi Bailey, happy anniversary! Interesting question. Heart disease per se doesn’t cause prostate enlargement as far as I know. I have no idea why your prostate symptoms would improve. Though...there are same risk factors which increase risk of both heart problems and prostate growth, like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and age... Something I will definitely look into. Keep on ticking!  

Dylan Kempers  Bailey, I had robotics MVrepair just one day before you. My progress has been steady, except for some muscle aches after discontinuing the Gabapentin last week. Tomorrow I'm starting cardiac rehab. As a consequence of my surgery I developed afib, for which I'll be taking meds for about 6 months. My cardiologist told me that 6 months from surgery I'll be 90% back to normal and that in a year I'll be 100%. I'm 57 years old, physically fit, run marathons, vegan/vegetarian, never smoked, never drugs, virtually no alcohol. I'm mentioning all these factors because lifestyle has an impact on the person's recovery. Hope this helps!

Bailey L  Thanks for sharing your experience Dylan. Glad to hear your progress has been steady. I know everyone will be different, but it's helpful to know what your cardiologist shared with you. It helps to recalibrate my own expectations. Sounds like it's not unreasonable for it to be 6 months or more before I'm really feeling back to normal. I'm mostly looking forward to going for bike rides, doing some hiking, maybe a little tennis without needing a couple of days of recuperation.

Theresa Miller  Bailey and Dylan, Thank you for your posts. This has been the biggest question, How long is the recovery? My mitral valve repair is coming up in four weeks. Although I am 70 years old, I've been extremely active, hiking nearly every weekend 5 to 10 miles and going to the gym five days a week. I've been worried about the recovery time. Does everyone need rehab. after surgery?

Dylan Kempers  Theresa, it depends on what you mean by recovery, because it has different stages. If you mean going back to your normal lifestyle (i.e., being able to do the same kind and intensity of exercise that you did before surgery), it will take a few months. I had surgery a month ago. I've been increasing my daily walks from 3 x 10 min, to 2 x 50 min, to 1 x 70 min. I just started rehab at a facility. I found it worth it, because I can build up my aerobic state in a monitored and safe environment, which allows me to know whether I'm pushing myself too little or too much. I understand that the typical rehab is 36 sessions (3 sessions per week). It's too early for me to tell if I will feel I need all of them. The days I'm not going to rehab I exercise on my own. I hope this helps!

  Welcome Bailey, congratulations on making it to the recovery side. I hope you find our heart warriors informative and supportive. My surgery was a Bentall procedure which is different from yours. All I can say is that recovery is a day by day thing. One day you feel great and the next not so great, sometimes you start sleeping good and all of the sudden you wake up several times during the night. But I can tell you from my experience that day by day it will get better. You have to be patient with your body and you being a very active person before surgery even more. But know that you will recover, you will get stronger and soon you will be doing all the things you used to do, but one day at a time. Don’t try to do too much all at once. Walk when you can, it does help. If you have questions ask away. Hope your recovery goes well. Be well and God bless you “heart warrior”.

Marie Myers  I think you are right on the “grief process” aspect of recovery. For many of us, finding out we needed heart surgery was a total shock. It does take time to process and accept “what is”. Plus, the heart surgery itself is major, and takes time to physically recover. I was always into yoga and meditation, and that has helped me with the process. Trying to appreciate every day, doing nice things for yourself, and putting down feelings in forums like this have helped me. It is a process that can take time. So try be patient with yourself as you move through these feelings.

Cheryl Mann  Bailey, it looks like you and I are at about the same place in the recovery timeline. I completely understand what you are saying. I feel like every day I am “testing the fences” to see where my limits are. Some days I am happy and feel like cheering “look at me go” - and some days I am quite disappointed and think - “really? When is this going to be better? Is this a forever thing now?” I think the ups and downs are normal. I am trying to take this time to learn to focus and be thankful for the here and now and to “just be” and be grateful. I find writing helps to process my emotions and thoughts. I have also found the meditation app “headspace” very helpful. Perhaps most helpful is the support of this wonderful group of warriors. :)
I wish you well on your journey. This road may not be easy, but blessings can be found along the way if you look for them.

Nancy W  Hi Bailey, fellow Bay Area resident! I also had mitral valve prolapse with no symptoms. We monitored regurgitation for two years until echo showed severe regurgitation last July. I was told I needed surgery and almost a week later, I was at Stanford for surgery and recovery from repair. I’m about 9 months post surgery- I found the emotional aspect of recovery very difficult. I anticipated a slow and steady physical improvement but found recovery to be a series of bumps with emotional ups and downs. I found this forum weeks after I was home and was so heartened ( pun intended) by the support I found here. Cardiac rehab, yoga, meditation, nature, and patience ( something that is difficult for me) were some healing activities for my emotional state. I have also worked with a therapist and part of our work is coming to terms with this “ new” idea of who I am- yes, a grief process of accepting that I had open heart surgery. I feel this whole process has been life changing and hopefully life enhancing. I journal daily and try to feel gratitude for all I am experiencing- I am back to running, hiking, Zumba, yoga and since vaccine visiting with friends. I’ve learned from this forum that everyone’s journey is so different. Keep sharing- I look forward to hearing about your journey. Everyone here reminded me to be patient and that improvement would happen and the emotional aspects were part of the process. Keep checking in to this forum -Wishing you all the best as you heal.

Rose Madura  I did not have the same surgery as you and although I knew from a young age that I would need surgery, I still had a grieving process to get through. After surgery, I had so many complications that I sometimes wondered if I'd ever feel right but I eventually felt better and now, almost 4 years later, I feel better than I can ever remember. Hang in there.

Bailey L  Thanks everyone! It certainly is helpful to have a forum for support! Today's been a good day. I do generally keep a positive attitude and tend not to dwell too too much on the down days. It is helpful to acknowledge them though and trust that there will be a time when the recovery will be behind me. Thank you everyone for sharing what has worked for you! One thing that has been really helpful for me has been to work with a Rite of Passage guide. He's helped me to see this surgery as a ceremony and a rite of passage. A letting go of old stories about myself and stepping into what's next. I'm probably ready to pick up with him in preparation for really inhabiting my new body and state of being.

Rita Savelis  Every change takes a long time to get used to. This was a big change. You need to mourn the past and process what you've been through. One gets to a new normal. It's not necessarily better, just different. Good days and bad days. Surgery is over in a day, but healing takes time. Take care.

Thomas Brusstar  I also had a mitral valve prolapse, basically asymptomatic since ago 20, that turned into a flail leaflet and noticeable shortness of breath ("pneumonia") at about age 54. Now almost 3 years later, I think part of my positive outlook was just marvelling at the healing my body was capable of. Going from a grossly failing circulatory system (which would have doomed me to an early death years ago) to a heart that is efficient for the first time ever seemed like a personal accomplishment. My heart muscles (esp. the left atrium) suffered while my heart was in distress, and I think my lungs probably have permanent damage from the pulmonary hypertension caused by a year or more of a flail leaflet on my mitral valve; but now I feel like the heart valve issue is off the table for chronic health trouble. Something else will have to get me! There is a kind of grief process in realizing I needed this major surgery, and it "concentrates the mind" to consider that death was an option. I have a teenage son, and the idea of him losing his father was painful; but I also feel like I gained some perspective. I know I could have died, and that knowledge definitely vaulted me into an older age; yet I know I'm now much healthier than I was 5 years ago, so I should feel younger! You are definitely healthy in addressing it as grief. I also would say it was healthy for me to communicate about it, and in a way to make my heart valve surgery a part of my "identity." I'm not afraid of it or its issues, and it brought into better focus a mature sense of what I give to those in my life.