Brad OFurey - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2232 days ago

tim miller, Carlos Banuelos, Joey Hardee and 4 others reacted to this

I was finally discharged as my INR levels reached 2.0. I have to say that I feel fantastic a week and a half after surgery. I have minor aches in my incision ...Read more

I was finally discharged as my INR levels reached 2.0. I have to say that I feel fantastic a week and a half after surgery. I have minor aches in my incision area, mostly at night from sleeping on my side and stomach. Other than that, I feel mostly back to normal. I still cannot and am not lifting, pulling, or pushing anything over 10 lbs but otherwise, I can easily walk up stairs and around the house. I have to say that the worst part of this experience was being stuck in the hospital for 12 days waiting for my INR to increase. Because I was so mobile after surgery, it was difficult to be stuck in a room for that long.

Joy Vera Brad, I couldn't agree more about being stuck in the hospital & mine was only 8 days, not 12 like you ... Read more

Joy Vera Brad, I couldn't agree more about being stuck in the hospital & mine was only 8 days, not 12 like yours! The wait for me was for my chest tube draining to slow down which had been a problem with my previous surgery. So, it was for the best as yours no doubt was, but still hard to stay there so long. Glad to read that you're home & it sounds like you are on the mend. Take care.

Mike Roskowinski Awesome Brad it is the best to finally make it home. I was stuck in the hospital like you for 14 days ... Read more

Mike Roskowinski Awesome Brad it is the best to finally make it home. I was stuck in the hospital like you for 14 days and it was not fun. The incision may hurt for a while after surgery. I know mine still feels weird at times.

Jeff Baker Glad to hear your coming along fine Brad.

Catie B I found the aspect of confinement one of the most difficult aspects throughout the recovery process. ... Read more

Catie B I found the aspect of confinement one of the most difficult aspects throughout the recovery process. So glad you're home--a hearty congratulations!

Joey Hardee Glad you got home Brad. Sounds like you are doing fantastic. That is great! Take advantage of the car ... Read more

Joey Hardee Glad you got home Brad. Sounds like you are doing fantastic. That is great! Take advantage of the cardiac rehab!

Jennifer John Congrats, Bead, and fellow Michigander. I also had my surgery at UofM in May 2018. They know their st ... Read more

Jennifer John Congrats, Bead, and fellow Michigander. I also had my surgery at UofM in May 2018. They know their stuff. Check out my Journal posts during your recovery. Might help.❤️💪🏼

Frank DeGrazia Great news Brad! Welcome home . I week ago the best thing I felt coming home was my OWN bed , , , , A ... Read more

Frank DeGrazia Great news Brad! Welcome home . I week ago the best thing I felt coming home was my OWN bed , , , , And nobody was asking for my Blood! Seriously great news!

Nicole DuPont It’s so great to hear how well you’re doing, and congrats on getting back home. All the best to y ... Read more

Nicole DuPont It’s so great to hear how well you’re doing, and congrats on getting back home. All the best to you as you continue to recover.

Rob Sparling Brad, glad to hear you are doing well! Sleeping on your stomach and side is a plus!

Kimberley Anchell That’s a great update - so glad to hear your out of the hospital and doing well!

Rose Madura Glad you are home. Now you can focus on your recovery.

Susan Lynn Glad you're home, Brad. Sounds like you're back on track to a smooth recovery. All the best.

Brad OFureyposted a journal

2237 days ago

Rose Madura, Kaaren Carone, Adam Collins and 4 others reacted to this

Vaccum seal is off my wound! They used glue to suture so nothing left to do but to let it heal.

Marie Myers
Sounds like progress! Keep healing...

Joy Vera And heal it will. Keep getting better!

Kimberley Anchell I'm on the pre-op side of my procedure and trying to learn EVERYTHING I can . . . . vacuum seal - gl ... Read more

Kimberley Anchell I'm on the pre-op side of my procedure and trying to learn EVERYTHING I can . . . . vacuum seal - glue? Sounds like a wonderful milestone. Congrats!

Brad OFurey Yes, instead of using staples and stitches, they can use surgical glue. The vaccum seal may be a spec ... Read more

Brad OFurey Yes, instead of using staples and stitches, they can use surgical glue. The vaccum seal may be a specific practice to UofM but it reduces the exposure to infection.

Brad OFureyposted a journal

2238 days ago

Tim Saint , Adam Collins, Joey Hardee and 5 others reacted to this

I had my surgery on the 24th and everything went well! I was out of the ICU the next day and walking around. I was told that it was an "uneventful procedure." ...Read more

I had my surgery on the 24th and everything went well! I was out of the ICU the next day and walking around. I was told that it was an "uneventful procedure." They did have to induce hypothermia to freeze brain function in order to repair the aneurysm so it took a little bit longer to wake up. A week later, everything is out and I am quite active but am still at the hospital. Because I had a mechanical valve installed, I have to wait until my INR is at a therapeutic level of 2. It takes a long time for the warfarin to metabolize so I have slowly inched from 1.1 to 1.2 to 1.3 this morning. I can't leave until that number hits 2. I am still here being monitored and recieveiving heparin to thin my blood. I will update when I am discharged!

Susan Lynn Thanks for the update, Brad! Glad you're on the road to recovery! All the best! ❤

Catie B Congratulations, Brad. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Carlos Banuelos Congrats, Brad. Glad you are doing well.

Rob Sparling Brad, that is great! Very glad to see your post and get an update! Congrats! 👍

Thomas Brusstar Thanks for the update! Good work, sounds like you're recovering nice and quickly. Yeah, the hypothe ... Read more

Thomas Brusstar Thanks for the update! Good work, sounds like you're recovering nice and quickly. Yeah, the hypothermia thing is an interesting technique that is apparently quite common for long procedures. I asked about that for mine, and they said they would fill my chest cavity with ice to cool the heart, and my temperature would go down a bit, but they were not intentionally inducing hypothermia because my mitral valve repair would be short hopefully. I felt kind of heroic when my surgery was over--it's a big accomplishment. Keep us posted.

Brad OFureyposted an update

2256 days ago

Susan Lynn, Joy Vera, Pat Bluemel reacted to this

I am 10 days out and I have to say I am feeling a little better. I had my pre-op appointment today and have settled on a mechanical valve. I also learned that ...Read more

I am 10 days out and I have to say I am feeling a little better. I had my pre-op appointment today and have settled on a mechanical valve. I also learned that I actually dont have a bicuspid valve but rather a uni-cuspid. This is much more rare and much more difficult to identify. Still needs to be replaced.

Susan Lynn Brad - The last week can be a bit stressful, but stay occupied and focus on a successful outcome. ... Read more

Susan Lynn Brad - The last week can be a bit stressful, but stay occupied and focus on a successful outcome. Waiting is the worst part!

Peter Eglinton Best wishes to you!

Frank DeGrazia Hang in there Brad! I go in the same day as you for 90% of the same reasons. I believe as the ratio o ... Read more

Frank DeGrazia Hang in there Brad! I go in the same day as you for 90% of the same reasons. I believe as the ratio of unknown 90% to known10% starts to reverse we will both feel more comfortable.

Brad OFureyposted an update

2268 days ago

Thank you everyone for your kind support! I have never been under general anesthesia... What is that like? Does it feel like a long nap with dreams?

Civita Fahey you don't know you're asleep until you wake up

Susan Lynn Agree with Civita! One minute you're awake, the next minute it's over. I did, however, ask the anes ... Read more

Susan Lynn Agree with Civita! One minute you're awake, the next minute it's over. I did, however, ask the anesthesiologist in pre-op for anti-nausea medication since I didn't know if I would have that reaction. Also, the lingering relaxing effects of anesthesia were frankly awesome! I didn't sleep well after my diagnosis and the day of my surgery and the day after provided incredibly restful sleep. It also helped that my CICU had very quiet private rooms and fabulous beds! No worries, Brad!

Bradley Dunn I remember my plans... I was going to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT and do my best to stay awake... Uh... yeah.. ... Read more

Bradley Dunn I remember my plans... I was going to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT and do my best to stay awake... Uh... yeah.. I remember nothing and I failed miserably.

Hello Brad,
For me I was laughing and joking with the medical professionals in the operating room wh ... Read more

Hello Brad,
For me I was laughing and joking with the medical professionals in the operating room when they first put me on the operating table and the next thing I know I was waking up in ICU.
It seems like I was only sleep for a minute or two even though my surgery took 2 hours and 37 minutes.
I don't remember dreaming anything during my surgery.
Hope this helps.
Peace and blessings to you!

Rose Madura You don't know a thing. One minute you are awake and then you are out. Then you wake up. No memor ... Read more

Rose Madura You don't know a thing. One minute you are awake and then you are out. Then you wake up. No memories. I think they give you something for that.

Barbara Wood Yep, no awareness, no memories - as it should be:)!

Rob Sparling No dreams. Time travel. Well worth it. Be loaded up with chapstick and ice cube chips and get ready f ... Read more

Rob Sparling No dreams. Time travel. Well worth it. Be loaded up with chapstick and ice cube chips and get ready for baby steps. All will be good!

Tom McDonald You won't remember a thing. The last thing I do remember was being asked was, what kind of music I li ... Read more

Tom McDonald You won't remember a thing. The last thing I do remember was being asked was, what kind of music I like to listen to? Then lights out til I woke up in icu.