Charles's Journal

Rose Madura  It's always good to read posts like this! Very encouraging. Thank you and glad you are doing so well.

Ellen Leng  Thanks for updating...I can imagine that you remember being helped by these stories when you were in the shoes of those of us who are "in progress". Congratulations, and thank you for giving us great news :)

Anna Jones  Thank you for coming to give us updates. I remember your journal from last year and am very pleased that all went so well for you.

Sue Pluta  Love hearing positive things...was just told have a bad valve and going for tee and catch on the 20th to see if any blockages before discussing my valve situation. I am petrified and in denial so when I hear good things I feel better. Best of luck to you!

Rita Savelis  Hey, if OHS will make snoring go away - I'm going to recommend it to my non-cardiac husband!!
Congrats Charles on your recovery.

Gary Stripling  Great report, Charles! I'm 4 1/2 months post OHS for MV repair (among other things) and your post is very encouraging to me. Thanks for sharing!

Charles Haas  I guess I had brain fog when I posted -- three months, rather than six months. Thanks all for your wishes.

Christine Oliva  Charles, thank you for letting us know you are doing fine. I'm a few days behind you so have to inspire me to keep on keeping on! Congratulations on your progress.

Liz Burroughs  Hi Charles, I'm glad that you're doing so well!! It must be nice to be able to carry your bags without any worries! Congrats!! Take care. Liz

Emily Rowley  That's excellent to hear you've making good progress during recovery.
May I ask how come they placed you on a blood thinner for mitral valve repair?
Also did you use Incision Shield? I've just ordered one.

Emily.

Charles Haas  They use a ring to reinforce the mitral valve - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitral_valve_annuloplasty
and the month or so after surgery they want to prevent clots around this device - at least that is the practice of my surgeon. I did not use Incision Shield.

Christine Oliva  Awesome. I just started walking again and I'm only at 20 minutes twice a day. I'm 16 days post op AVR you will push me to do more. I want to go up five in the next two weeks, fingers crossed. Good luck Charles!

anita egden  It's great to read about your successes! I keep thinking about "after surgery" and it's just a big blank slate of what I can't do... I have to look at how things progress into what I can do over time... keep posting!

Sophia Ridley  Charles, fabulous news - sounds like your recovery is going very well.
I've seen a number of posts where people are walking considerable distances in the first 6 wks. Please can I ask how active you were before surgery, was walking 1.5-2miles a day normal for you? How many short walks are you doing to total this?

Charles Haas  Pre-surgery, I was walking 3-4 miles. Last week I was splitting this up into about two equal sized walks (starting from a total of 0.5-1 mile, but now I am more like one longish walk plus one shortish walk.

Sophia Ridley  Thank you. You sounded rather fit before op and it's paying dividends now, and must be very satisfying to cover such distance. I'm thinking of buying a pedometer to give me incentive, I want to figure out my limit pre op so I know my goal. Keep it up! Posts like yours are so positive for us pre-op!

Charles Haas  Just paying back all the wonderful folks who posted when I was pre-op. I've got an iPhone which has a built in step tracker, and just before surgery got an Apple Watch, which takes pulse every 10 minutes or so.

Gerald Schaffer  It sounds like you're doing great for just 16 days post op. I hope things continue going well for you.

W. Carter  Glad to hear your on the road to recovery! Take it easy and slow. Listen to your body, if it says rest lay down and rest. It will all come around and when it does you will know it. You will feel better than you have in years. :-)

Elaine Cutri  Congratulations Charles! Best wishes on your continued recovery. Be kind to your body, time will heal and you'll feel good soon.

Ihn Kim  Congratulations for your successful surgery and steady recovery! I have one quick question if you don't mind..
Did you arrange VN and PT before you went into the surgery? How did you do that? Thanks, and wish you continued uneventful recovery.

Gerald Schaffer  Congrats on being home. You'll find your recovery will go so much better now that your out of the hospital, eating good food and not being woke up every 4 hours.

Charles Haas  Ihn - I have always had all my health care (at least for the last 15+ years) in the University of Pennsylvania Health System) and have a pretty good benefits plan. So the surgeon's office has set up the VN and Phase I PT -- in fact I expect to have my first visits at home tomorrow. I also have coverage that would cover Phase II (and possibly some Phase III if needed). So it really has been a pretty seamless process. They also at the time of discharge set up the appointment for my cardiologist later this week. I just have to call my internist for an appointment next week, and my surgeon in about 4 weeks (with a chest x-ray, which I can do a few hours before).

In fact basically the internist referred me to a cardiologist I was happy with some years ago, and the cardiologist referred me to the surgeon who I was happy with. All the virtue of living in a large city with a top ranked system.

Jean Raber  Ihn, my mother had her heart surgery at a smaller regional hospital, and visiting nurse and physical therapy were arranged before she left the hospital by the discharge nurse, and it all worked like clockwork. Your doctor's office staff can probably give you this info or refer you to someone who knows.

Doran Herritt  Good plan. Sending you thoughts and prayers. I'm seeing dr Bavaria at penn on the 21st. Take care, drn

Tammy Pilcher  Mine was my surgeon's first case of the day too. I also was glad I didn't have to wait that morning. Prayers and best wishes, Charles. God bless!

Charles Haas  Thank you. My wife also reminded me that when we met with my surgeon he said he likes to do the least complex cases first of the day.

Gerald Schaffer  Charles, you'll do good at Penn. I don't remember too much about ICU but the nurses at Silverstein 10, the step down unit are all great. The food is not the best and its not very quiet but they take care of you well.

Charles Haas  I've already loaded up my ipad and ipod with podcasts and audiobooks. My wife is strategizing about what she can cook and bring me, since we live right across town.

Terrie Syvertsen  Charlie- You are lucky to go early in the morning as you will get to see the activity as you enter and how wide awake and ready to go the whole hospital staff is. Being right near by will be great for your wife as well and it is going to be a fine day when you get to take your first walk down the hospital corridors together knowing that this is behind you and what lies ahead is some mighty nice healing time and a closeness the two of you will share that fills your heart even more than you thought possible! Have a nice evening and best wishes that the Universe is kind to you tomorrow.

Christine Oliva  Charles, our best wishes for a successful surgery and quick recovery. I'm only eight days away so I feel your concerns. Go all October Heart Brothers and Sisters and lets all recover quick! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you tomorrow.

Jean Raber  Here's hoping for the repair, Charles! I was happy to learn this is the probability for me, too. Pretty sure they'll ask you what kind of valve you prefer if they have to replace, so make your wishes known to your doctor, your family, and nurses. John Lyons had the repair also, and is doing well. You might want to go over and check out his profile.

Charles Haas  Thank you all. My wife and I have very good confidence in my surgeon and the entire team, so will go with his recommendations. I have been totally impressed so far with the staff and systems at University of Pennsylvania. It is wonderful to live in a city with such a top flight facility.