Chuck's Journal

It has been so long since I posted anything on the website, but since I am now at my 2 year anniversary I wanted to comeback and look back at what I went through 2 years ago. So much has changed in 2 years. I am healthy (could lose a few pounds!), I am in a new job that I love, and most importantly I am happy! I have had no issues with my heart and the only reminder I have that I had heart surgery is the scar that I wear proudly. I say this about the scar because it reminds me everyday that I can overcome anything that comes my way no matter how much it may turn my life upside down. I hope those of you that are preparing for surgery will read everyone's posts and realize that you are not alone. You will survive and in the end you will be stronger for what you just went through. Love your family, friends, yourself and most importantly LIFE! God Bless you all! Chuck

Hello Everyone I hope everyone is doing well. Tomorrow is my 8 week anniversary. Things have gone pretty good. I Have increased the distance that I walk and My pain level is decreasing. It still hurts when I sneeze and this allergy season has been really hard on me and I have sneezed way to much this season. In the last week I have developed a problem sleeping. Last Wednesday and Thursday I only got a total 3 hours sleep in those 2 days. I thought I was going Mad! I called my Doc on Friday and he told me to take 3 shots of Bourbon and I would sleep like a baby. IT WORKED. Slept 13 hours Friday night. Spending about a half Day at work its about all I can do before I find myself doing to much. It\'s nice to come home and have time to spend with Lisa and the girls. My Birthday is tomorrow and I always reflect on the past year on my birthday. I see where I am and if I need to make changes. This year I have a lot to reflect on. First, I have a great circle of friends and a great family. I cannot even put into words the support and love I felt when I was laid up. It is still overwhelming to think about. So all I can say is Thank-You and I will never forget. Secondly, I need to get serious about making a career change. My job has sucked the life out of me for the last 2 years. It has taken to much time away from my family and it has taken a toll on me mentally and physically. So I will be actively looking for a new job in the weeks ahead. Going thru this has made me realize that I have been given a second chance and I am not going to blow it. Thirdly, I am blessed to have found this site and the people who are on it. You all mean a great deal to me and you have helped me get thru this surgery and recovery. Thank -You! I will continue to update monthly or if things change. If anyone needs anything please contact me. May God Bless all of you that are going into surgery and may he continue to give those in recovery the strength to do the things that will heal us. As always thank-you to the caregivers who have done so much. Chuck Robertson

Hello Everyone Tomorrow will be my one month anniversary. Overall I feel pretty good. I have increased my daily activities everyday. The past 2 days have been rough I have had more discomfort in my chest and have felt sluggish. Today I went to UofM for my first visit with Dr Deeb. Everything is working the way it should be. He explained that I will have days where I feel like this and to not get discouraged. He was not happy that I had gone to work for a couple hours. He wants me to take 3 months off. I do not know if I can do that. How long have most of you been off. The other issue I have is if I should go to cardic rehab. I have been walking everyday and have averaged about 2.5 miles a day (3 walks a day). I have been motivated to keep going so I don\'t know if rehab is necessary. What is everyone\'s opinion? Overall I am happy with my progress. Like I said the past 2 days have been hard but things have been going good. May God Bless those of you that will be going thru surgery in the upcoming weeks. For those that are in recovery may he continue to give us strength and courage to do the work needed to get stronger. As always Thanks to the caregivers for all of the love and support you provide. Talk to you all soon Chuck

Hello Everyone I hope everyone is doing well. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since my valve was repaired and my Aorta replaced and I feel good. I am sleeping in my own bed now, I take 3 walks a day, and the pain has been manageable. I got my tube stitches out today and everything looks good. The only issues I have are 1. Night sweats I have gotten them every night I have been home. 2. My heart rate is still to high the nurse today said I should see that come down this week, but did not have a answer for the night sweats. Today was first day by myself. Lisa went back to work and I did miss her. It was nice to be with just her for awhile. She did a good job taking care of me. Overall I think I am where I should be and I am thankful for all the support my family and friends have given me these past weeks I get emotional every time I think about it. To all that are in recovery continue to stay strong and to those about to have surgery may God bless you and your families. Talk to you all soon Chuck

Hello everyone As I left you they rushed to put a new chest tube in because my right lung collapsed, it was never determined why this happened, but they say it does happen sometimes. (Lucky Me!) From Thursday evening on everything changed. My breathing improved, my mobility improved I just overall felt like I was improving. The tube was removed Sunday morning (ouch) and x-rays showed no problems so I was given the ok to go home. So far everything is going good. I have been on some good walks with Lisa and my energy level has been pretty good. Your body will definitely let you know when you have to slow down. The only real issue I am having is my heart rate is still to high. It is staying consistent at 90-95 bpm at rest and they want that down to 70-75. I am told to give beta blocker time. I have been sleeping in the recliner (Lisa has been staying down with me.), but I am going to try to sleep in bed tonight. Overall I am happy with where I am at. I don\'t know what else is in store for me with this I know there will be some tough days, but I know I will get thru them. I will say this nobody can really prepare for news that they will have to go thru something like this, but people do not have to go thru this blindly there are thousands of us who have survived and have a hell of a story to share and this site has given us a outlet to share our stories. It will be a goal of mine as time moves on to assist Adam in anyway to bring awareness to this site and to the problem of Heart Valve disease. I will look into opportunities to help at UofM, and for members of this site my time is yours anytime it is needed.(Contact me anytime.) I loved what this site provided for my family and what it provided for me. Thank-You To All! Pictures have been uploaded, but I will leave until next time with this exchange I had With Dr Deeb on the day after my surgery. He came in and asked how I was feeling? and I told him \"I felt like I had been hit by a truck!\" His Reply \" you were Chuck, but I was there to put the pieces back together!\" yes you were Dr.Deeb and I can never thank-you enough. Until next time Chuck

Hello Everyone It was one week ago today that I had my surgery. It is hard to put into words how I feel, and all that has happened in the past 7 days, but I will try. First I want to say thank-you to my wonderful wife for taking care of my journal while I was down, but more importantly for all she has done this past week. I know this was not easy for you, but like always you handle it with a strength and class that few can equal. To Dr. Deeb, his staff, and the rest of the staff at University of Michigan Thanks you are the best. I feel like my family grew two-fold over the past week. the care you provided me and the others while I was there was inspiring and can be done by only truly special people. to my friends and family thanks for your prayers and support I truly felt it. A special shout-out to Ray and Marlene, Julie and Mike for helping with the girls to free Lisa up to be with me. Now back to April 22 & 23. Lisa gave you most of the updates ,but I will give you my view from what I remember. On the 22nd my friend Father MIke Bertram came in for a visit where he gave me an Anointing of the Sick and a Blessing so spiritually I felt prepared. On the 23 we woke up at 4 am to get to hospital by 5:30. I drove to the hospital and was at total peace. I am the type of person that does not notice anything while I drive, but that morning I notice a minimum of 10 deer as we approached the hospital. ( Just Thought that was weird.) Got to check in and was taken back immediately things progressed at a rapid pace. After much discussion they decided to shave my beard, they had to cut my wedding ring off my finger and then I was off. Remember nothing until I woke to the vision of Lisa. I was still on ventilator, but it did not seem to bother me to much. the rest of the first night was tough I was uncomfortable it was just terrible. there was a point during the night that I asked the nurse if I was going to die. It was at about 8:30 am that I final started to feel ok. Pain was not to bad at that point, but I was struggling with my breathing. Got moved down to a step down unit later in day. Things continued to progress well until Thursday when at 12:00 pm they took my tubes out and for the next 6 hours I struggled to breath. I was scared. Lisa sent the girls away and finally at 6:00 pm it was decided that my right lung was collapsed. So they hurried to put in a new tube which was a scary ordeal for Lisa and I. That\'s it for now I am getting tired, but I will rest up and complete the rest of the story , and included some pics.

At last a chance to update. As I sit next to chuck and it is quiet for once. He is sleeping and for the moment his face looks calm and comfortable, his breathing slow and even. A welcomed change from the past day. Yesterday chuck had to have the chest tube put back in. An X-ray showed air still trapped in his chest partially collapsing his lung. We were told that it can happen and it\'s just a minor set back. Still scary and a ruff blow on an already hard path. The girls have amazed me. Understanding my need to be at the hospital and trying to come up with ways to cheer Dad up. Faiths latest idea is a balloon with Seger\'s face on it.( that\'s chucks pride and joy dog) Thanks for all the support and hopefully this will be my last post and Chuck can take over!!

Hello everyone! I wish I could say that this has been easy, but it has not. The days are not to bad, but the nights are really tough. I will update you what I have experienced in the upcoming days. Chuck

Unfortunately it was a long painful night for Chuck. By morning he was at last able to get some relief. I called his parents to inform them he was doing good, his comment \" i wouldn\'t go that far.\" But by 10:00 he was able to take a short walk. He commented that he would have liked to hear, \"hail to the victors\" upon completion ! I took the girls up to the hospital to see him. It was a sleepy visit. So just a quick hug and Dad was nodding off to sleep. A much deserved rest !

Sorry for the long delay. Chuck woke up around 5:30 they were finally able to remove the breathing tube at 6:45. His first words were \" I feel like I have been hit by a truck \" He was in a lot of pain. Ice chips and pain medication - he is now resting. He is still in ICU. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.

All went well! He was transfered to ICU. Waiting until we can go back and see him. So relieved the surgery is over, I feel like I have been holding my breath.

Chuck was in good spirits during the pre-op. The surgery got off to a late start because they had to cut off Chuck\'s wedding ring. (We tried to remove it last night but were unsucessful.) They also decided at the last minute that he had to lose the beard. The family is here waiting: Chuck\'s parents, his brother, my parents and my sister and brother-in-law. It is so wonderful to have the support of my family. I will be relieved when he is in the recovery room at last. -Lisa

My third surgery date is now 2 days away. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday @ 7:00 am. Hopefully all goes well and I can finally be on the other side of this journey. Tonight I went on a walk with my youngest daughter Faith. During the walk she started asking questions about the surgery and what I would be like after. Some of her questions were silly and funny, but some of them were so well thought out that it was hard to believe that she is only 7 yrs old. As we approached the house she grabbed my hand and told me that she was not afraid because she said I was strong. Thanks Faith I will remember those words on Tuesday morning. Courage, Love, Strength, and Faith these are the things that I hope my girls see from me when we look back at this journey. I hope they know how proud I am of them and I how lucky I feel to be their dad. 12 years I fell in love and married a wonderful girl. Since then we have had good times and some bad, but we have always gotten thru it together. This journey has been no different. Everytime I started to drift you brought me back in line. Thanks Lisa for your Love, Understanding, and Strength. I know I will probably test all 3 of those in the weeks ahead. Lisa--I Love You! I\'m a lucky man. I have a great family, a great group of friends, and because of a heart condition that I found out about 5 months ago a new family made up of people that share the same experiences that I have experienced and that I will be experiencing. Thanks to my AVJ family for sharing in your journey with me. You have inspired me and prepared me for this more then I could have ever imagined. Finally, thanks to Adam for bring us together. Lisa will be doing the updates until I am able. Until then I will talk to you all when I am FINALLY on the other side. Chuck

What a great Easter Weekend. Had fun with Lisa and the girls. Had a nice Easter dinner with my parents, and Brothers, and Michigan is going to the final four. Surgery is set for Tuesday morning at 7:00 am. I feel calm, but have moments of being scared out of my mind. I want to take this time and thank Adam and all of you on this site. If it was not for this site and for all of you I really do not know how I would have gotten thru this as well as I think I have. This Site and the people on it have inspired and taught me so much. So again Thank You! Lisa will do updates on Tuesday, and finally I get to say to everyone I\'ll see you all on the other side! Chuck

Went to UofM today for pre-op. Things went good. Staff answered all my questions,. I broke down when asked when my kids could see me. The surgery had to be pushed back a week. Someone much sicker than I needed emergency surgery so 8 of us had to be rescheduled. As if I didn\'t have enough to worry about it appears that my company may have to close. Business has been bad for Michigan construction companies and it appears that we may not be able to ride out the storm any longer. I will continue to believe that God has a plan for me and stay strong. Bless all of you going into surgery. For those in recovery continue to work hard, Keep us updated and your all in my prayers. Chuck

Just got back from Kalihari water park with Lisa and the girls. Lisa and I wanted to spend some family time together before the surgery. It is hard to believe that in 30 days I will be getting a new aorta and have my valve worked on. I found out about the surgery around Thanksgiving and since that time I just felt like the doc would call and say there has been a mistake and surgery would not be needed. Now that I am 30 days out it is really starting to feel real. I am excited on one hand to get this over with, but Now I am getting scared. It was hard to tell the girls, but they handled it really well. Lisa and I have raised 3 wonderful daughters. I wish they would not have to see their dad go threw this at such young ages. To my friends and family all I can say is thanks. So many have offered to help and have put me in their prayers that I get cholked up everytime I think about it. As I move forward towards the big day I have my final visit with my cardiologist on Mar 4 before he hands it off to UofM where I will have my preop on Mar 14. I have loved the University of Michigan all my life. I was raised on Bo Schembechler and Michigan Football. I never thought that someday I would be having my heart saved by the UofM Cardiovascular Center that Bo. My love for the place is even greater. Heart of a Champion has a whole new meaning to me now! I have been blessed to have found Adams book and this site. It has helped following everyones journey leading up to surgery and the stories of recovery. I will reread the book in the coming days and remember all of the stories that I have followed and I look forward getting thru surgery and coming out the other side and sharing my recovery story for future patients. To everyone that will be heading into surgery in the upcoming weeks God Bless You, and to everyone in recovery may he continue to bless you and give you the strength to continue moving forward. As always to the caregivers a huge thanks. God Bless Chuck

Lisa and I went to UofM yesterday and had a meeting with Dr. Deeb. Surgery is scheduled for March 26. After looking at all the test results Dr. Deeb thinks he may be able to save the valve. I did decide if the valve needs to be replaced that I would go with a tissue valve over mechanical. So as of right now I am preparing to have my ascending aorta replaced and hoping that the doctor can spare my functioning bicuspid valve. Good luck to all of you that are preparing for surgery in the upcoming weeks and to all that are in recovery continue to stay strong. God Bless you all. Chuck

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone that belongs to this site. Reading past journals has helped me as I move along on this journey. I pray that God continues to bless those who are recovering from their surgeries and those of us who will have our surgeries this year. I would also like to extend my admiration to our loved ones that walk by our sides as we move forward. I know that this has been hard for my wife Lisa, but I know with out her this would be harder for me than it has been. God Bless you all and Merry Christmas! Chuck

It\'s half time of the Lions game figured I take a moment and send a update before they break my heart Again. Started week with another series of tests. The TEE came back and confirmed bicuspid valve and it showed that the valve is in pretty good shape. Maybe they won\'t have to replace it and all they will have to do is replace the dilated part of the aorta. We have started telling our friends and family. Of course everyone has been great. I know that when the surgery date arrives I will not be short on people praying for me. As more people find out Lisa and I think we should talk to our daughters sooner than we wanted to. They know something is up, but don\'t know exactly what. Not looking forward to the discussion. Anyways to all that are recovering from recent surgeries may God continue to bless you and may he continue to give you the strength to push forward. To all that will have surgeries this week You\'ll be in my prayers all week. To all the caregivers out there Thanks. Chuck

Lisa and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on Sat. Had a nice day and evening. As hard as we tried we could not go the evening without discussing my heart. She has been great already look for things and ways that will help in my recovery. The book has given some good advice. Took my daughters to the Lions game today was a good distraction for awhile until The Lions broke my heart again. Go to UofM tomorrow for transesophageal echo, Pft, and carotid scan. I would just like say that this site has been very helpful. Reading everyone\'s entries have been a blessing for me and has helped with some of my questions and fears. I am Sure I will be using it more as the surgery date nears. Until then may God continue to bless all of you that are in your recovery process. May he bless all that will have their surgeries this week and all that will have to make tough decisions this week.