Craig's Posts

Wow! What a journey and thrilled to be on the recovery side. The folks here at Cleveland Clinic are amazing. My wife has been my rock! An amazing woman I was fortunate to meet 35+ years ago! Needless to say sidetracked a couple of days, but now enjoying a few of the small wins and milestones of the recovery process. Tubes coming out was liberating on so many levels. Also have a few less IV lines. And today my nurse let she know I will no longer set off alarms if I get out of bed on my own. Never realized what a joy walking to the bathroom could be! I've noticed that after being constricted for so many years, my heart seems to be beating untethered right out of my chest. It's an odd feeling and one I'm sure will modulate over time. Only other hiccup so far has been a brief flirt with AFib. That was a bit concerting but seems to be responding well to meds. Might need to stick with that one a bit longer. Looking forward to a possible Friday release and beginning the journey back to my new normal.

Well...after two years of watchful waiting I guess its finally time~~~ aortic valve replacement surgery scheduled for April 15th at the Cleveland Clinic. With the starting line for this part of the journey clearly in sight, nervous anticipation has replaced that gut-punch feeling I've been carrying since the initial diagnosis. I'm forever grateful to the HVS community for the many words of hope, encouragement, inspiration and faith. The shared experiences help alleviate some of the fear and uncertainty. Remaining decision is valve type - biologic or mechanical. Despite much research on both, still very much on the fence on which way to go. Being a very physically active 60 year old, there are pros & cons to each. Still a little time to decide. While I recognize every situation is unique, and it's a deeply individual and personal decision, I would welcome any feedback folks are willing to share based on their own experiences. I'll plan on more frequent updates as I get through the pre-op stuff, and ultimately as my post-op journey begins. Hopefully I can give back and help others within the HVS community from my experiences as they begin their own trip down this path.