David's Journal

Hello - my 90 year old mother is now suffering from a sticky aortic valve. She is thinking about having the TAVR procedure if a candidate. Has anyone had that procedure or know someone who has? Thanks for any information.

Five weeks ago today, November 11th, we went to our church, South Metro Ministries in Sharpsburg, GA. At the end of the service some great friends and people of God surrounded David and anointed him with oil and then prayed for God's miraculous healing touch to be manifest in David's body. We went home, packed, and then drove up to Piedmont Atlanta where we checked in and awaited his surgical appointment on Monday morning at 5:30am. I must admit that I was internally in great distress. David, on the other hand, was Rock solid and calm and at peace. You see, God had made David a promise that He wasn't finished with him yet and that He was going to work everything out. He woke up singing the song Blessed Assurance. At 5:30am on Monday, November 12th, they took David back to be prepped and as he walked away from me he said, "Be Strong". I spent the next 24 hours being anything but strong. But God was strong! He was strong in the operating room where everything went perfectly while they replaced his Aortic Valve and his Aortic Aneurysm. He was strong in ICU where things did not initially go perfectly and David had bleeding complications. He was strong in the prayers of the people that I called and pleaded with for them to pray right away for David's situation. I know I sounded panicked. Raw emotion was trying to crush my faith. However, God used those 24 hours to draw me close to Him as He was all I had in those dark hours alone as I watched the monitors beep away. (I understand that scripture now that says "He works everything out for good...") God's people were interceding for the both of us. And, to God be the glory, by noon on Tuesday David had turned his first corner. Over these last few weeks Satan has thrown challenge after challenge at David; crazy fevers, uncontrollable blood pressures; pain; insomnia; medication side effects, etc... but God has overcome all of those challenges and used them to continue to draw the two of us even closer to Him. David would take two steps forward and one step back and then one step forward and two steps back. But through the journey he remained confident in the promise God made to him, He was working it all out. On Wednesday, December 12th, we met with our surgeon for our first Post-Op appointment. He was so impressed with how great David was doing he released him to drive, hence, the photo on our photo page. David drove us yesterday to town and then he drove himself to church this morning. I couldn't help but look out at David during today's first service praise and worship and see him with his hands lifted high and be overcome with gratitude for the restoration of my beloved to me. But you see, there really was no restoration needed because God had him in His hands the whole time. He had made a promise to David and He fulfilled it. We sang this morning a new song, "Won't Stop Now" by Elevation Worship. It was a perfect song for David's first Sunday back. I give You glory For all You've brought me through And now I'm ready For whatever You wanna do I'm moving forward To follow after You And now I'm ready For whatever You wanna do Your presence is an open door We want You, Lord, Like never before Your presence is an open door So come now, Lord, Like never before In every season Your grace has been enough And I'm believing The best is yet to come The cross before me My hope on things above And in You, Jesus The best is yet to come Your presence is an open door We want You, Lord, Like never before Your presence is an open door So come now, Lord, Like never before I know breakthrough is coming By faith, I see a miracle My God made me a promise And it won't stop now My God made me a promise And it won't stop now!!! So, for those wanting an update - David is in great shape and he is getting stronger every day; God made Him a promise. Our walk with the Lord is in better shape than it was before the surgery and it is getting stronger every day. We cannot thank you all enough for your prayers for David and for your texts and journal posts. We love you all and we thank God for you. And, with hearts full of gratitude we say, TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE! And, yes, He has already given me the best Christmas gifts ever - Jesus, my Savior and David, my beloved. Because, you see, as His daughter, He has made me a promise as well.

Hello Heart Warriors - Question about lack of sleep - has anyone tried using Chamomile tea or a blend of teas with chamomile? Curious about any drug interactions or if anyone asked your doctor's about it. David is having troubles sleeping the night thru - basically just catnapping. We don't want another drug if we can do it naturally. I googled it and saw where it can cause issues with any blood thinner meds (he's on Plavix & a baby aspirin). Didn't want to try without asking first. Thanks for your response & God bless all those reading this post. - Cheryl

Good morning Heart Warrior Forum Friends - This is Cheryl, David's wife. Well.... David is now three weeks out from having, as I just read on someone's post, "The Big Owie". He has been struggling with a low grade fever since week two. We have had all sorts of blood tests we are STILL waiting for. However he also began stepping down his Oxy usage during this same time and I read where low grade fever is a symptom of withdrawal from opioids. So, per my Google MD, I'm thinking that is all it is and will get better over time. In fact, yesterday he didn't have a fever at all and he had no pain meds but Tylenol. He felt so good he thought he would move from the recliner to our Sleep Number Reclining Adjustable bed. He got up every hour on the hour and then this morning he has a fever of 100.1 and he feels bad and he is hurting. That has brought on discouragement. I know everyone has healing at different rates but can someone tell me if week four, which begins today, will see some major turn arounds regarding pain? It's not his incision it appears to be internal, maybe muscular, across the upper diaphragm area - maybe radial pains from those drain tubes? Has anyone had their Physician prescribe pain meds that are non-opioid or non-narcotic that can give him better relief? He is taking Tylenol 3x daily per bottle instructions based on his Rx plan when we left the hospital. I just need to know how to help him. Any advice for this wife is greatly appreciated. God bless you all - #GODISOURSTRENGTH #GODSGOTTHIS

Need some help again please..... David now has very swollen ankles (edema). Talking to the surgeon's nurse and she said when he is not walking he should be laying down with his legs above his heart. His recliner doesn't have that position so we have now put him on the sofa and I have four pillows going from his hips down to his ankles which gives us the right angle. I am using Dr. Google to learn lymphodema massage. Did anyone else have this issue? Apparently if we had ever seen a physical therapist in the hospital before discharge they would have given us this information. For those in recovery and those waiting, make sure you include this in your dismissal requests. Don't leave without training. Anyway - if anyone could tell me what to do to get rid of this right away, let me know. Thanks and God bless you guys. - Cheryl

This is Cheryl..... David now has a rash on his back. Started in the hospital around his neck. He thought it was irritation from the monitor string hanging around there but now that he is home little red bumps are going down his back. Not in the center but on either side of the spinal cord are. It is about halfway down. Not a bunch of bumps but enough to be itchy and he is scratching them, which is bad because a few of them have started to bleed slightly due to blood thinner. Bleeding stopped but I'm still concerned. I'll be calling the doctor's office tomorrow unless someone tells me this is an emergency and I should call tonight. he says he feels GREAT. Nothing else itches - no palms or legs or feet or chest - just his neck and down thru the mid back area. Thanks for the info. - Cheryl

This is Cheryl - again - I hate to be a pest but just want to be able to help David as much as possible. The torpedo to the chest has really not been where David's pain has been. The smallest of the drain tubes that came out today are causing what some called "radial pain" up in the ligament of the neck/shoulder region. It's opposite the side where the IV's were going in. Has anyone had pain in this area from this little drain tube and how long did it take to go away? I was told I could put a heating pad on it to help (on low). He took a 5mg Oxy. Not sure what to do for him because if he didn't have this pain he would be feeling so much better. That pain makes it difficult to use his Spirometer like he should and he must do that to keep on top of any breathing issues. Any help to alleviate this particular pain please advise. Thank you and thank God for David's life and that he is home. - Cheryl

It’s Saturday, five days post op. Still in the hospital. One small drain to go. My question is this, David had much more energy and stamina two days ago. Today he feels very tired. Had a 2 deg temp last night but normal this morning. BP and pulse high this morning, high IMHO. Giving him Lasix for fluid and Miralax for “other” stuff. Can previous Heart Warriors, especially AVR folks, is this “normal”? He needs to be working that spirometer this morning but he’s napping. Should I push him? Nurse said he must work those lungs or fever could return. Advice greatly appreciated. - Cheryl

Doctor Gott just left. He is happy with how David looks. He is still sedated but they will begin to wake him up this morning to try and remove the vent. Please pray that there will be minimal anxiety for David and that he will be breathing on his own in no time. GOD’S GOT THIS!! - Cheryl

David is being taken to recovery. Doctor said surgery was a success and very much needed. He was on bypass for 144 minutes. No blood transfusion needed - PRAISE THE LORD! Prayers now for no afib! Prayers now for no after surgery complications! I should be able to see him in about an hour. He will still be asleep for 2-3 more hours. Thank you so much for your support. He is on the other side and will be back to church and to work in no time. Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement and more importantly, your prayers. PS.... They used the Inspiris Resilia Aortic Valve, the Hemoshield Dacron tubing, and closed with surgical wires.

Update on David..... They took him back for pre-op at 5:30. Big surprise to us - they wouldn't let me back there after they prepped him so that has been terribly hard this morning. Thank the Lord for family and our Pastor who got here just in time as I was falling apart. He is now on by-pass and has been for an hour. I guess we have about an hour to go before they would take him off and make sure all is well. Still believing for great results as I know GOD'S GOT THIS and worry on my part is not productive. Thank you to everyone posting prayers and well wishes today. I'll post an update once he is in recovery with restored fabulous blood flow with his new high tech valve.

Hello everybody - This is Cheryl again. I need a packing list for the hospital. For you warriors out there - what did you pack to take with you? What did you "wish" you had packed? What did you pack that should have been left at home? I think he will need a housecoat and some shoes. What about underwear? Boxers maybe for ease of putting on? Maybe some PJ pants? Cosmetics? I know he can't shave but toothbrush stuff? Thanks for the advice.

Hello - This is Cheryl - writing for David again. We have a question about the sternum closure..... in my research I read where using the brackets and the screws increase your healing and your pain levels are less because, unlike the wire closure, you sternum is held together in a more robust manner. I discussed this with our surgeon and he said he does 2-3 of these for every 10 surgeries. He would use brackets for us if we want. Is there any reason why not to use the brackets? I really want us to make the best decision. I don't find anything with today's brackets that cause any problems as the increased infection rates from back in the beginning seem to be no different now than the wires. Also.... anyone have a surgeon using the Kryptonite glue and how was that? Final question.... anxiety is starting to build. Concerned about what the night before will be like..... has anyone found anxiety relieving exercises that were fabulous for you? I know we will be in prayer for sure but want to be prepared to help David in any way I can if his anxiety tops the charts. Thanks for the help from everyone sharing their experiences.

Is there anyone on this site using surgeon's from the Atlanta area - either Piedmont or Emory or others? Looking for surgeon who believes in minimally invasive procedures for Aortic Stenosis valve replacement with tissue valve along with repair of aortic aneurysm of the root. Surgery scheduled for November 12th so need to hurry before we make maybe a big mistake. Thanks for the help.