Amen to that Fran, it certainly has been a wild ride. Looking forward to the years to come. Happy New Year my dear friend, Diana

Fran,
Happy New Year friend! It is a new year of promises, hopes and new beginnings. I was reminded of how fragile life is when my beloved 7year old cat ,Winston, died December 27. He had no known health issues and I found him dead the next morning. I was bracing myself for my 14 year old dog to die, but thought I had many more years with him. He was one of a kind who showed nothing but pure love to all three of us. We are all so sad, and once again think heart problems were the likely cause. I am glad I had the short time on earth to share with him...he taught me so much about unconditional love and kindness. Thanks for listening!
Theresa C.

Fran,
I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This is indeed a joyous time of the year, and a time to count our blessings. Thank you for all your insight and support, and I love the exercise tape you suggested. I am sticking with it! I hope your blood pressure issues resolve themselves, and continued good health and happiness.
TheresaC.

oh I forgot to say..
happy boating
captain Bill

I second that. I am also Thankful for meeting you and sharing Dr Gillinov's Skilled hands repairing our hearts! What a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving Fran!
Yous said it----we are all lucky.
I am getting ready for my procedure next Tuesday....actually ;looking forward to just doing it and getting on with the healing.
I am thankful to you for all your kind words of support and offers of help.
God Bless you and all those you love!

Nancy H.

Amen. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Pete, Fran!

Duane

Happy Thanksgiving Fran......I join you in feeling very blessed this year.
Have a great day,
Theresa

Amen to what you said on Mon., and a great day for you tomorrow!

Don

Hi Fran,
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
diana

Fran, I have also noticed that not all hospitals require a dental exam. I was glad that I went and got the abscess taken care of. I am happy with my choice of CC. Speak at you later. Mike H

Hi Fran, Thank you for visiting my journel. The reason I when to the Dentist was to take care of any infection which might be hiding there. CC told me that if not taken care of it could be a show stopper. There was a small abscess at the base of one of my molars and it has been taken care of. I am now OK to proceed. Good luck and may God bless. Mike H

Hi Fran Sweetie!!
You are such a wonderful lady!!
Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby....
Congratulations on feeling so good and making such progress. Yosemite was a wonderful way to celebrate everything good in your life.
Thanks for the tip on the walking DVD!! I have been a huge fan of Leslie Sansone's for a while now. Just as you said, I often do the dvd when the weather does not cooperate here in NJ.
I had the first of what was to be 2 consults. I went to NY Presbyterian/Weil Cornell (whew!!)and met with Dr. Girardi. My husband and I both liked him very much and he advised me that I needed the surgery sooner rather than later. I decided against pursuing the consult at the Cleveland Clinic because it sounds like I will have my AVR within the next month and Clevleand in the winter and holiday travel issues just make it all sound so overwhelming for me. I so wish I could be a part of that special club with you and others, but it doesn't sound like it's an option for me. My husband is very concerned after the consult and wants me to get this done ASAP! I called to request a date, but am waiting to hear if I
can get on the doctor's schedule within the next few weeks. I won't be getting the Ross procedure; just a bio valve with the smaller incision.
Thanks for all your energy and true interest and concern for everyone on the site.
Be well :-)
Warm Regards,
Nancy H

Hi Fran,
Good to hear from you. Yes, I'm going to get the DVD you mentioned. Thank you for the info. I have a tape made my Richard Simmons that is a lot of fun, too. I got it years ago, and used it quite often when working out in the gym on the treadmill.
I hope they find out whats going on, too. Its getting very old, very fast, you know. Keep your fingers crossed.
Diana

Fran,
You are like the oprah of the valve journals. You endorse something and we all have to try it...found myself looking it up...will get it soon.!
Thank you for sharing,
Theresa

Hi Fran

Congratulations on your 50th. What a great celebration you had! We're only a few years behind.

I must check out that walking DVD when I'm next on Amazon. Sounds good and sometimes a change is good. Right now I either watch tv or read while walking on the treadmill. Once the weather turns cold I usually exercise indoors.

Take care. Talk later.

Cheryl, Ontario

Hi Fran!

Congratulations on your 50th! And what a great place to celebrate. Yosemite is one of THE most beautiful places on earth . . . just seeing pictures of Yosemite Valley makes my heart melt.

I'm so happy you're doing so well! Climbing at that altitude is not easy for most people who haven't had their hearts played with by surgeons and meds!

What is the walking program you're doing? It sounds great. I wish I could find something like that here.

Congrats again!!!!!
Ricki

Ahoy Mate,
Has it been 8 months already. ARG....Its a good thing we dont feel like it was yesterday. I go in for a follow up Echo Echo Echo the end of this month month month.
I hear the fire ants are really mean this time of year! Life is Grand, God is Good!

Happy Boating

Captain Bill

Dear Fran,
Yosemite is one of the places Dwight and I would love to visit some day. I just watched a program on the Park and look forward to going. You have been a wonderful friend to me during my own journey and I thank you for that. I wish you much health as you continue on your journey.
Love,
Diana

Dear, Dear, Dear beloved Fran!

Anything from you brings a smile to my face, and especially so with some a great post! Congratulations to you and Pete on your 50th! That's awesome. We celebrate 33 next month. Of all the places we've been, I love none more than Yosemite National Park. I've taken some of the greatest and roughest hikes of my life into the Yosemite backcountry--the top of Yosemite Falls, the summit of Half Dome twice, and the summit of Cloud's Rest, the higher peak to the left of Half Dome from the valley. Such an amazing display of God's creation! It's also a sacred family location. Peggy's paternal grandparents met as young adults in Curry Village when they both worked at the park. So glad you could go!

Keep kicking butt with that exercise. You go girl!

You guys are amazing people and I feel blessed to have had you as a close friend throughout our recoveries. Jesus has done amazing things for both of us. Let me know if you ever venture to central Florida. There's a welcome mat for you anytime here. And I'll let you know if and when we come to sw FL.

Duane

Sorry on the repeat on the bottom..hard to type on iPad
Theresa

Dear Fran,
Congratulations on your 50th wedding anniversary! I am so glad your trip was a good experience for you. I too have found myself reflecting back on the past year...this time last year I was preparing to meet with my surgeon.....now I am preparing for the holidays. I feel so grateful and so lucky. I will not live a day of my
Life without being thankful for the gift of life I have been given. I also will not forget each and every person on
This site. Fran.... You have given each of us the gift of faith and hope....I am so thankful to have known you through this site....you are an inspiration.
Thanks friend,
Theresa c.

this site.....Fran ....you are a gift to all of us.....you have given us all hope and faith! I feel a be

Hi Fran

Congrats on achieving your milestones. It sounds like your recovery continues to be outstanding, and that you are enjoying life to the very best you can. What a difference good health does make to how fully you can enjoy every day.

Best wishes to you!

Mark
Keller, TX

Hi Fran. Congratulations on your 50th anniversary & on being able to spend it in such a beautiful place. All's well on my end - back to teaching yoga & doing everything I did before the surgery. Thank you for all the encouragement you've given me & others on our individual journeys. Take care, Joy

Hi Fran,

How wonderful you had such a spectacular vacation in Yosemite. Erik and I enjoyed it several years ago. We also try to go every summer up to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone which are endlessly beautiful and scenic. And then there is the Grand Canyon. Some friends from Sweden just went there and stopped at Arches on the way back to our house. They thought they liked that one best of all! Arches is a small, jewel of a park at the edge of Moab, UT and just amazing. Well worth a detour!

I am interested in learning more about your walking video. Is it a DVD? What is the official name? I am frustrated in that my cardiologist doesn't think I need cardio rehab because I am "already beyond it" or so he thinks. I don't think so at all. I am looking for something to take me beyond where I am right now - build up more cardiovascular stamina. I have had a hard time finding out anything about programs in the Denver Metro area. Looks like I may have to do something on my own!

You are such a good HVJ person - always the first to respond with a kind, encouraging word.

Keep on tickin' as Adam would tell us!

Anne
Evergreen, CO

Hi Fran,

This is Anglea I just starting to blog about my journey through this. Love having the Guide by adam it is my Bible now.

I am scanning through mostly womens journals mostly to get tips on our unique issues, like bras and pajamas.

I was interested in your journey tape. I was going to ask the surgery staff to play a Reikki CD and speak only postive words to set my mind up for quick and through healing process.

Can you share a bit more about the journey tape you recorded.

thanks,
angela nyangela1954@hotmail.com
or just post if you want to.

Hi Fran !
Isn't it woderfull to be able to walk up hills without stopping!Happy anniversary. just started my tenth month after mitral valve surgery. It felt like I was never going to be okay. And as you know days turn into weeks then months and now I'm thinking that was no big deal.( HA HA )You were a big support for Susan and I during the recovery and a lot of other hvj freinds. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and some day we will get to meet! Love Richard from Maine

Hi Fran what a great entry you have always added such informative, practical bits of info and advice, take care I am so glad you are doing so well. You continue to encourage all new and old to the site
Susan V

Fran, it's hard to believe what we went through only a few months ago and look where we are now. You had a big mountain to climb and here you are at 6000'. Wish everyone could be as lucky as we are.

Keep up the good work.

Sandy

Thank you Fran for your note. It means so much to have the support and encouragement. Everyday I say it could be so much worse and I am going to continue to look to the future. Most of our children and our 2 grandchildren will be visiting for Thanksgiving for our Thanksmas holiday we celebrate in NC. Of course with this latest escapade the concern from all is that I will do too much. It is a fine line in behaving and resting but I have learned to listen to my body. Once I have my follow up appt the 17th and if the hole in my lung is sealed than I hope to get back to reahab the next week. I remembered you talking about the confidence rehab gives you I so agree I was on my 12th visit and getting so much stronger. It is so important that HVJ participants such as yourself continue to help the rest of the folks in various stages of recovery.
Thanks again
Susan V

Fran:
I figured out how to access your older journals and found that you had a medial sternotomy just as I did, so you don't have to answer that question. However, I noted that you had the visual disturbances--zig zag lines. I had those, too, and even got one yesterday. I wonder what causes them. Mine started as a little smudge and then grew into a zig-zaggy crescent over the course of a half hour and then faded away. Did you ever find out what caused that weird sensation? Also, I had the backaches between my shoulder blades like you described. The surgeon said it's because when they crack your chest open they have to pin your shoulders to the board and it stresses the spinal column unnaturally. That was the worst pain of the whole heart surgury process.
Terry

Fran:
You mentioned that you have A-fib. I have SVT and a very high electical reading in my heart. I don't know how this will be affected as my heart heals. SVT is Super Ventricular Tachicardia--the heart speeds up suddenly for no reason whatsoever. They said they can fix it with ablation if I can find a way to get an EKG while I'm having an episode, but the episodes are very rare, so it's hard to plan for.
You said you had your surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Would you mind telling me about the surgery and what kind of scar you have? I sort of went in on an emergency so there was not way to plan that kind of trip, but I do wonder about the marvels done at CC.
terry. You can email me at terrychase@centurylink.net.

Fran:
Thank you for the encouraging words. An older posting of yours made me read Duane's piece on Lori's death which was very touching. I noticed both of you live in Florida and had your surgery at Fl. Hosp. I was in room 8812, and noticed that Duane was in 8811. What a view! Dr. Khouzam did my surgery, and he was magnificent. He is such a caring person and the surgeon the nurses choose if they have thoracic surgery. I saw the cardio today, and all is well. I'll post more on my site.
Thanks again for your kind words.
Terry

Hi Fran!
Thank you SO much for welcoming me to the website. I really appreciate your encouragement and your sharing of the experience you had at CC. I think it's so great that you are a "noodle" lady!! I visited my Mom in NC in the summer and was a guest in her water aerobics class and loved it.....it's a great workout! From your photos you look terrific! I wish you continued good health and many happy, healthy years. I will keep you posted on my preparation for the procedure. Don't have a
date to get out to CC, but will let you know when I do and how it goes. Thanks again for being so wonderful and supportive. Talk to you soon! Nancy

Fran,
I just wanted to say a quick hi....I sent you an email to give you my email address and to tell you I looked up your development...it looks like a beautiful community. The e-mail was sent back as undeliverable...maybe I am reading it wrong. frnzilko@embarqmail.com is this right?
Thanks,
Theresa C.

hello Ma'am Fran, thanks for your kind support, I encounter that problem about coumadin 3 months ago, I surprise that available stocks here in the Philippines is is a new manufacturer of coumadin labaled Tora in the tablet. I was looking in diff drugstore for original one but has no available stocks... thats my big problem as of now... I still taking the new one, I'll try another brand of warfarin but I am not corfortable so i'l go back again to coumadin but my INR now is also my problem...
thanks again, God Bless!

andro d.

Hi Fran,

Yes, I know to search for those who have journals, but there are time when I think it is better to respond to them in my own guestbook, for two reasons:
1. Not all who write in my guestbook have blogs of their own.
2. Context is lost if replying away from where they have written. For example, those who read my response on another's blog have no idea what I am responding to.

I think the journal site could be enhanced to address this problem, but I'm too lazy to figure out how!

Sure, Fran - come to my class as my guest anytime you happen to be in the Austin area. We have a great group of mostly ladies (now & then, a man joins us, but I'm sure they feel outnumbered). It's a "Gentle Yoga" class & I mostly rely on a tradition know as Viniyoga which is, for me, the best I've run across. There's a lot of focus on the breath as you move in & out of poses. Poses are adapted a lot - say, to gently stretch & mobilize the low back or the neck & shoulders or whatever you need. I often teach a class entirely designed to focus on one part of the body - hips is a popular one in our age group. I guess you can tell I'm excited to be getting back in the swing! Life's good. Namaste' - Joy

Hi ya Fran,
I just had a tetanus shot in March of this year, so I'm good there. I tried looking to see if there is still something in there, and I don't see anything. Will keep an eye on it, maybe very bruised, hopefully.
Diana

Yes, Fran, we are out of the 100's. This was actually a "cooler" summer overall as we did not get into the 100's until August 1st. Still, it's Central Texas & it was plenty hot - not a great deal of difference between 99 & 100 if you ask me. I know what you mean about attending yoga classes vs. doing it on your own. Until I started teaching, I mostly went to classes & preferred them to practicing on my own. I like both now. I'm sorry to hear your teacher is gone. It can be hard to find just the right teacher. Take care, Joy

Hi Fran. You are right about rehab – I can tell I’m going to like it. My insurance will only cover 6 weeks of it so I need to get the most of it while I can. Went to my first session this morning & they went easy on me – 15 minutes on the treadmill & 15 on the recumbent cross trainer, all at low levels. Felt good afterward & it is reassuring to be monitored. Take care & have a good holiday weekend. Joy

Hi Fran,

Thank you again for the sodium advice. I'm not a great cook so I may need to hit you up for some of your delicious recipes :)

Kellie

Hi Fran, thanks for your note in my guestbook.
I felt awful this morning and thought I should ask if anyone has had this problem. As you suggested I increased my fluids and felt better after a shower, and a cold drink...With this infection I must shower twice a day, when I'm not showering I do
laundry-4 pieces every shower....As long as it works, it's okay with me....I do feel a bit put
out with my surgeon. My first appointment with him was set at 8 weeks, not the 3 weeks as recommened. I truly believe that this could have been caught earlier. My GP found the infection...(he's not affillated with the
hospital I had the surgery in)My GP took a biopsy and found that I was on the wrong medication. I find that astonishing that I was in the hospital 2 days and they didn't put me on the correct meds???....
Thanks for letting me vent....Lee

Fran, thanks for the note. 70! 70? I remember when I thought that was really ancient. I'm right behind you as I will be 69 five months from today. I was not at the clinic but at the V.A. medical center in Cleveland. If you would like to send an email to my personal email I'll send you a detailed explanation. I can be reached at
gvice1@cinci.rr.com
Gary

Hi Fran

Just dropping by to say hello. Have enjoyed your e-mails. We have just come in from sitting outside where it is still a balmy 28C. WOW!!! I was thinking about you when Pete and I were visiting outside this evening while we watched the water in the pool glitter under the garden lights. We won`t have many more of those so enjoying what we have. Take care.

Cheryl, Ontario

Hi ya Fran,
Yea, I tend to get a bit feisty and sarcastic when they don't listen to me. Really irks me when they tell me what they want me to do and then when its time to rely on the information from doing those tasks, they tend to poo poo them and want you to do something else. A waste of time and effort in my opinion. But, you have to do what they want, so you do it. Thank goodness my family doctor doesn't work that way, just seems to be the specialists that do. So you just smile, say ok and go on your way. Yes, he re-took the BP after I was sitting for a while. I took my BP at home a little while ago and its was beautiful 121/68. Go figure!
Enjoy your evening, Diana

Hi Fran,

Thank you for the message in my book. I haven't noticed the weight loss' impact on my diabetes (II) yet, but working out sure does lower the sugars, sometimes significantly.

And thanks also for the advice in using lemon juice and herbs to make up for the lack in taste due to salt reduction. I sometimes would add salt during cooking (oatmeal, rice, pasta, etc.), but rarely ever use table salt. Do you keep track of your sodium intake? Even not adding salt, it sure does not take long to add up to 1500 mg.

Take care,
Kellie

Hi Fran,
I hope this finds you doing well. Thank you once again for the msg you wrote. Yes, it will feel like Heaven when David gets home. I do not like to be apart from him, even when I wasn't sick. I guess it leaves me feeling incomplete. You are right about rehab, it is reassuring to be around people that have gone through similar experiences and to have your vitals watched as you start back moving.
Have a wonderful week!
Love, Kimberly S.

Hi Fran,
I hope you are enjoying the weekend. Well, you were right on point about me in your last guestbook entry. I love to be the "giver" but have no idea how to be a "taker". It leaves me filled with guilt. It was an extremely exhausting week and I could definitely feel that I was pushing my body too hard. I have taken today to relax and hope I start to feel a little better.
Thank you for what you wrote...I wish you lived closer too!! I know we would be great friends:)
With love,
Kimberly S.

Fran all I can say is your the best - Thank you soooo much for your heart felt entries.

Richard Volpe