Glad to see Tameika was up walking today. Very good news!!! Keep up the good, hard work. -Mitch
Friedman

Tameika you have been and will continue to be in my prayers. You have your mother's strong woman genes so that along with and my prayers I know you will pull through and bounce back. I will patiently wait for you to awake and chat back to me but remember to do as you are told while your are there. :-) Rest up Girlie.
Love,
Stephanie

You go girl!!! I am so glad to know you are doing well. Thanks to your son for keeping us updated. Wishing you continued improvement. :-)

This is tamekia son, today she walked like it was normal she did great and she told me to say thanks everybody for your support,

Glad to hear Tameika is doing well. Praying for complete and speedy recovery. Way to go Tameika! You climbed your mountain!
Still waiting....Linda Dixon

Thanks to Tameika's son for posting she is fine. I was wondering and hoping all went well. One day at a time now! Good luck with the recovery and welcome to the other side of surgery. -Mitch Friedman

This is tamekia's son she is fine already talking , but she,, is in pain

St louisvsends prayers & thoughts to you all. Eager to hear when alli well. Stay strong.

Nancy - 2-9.

Praise God!!! Thanks for the update. My Prayers are with Tameika and the family. God will see her through. :-)

Carmen Pettiford

Great news! Still praying and believing Tameika will make a quick, full recovery. Thanks for the update.
Still waiting...Linda Dixon

Fingers crossed here in Orlando for successful outcome and speedy recovery.
Jeff Shebovsky

Tameika and family, of course she is anxious, I haven't been yet, but I know it is something we all have faced or will face when surgery is upon us. Just take comfort in the fact that she is in great hands and has a whole bunch of people praying for her and the family as well. She will be fine and so will you. The HVJ is here waiting to hear "it's over and she did great!" Please keep us posted.

Still waiting...Linda Dixon

Great. She made it into surgery and soon she will make it out. The waiting right now is the hardest part for all you, her family. Just keep thinking, soon she will be on the path to recovery. I am sending her my postive thoughts and prayers. - Mitch Friedman

Darn....I guess one has to trust that the postponements are for a reason. But Geeze....the ups and downs. The good thing is when they roll you in the OR you still won't be believing them and by the time you wake up it will be over!! LOL...Praying for calmness for your whole family and you Plus a sucessful surgery. Hugs via HVJ pages....Jamie Todor

You go girl. You will do great. I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Just think very soon this will be behind you.
Jane ( 6 weeks post-op)

Hi Tameika,

Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear that your surgery was postponed. It will soon be over. Take care get plenty of rest. I will continue to pray for you!

Carmen Pettiford

OK, Tameika, I know you are feeling like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog's Day right now. Rewind, repeat. But one more night. Do your best to get some rest and good luck tomorrow. Keep us posted. - Mitch Friedman

Bummer! That is just cruel. So sorry, I know it must be frustrating, but....there is a reason for everything and it just wasn't in God's plan for you to have surgery today. Tomorrow will be a better day!

God bless!
Linda Dixon

God Speed Tameika. I am sending you positive thoughts and wishing you all the best. - Mitch Friedman

Well Tameika, I guess you are probably in surgery right about now, or getting ready to go. I worked at the church all day yesterday and didn't read your journal until right now, Thursday at 11:49.

I hope you are as calm as can be expected and know that you will be fine.

I will be praying for you! God loves me, he listens!!!!

Let us hear from you soon.
Linda Dixon

Hi Tameika,

I will be praying for you and your family. Remember God is in control and he will see you through. Just think you will be over this after tomorrow. Thank you so much for sharing, it really helps me to deal with my surgery coming up in 2 weeks. Look forward to hearing from you! :-)

God Bless you!
Carmen Pettiford

Well, what a nice surprise. Hopefully that puts your mind at ease a little. Good luck and keep us posted. - Mitch Friedman

Hi Tameika. We're all rootin' for you! Let us know how you're doing. -- DVB

Tamika. Ms Dixon below is always one message ahead of me. But that ok cuz my message is the same as hers

Keep s posted & the best part is. U r not alone.

Be well. Nancy. Nst Louis

So Tameika, you are officially on your way I guess, since you have been admitted. Try not to dwell on the scarier stuff, but instead think about how GREAT it will be to have this behind you. I'm a little jealous...wish my surgery was that soon, so ready to get it over with. All of us fellow "valvers" are standing in your corner cheering for you! Do you have someone to keep us updated until you feel up to it yourself?
Hope you enjoyed your first meal and get a good night's rest, although, that doesn't happen frequently in the hospital I know.
So....hang in there, you've got a bunch of people pulling for you.

Still waiting....Linda

Tameika, good luck to you!

I am still waiting for my surgery on Feb 2, so can't offer any words of experience. All I can say is hang in there and be as strong as you can. I have found JH provides great advice and agree with his sentiments.

You will get through this and be better in the end. No doubt!

- Mitch Friedman

Hi Tameika, I can only imagine what your thoughts/feelings are right now. I am still waiting for surgery on March 13th. I have good days when I hardly think of it at all and BAD days when I think of nothing else. I think all of us that have this mountain to climb share more than just a "broken" heart. We can truly share our feelings with each other, knowing that each one understands. Like you, I don't want to burden or frighten my family....would rather do that to my HVJ friends, lol. (just kidding...sort of).

Hang in there, you already know the work of the "Great Physician", so you got nothing to worry about. Go climb over the top of that mountain girl and on your way back down, keep us posted on how great it feels to finally be over!
Your friend (still waiting)
Linda

Yes, this is a stressful and anxious time, BUT this is also your opportunity to show your kids that anyone can get knocked down but it is the strong that get back up and fight. I had the same thoughts as you at first, as I have 3 teenagers. I wanted them to see me as the guy that took this challenge head on, was confident and was going to get back on his feet quickly. I pushed myself prior to surgery and especially after. It's rough but you need to do the same thing.
We are all rooting and praying for you Tameika. Stay strong!

JH Mattingly

Tameika
I also have had OHS twice..our story's are similiar. I had alot of fear leading up to having surgery the second time, it was alot worse then the first time because you now exactly what to expect and that is scary. I also had so much more to loose the second time around, that being my kids, husband and the life we have together. But, all of those thoughts are normal. The anticipation really is the worst part of the surgery. You will be better when your heart is fixed, you will be stronger and most important you will show your children that you can face something really scary head on and get through it. They will see how you go through this process and they will learn from you how to be brave! You will be in my thoughts! Be brave!
Jamie McGuire

Tameika, You will be fine. I am only 8 days post op and on the path of recovery. The surgery a success. I have you in my thoughts and prayers as do many others. You will do great!! Janis Kielbasa

Tameika I was feeling the same way till I saw my buddy that has terminal cancer...
Saw his feeding tube....
And that changed my attitude real fast..
Always try and remember its good to be alive and there are a lot of people worse off than us in the "Zipper Club"
Good Luck to You
Bill Van Hecke

Dear Tameika,

I know you won't think this now, but you are going through the hardest part of heart surgery (for me), and that's the unknown, facing mortality, and not knowing what to expect.

I cried for 2 months straight, I was a wreck. Nobody else was sad, it was the end of the school year, summer vacation, and lots of joy (LIKE The Holidays!!!! you can't be happy now can you, and everyone else is feeling joy...YIPES) You won't damage your kids by being afraid either (another guilty feeling of mine.) I told mine, I was going to have a big operation that was scaring me, but I was going to the best place I knew, and they were going to fix me so I could be around to be a grey old grandma for them. They got to see I had lots of emotions too, like them.

OK, here is the good part: 99% of these operations go well. I didn't know that until about 1 month of crying, my heart surgeon friend told me, Phew! a sigh of relief.

Here is another good part- you won't feel a lot of the pain you are afraid of because of the medication you will be on. That's what I found. The tubes and wires decrease quickly once you are out of ICU. Most are under your blankets and gown. Just smile your big smile that you made it to the other side of surgery, and you will distract your kids (Maybe ICU is not the best time for a visit from kids. My breathing tube was out within 2 hours of surgery, but that was super fast, and mostly I think the tubes are out the first day...read Adam's book, it is realistic and helps.)

The surgery was big, but not as scary as I feared in my scary dramatic mind.

I think the anticipation was way worse than the days following surgery. And watching you face such as scary thing head on will show your kids you are super woman (and after this, not much will scare you. Not much scares me now. I faced the unthinkable!)

Take care, and I hope it all goes well in January,
Jennifer Turner

Tameika,

Your surgery and recovery are temporary situations when viewed against your entire life. Also you will come through this better and stronger than you were prior to the surgery. You will be a Hero and a half!

Joe Gimbel

They will always still see you as their hero :) Be strong and just belief that everything goes smoothly. Your children im sure love you and care for you and seeing as how mommies are their for their kids, sometimes its time for the children to be their for the moms. I know its hard, everything about surgery is a scary thought, especally when it comes to the heart. But it sounds like you have a loving family to be there for you as you have been there for them.

What you must realize is that, God has given you this opportunity to show your family how an unwavering faith works when its put into action! Your kids are watching how you deal with this situation, how strong you are throughout it, how your are handling adversities as they come, and utimately how God will bring you through stronger after all is said and done! Look at this event as God Testing you like Job in the bible and how through it all Job never gave up even when his wife said curse God and die! Look how God blessed him after all was said and done! Your kids will see this extremely difficult process your are going through and when they are faced with there on adversitites in life realize what a courageous and powerful mother God gave them and they will realize they truly can do all things through Christ which strenghtens me!! Its not just words in a song or a scripture they read, it will become "Real" to them and think what a Shero you will be then my love.. Meek.. You will be fine! I already have a peace about it and I am praying for you and your family!! Im sending you love my sister! BE Blessed and Believe!! See yourself healed and testifying!
Thomas Beard

You are showing them that you are their hero because you are having the surgery. The surgery is necessary for you to continue to provide and be their superwoman. Doing what needs to be done to survive is most derserving to be your children's Hero. It's okay for them to wait on you temporarily. Its their way of showing you how much more they love you and need you. Hang in there Tameika.
Love you Girlie,
Stephanie Artis

When I had my surgery I didn't allow my 11 year old into the room until the next day when most of the tubes were removed. This was much less scary for her.

Plus, when they see you recover like a champ after having major surgery they will think you are stronger than they do now.

Lastly, you are having this surgery so you can continue living and being their mom. You would be letting them down if you decided to NOT have the surgery.

Stay strong, follow the rules, and get back to life. You can do it! And so can your kids.

David Fanson

I haven't had heart surgery. But I know how you feel. I felt that way when I had cancer and was going through treatment. But know you will always be their hero and Supermom! Ur having this surgery so you will continue to be around to be their hero and a hero to your grandkids one day. Most of all a witness for God. I had to realize we don't go through things for ourselves. We go through them to be example for someone else. I love you sis and all will be okay. God gotchu!!!