Aortic Stenosis, Joined October 20, 2015
Aortic Stenosis
Joined October 20, 2015
September 14, 2016
October 20, 2015
October 20, 2015
Laura Julius
Aortic Regurgitation
March 5, 2021
Lynn Loudermilk
Aortic Stenosis
March 9, 2021
Kenneth Ellis
Aortic Stenosis
March 10, 2021
Dr. Castro has performed over 5,000 cardiac procedures and more than 3,000 operations involved heart valve therapies.
December 6, 2017
First, I want to thank everyone who helped with my journey.
Dr. King, my PCP who set me up for a stress test - finally, after I insisted.
My Echo Tech who knew I had a problem within a couple minutes.
Dr. Travis Wilson who explained my condition to me and sent me for further tests and set me up with an awesome surgeon.
Dr. Stephen Bailey, my awesome Surgeon who was both good and fast, making my recovery quicker
My awesome wife Barb, who was supportive throughout while giving me plenty of space.
Anyway, I'm doing very well. Absolutely no symptoms or pain or discomfort. I'm pretty active, so I still get out of breath when hiking up a steep hill, but I recover very quickly - probably more so than 5 years ago before I was symptomatic.
I've been pretty good about keeping my weight down, exercising and eating right. However, I have to admit that I've slipped in all three categories a lot since this past summer. That's what New Years Resolutions are for!
I went on a 10 day 100+ mile backpacking trip at altitude with the boy scouts this past summer and felt great throughout the trip. This trip was the primary reason on went with the tissue valve instead of the mechanical valve. I wanted to be as normal as possible for this trip - even if it meant I'd have to repeat surgery some day. I'm 56 years old now, so I suspect that some day I'll need a replacement, but I honestly don't think about it much.
So, to all of you who are awaiting surgery or in the early stages of recovery, Enjoy the journey! I wouldn't wish it on anybody, but I have to say that it's a life experience that I'm really glad I went through.
Gregg