James's Posts

Hi Everyone! well, a year ago today I was in the VA hospital getting prepped for open heart surgery with an aortic valve replacement and preparing to become a member of the "CCC" (cracked chest club). This website went a long way in helping me to prepare for surgery, understand all of the pros and cons and everyone was so very supportive. I want to thank Adam for this great website and for all his effort and time he has put into this work. I am totally back to a normal life and doing all of the things I used to do in the way of exercise. My incision scar and drain hole scars have nearly disappeared and I have a new lease on life now. Prayer and positive thoughts are a great help, but one also needs to do their research and understand everything that is about to transpire. Gaining knowledge of your situation will help you mentally to prepare for the surgery and this website with all of its great information and people's input with their different situations will be a great help in getting you ready for your surgery. I wish everyone the very best and thanks to one and all for your messages and support. This will be my last post probably unless something comes up that I need to share, so "keep on trucking" and be good to yourself! Vaya con dios! and may the good Lord give you peace and comfort!

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I last posted, but all systems are "go"! I had my last CT scan in May and everything was A-OK and now I'm up to about 5 miles/day every other day through the week on my bicycle plus walking a mile 2 to 3 times per week. My incision and drain holes in my chest have nearly faded away and using Bio Oil has helped this process of healing the scars. I'm also down from about 200lbs. to 182 now after having changed my diet and portion sizes as per my trainer in cardio rehab and I highly recommend going through cardio rehab. My goal is to eventually get to 170lbs. which is where I should be for my height of 5'9", so at 67 years old, I feel I'm good to go now for several more years. I will post one more time at the 1 year mark and update. I wish for everyone good health and success with their heart surgery and I want everyone to know the Indianapolis VA and their surgical team did an outstanding job for surgery, recovery and rehab and I can't thank them enough. Happy trails to one and all!