Jim's Journal

May 24th was my one-year anniversary of being released from the hospital after my aortic valve replacement surgery. I am doing great. My local cardiologist says my valve sounds "nice and crisp," which he says is a good thing! I work out three days a week and recently ran two miles on the beach. I still cannot say enough about how much I have been blessed the Lord and the doctor to whom He led me (Donald Glower at Duke). It is my hope that all of you have as good of results as I have!

It will be eight weeks tomorrow since my aortic valve was replaced with a St. Jude valve at Duke University Hospital with the surgery performed by Dr. Donald Glower. I was released five days after the surgery and by the sixth week, I began cardiac rehab. I had only two "hiccups": a slight case of pneumonia and an infection in a small part of my incision. Both were in my second week at home and, thankfully, my family physician quickly put me on antibiotics which cleared up both within a few days. By the third week, after the pneumonia set me back a bit, I was walking 1-2 miles a day. By the fourth week, I was fast walking the same distance and then slow walking another mile. By the fifth week, I was doing on average 3 miles a day (mainly because the paperwork for the cardiac rehab got mixed up and I was growing impatient to get going on my rehab). I now do the CR three days a week for an hour on four different machines for 15 mins each--rowing, bike, elliptical, and something called a U-Step. I'm getting the heart up to around 150 bpm. My blood pressure has gone up some, which Dr. Glower said was fairly common after valve replacement surgery, but it getting lower at the end of my workouts as I progress in intensity. I have also added on my off days doing some of my old routine with weights, leg machines, and push-ups, sit-ups, and planks. After 10 weeks away and the surgery, I have lost a lot of strength, but it felt ol' so good to get back in the gym! I say all this as an encouragement to those who fear this surgery and wonder if they can truly fully come back. You can. To be honest, post-surgery was rough for about 15 hours until they took all the chest tubes out and then it got better with each and every day. As far as rehab goes, I have found it easier than my rehab after knee replacement surgery. It's definitely much less painful and much quicker to get back to normal physical activity. One last bit of encouragement is my experience with Warfarin. I almost went with the tissue valve because I dreaded being on a blood thinner the rest of my life. But after talking with a friend who has the same valve I have, he convinced me it wasn't that big of a deal, and it hasn't been. I know everyone's experience is not the same, but I just wanted to write some hopeful and encouraging words for those of you out there that are still on the pre-surgery side. Blessings on your journey. I hope it will be as good as mine!

Five days after my surgery, I was discharged yesterday and am back in more familiar and comfortable surroundings. I am doing well. I am sore, but am taking no pain medication. My biggest challenge now is sleeping. I think my sleep rhythms were completely thrown off by my hospital stay. But I know that will get ironed out soon enough as the same thing happened after my knee replacement surgery. In the meantime, I'll be taking lots of naps! I've had no other issues. I am having my INR checked tomorrow to see if it is where it should be. But I can truly say I am blessed by how this journey has unfolded and is continuing. I appreciate those on here who have offered encouraging words and prayers! And, most of all, I appreciate my Heavenly Father who has shown me great mercy along the way.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give you an update on my surgery yesterday. The surgeon said it was very successful. He said my choice of the St. Jude valve was a good one as my original valve was on the small side. I was moved from ICU this morning (after just 15 hours!) to what they call a step down room. I will remain in this room until I'm discharged, which the surgeon is saying will be Wed., but I aiming for Tuesday. The anathesiologist said I would not remember much about the breathing tube being in, but I do remember waking up with it in. It was the worst feeling. That and the chest tubes. Oh my, those were bad. I felt like a new man immediately after those were taken out!

Well, I'm the first one up in the morning at 6:45. After meeting with Dr. Glower this evening, it looks like it's going to be the "St. Jude" valve. It sounds like I won't know much until sometime Saturday. Once I feel up to it, I'll post about the start of my recovery. Until then...

So I am less than 48 hours from my valve replacement surgery. I've decided to go the mechanical valve route. I have talked with several folks on blood thinners and they report few difficulties, though I know each person is different. I think the trade-off of not having to have the prospect of another surgery down the line is a better one for me, since I hate hospitals and money issues have always been stress points for me. I know a lot of people here stress researching valves, but I quickly found myself in the "weeds" trying to sort through the vast amounts of information, particularly with the short amount of time I have had. My wife and I discussed this the other morning and realized when I had my knee replaced, we didn't question what type of replacement I would get. We found a surgeon that was highly regarded and highly skilled. Once we decided upon him, we trusted his judgment. I decided I needed to do the same this time. The Internet is a blessing in many ways to gain information and insight (this is the way we found Dr. Glower), but too much of a good thing can be detrimental. With all of the stress that comes along with this, the last thing I need is to be trying to control every detail. First of all, I am going to trust my Heavenly Father for a good outcome, and, secondly, I am going to trust my surgeon. I'm at peace with with both decisions.

So as I am trying to decide the tissue vs mechanical question, one factor I realize may be critical is I have hemochromatosis (too much iron in the blood). Anybody have the same disorder who is now on blood thinners? I am going to talk with my hematologist this week, but trying to get as much info as possible. Thanks!

So I am six days out from my replacement surgery and still need to decide my preference on a valve. I would definitely go with the mechanical version if it weren't for the blood thinners. My surgeon seems to prefer Coumadin, but I am wondering if there are better options. And for any of you on Coumadin, I would be interested in hearing about your experiences with it.

I have a bi-cuspid aortic valve which has been diagnosed with critical stenosis. I will be having replacement surgery on May 19th at Duke Hospital. Dr. Donald Glower will be performing the surgery. My wife and I were planning on this for a little later in the summer, but Dr. Glower had an earlier opening, so we decided to take it and get this behind us as soon as possible. We are both committed followers of Jesus and know He is in the midst of this process and has been leading us through every step and will continue to do so.