jonette's Journal

I am now 15 days post op and doing great! I still have pain, but it is very minimal and controllable. I had my post op appt with Dr. Chikwe and her staff at Cedar Senai on 3/13/23 and checked out with "excellent" and the staff was actually shocked on how well I was doing. Before my surgery, I was having shortness of breath, chest pains, severe regurgitation, fatigue and many other symptoms. Today, I am totally the opposite. I no longer have SOB, chest pains and my fatigue is definitely better, besides recovering from the surgery. I never imagined my energy level could be so great. I can climb the stairs in my 2 story home with no problem, pain or SOB. My surgical incisions are healing nicely and look beautiful. My regurgitation is "trivial." 

My stay at Cedar-Senai was excellent. I can't brag enough about the staff, each and every one of them, from the cleaning staff to the anesthesiologist. Each one of them were so caring, confronting and positive. The nurses were superb and so tentative to my needs. Vivian and Nancy, the PAs, for Dr. Chikwe were the best. My stay at Cedars was 5 days and by the time I left, I had tears in my eyes as I had made some great friends who helped save my life and I didn't want to leave them. I will be forever be grateful for each and every one of them. I would highly, highly recommend Dr. Chikwe, Cedar Senai and her awesome staff. 

God never once left my side during this very serious operation and recovery and he put me in the best hands to perform the miracles on my heart and save my life. Once I decided to let go of all my fears and put the control in the medical team, life was different and my attitude and positiveness were out of this world. My family today is in awe and how well I am doing  15 days after my 3 hour surgery and tell me over and over, if they didn't know I had surgery, looking at me, they would never be able to tell.  Trust in your team, they are miracle workers of God and will perform miracles to save your life. 

Do any of you feel like your significant other just doesn't get it? In my case, it has been a long process of six months of testing, getting to the right surgeon and hospital, deciding the best type of surgery and timing, etc. I sense he is tired of hearing about it, which I can understand, but surgery is Wednesday and I am feeling a bit unsettled about this. I just feel so alone...everyone tells me "you will be fine" and sometimes this annoys me. Sorry, my emotions are all over the place.

Does anyone experience Panic attacks with mitral valve regurgitation? I have a history of them and am just reading about the connection btwn the two. Today I had a terrible attack. They are so scary. My palms won’t stop sweating.