Aortic Regurgitation, Joined January 18, 2016
Aortic Regurgitation
Joined January 18, 2016
May 24, 2016
April 24, 2016
April 7, 2016
March 28, 2016
Paul says, "Two days prior to my surgery. I am super nervous and..."
Lynn says, "Back form rehab....2230 steps on the recumbent ..."
Fred says, "With my scheduled May 11 surgery for aortic valve ..."
Dr. Trento has performed over 7,500 cardiac procedures and more than 4,000 operations involved heart valve therapies.
It's a time of year for me that always leaves me reflective on my journey, cause yikes it was an up and down road! I'm doing well overall now but it has taken a loonggg time to get back here. I've had a lot of challenges with chronic pain, and in finding my way back to my true self. It was difficult to get emotionally connected with my “robot heart.” I had many existential crises over the last few years. I’ve done a tremendous amount of healing and have grown a lot during this time. These are issues that doctors don't talk about or seem to understand because once our heart is fixed they think we should be just fine. But for some of us it doesn’t work that way so easily. OHS is a trauma to the body, and for those of us who are very sensitive, our body and mind may react strongly.
I recently had an echocardiogram and my new valves are doing well, but I was somewhat taken aback to see that my tricupsid valve was noted to have mild to moderate regurgitation. It never had a problem before, and my cardiologist isn’t concerned at this time, so we’ll continue to monitor it. And I will keep myself from going into the scary rabbit hole since of course my other valves also started with mild to moderate regurgitation! But alas, one thing that has been shown to me over and over in this process is that the only thing we truly have control over is our attitude and outlook.
For those of you who haven’t had surgery yet, I encourage you not to compare your journey to other people on here. Because there will be that guy who goes out running 2 weeks after his surgery, and you might have a very different experience! I found myself going into a "what is wrong with me? I must be weak” sort of mentality early on when my recovery seemed to be going much slower than other people’s. Truly everyone’s journey is different and it’s non linear, there will be lots of ups and downs. And your “new normal” may not be what it once was, but it may be even better than you can imagine now in some ways. If you’re struggling with your recovery process, hang in there, don’t give up. Find a team of healers if you need help with pain, make sure you lean on your emotional supports, even if that means hiring a therapist! I had a massage therapist, physical therapist, acupuncturist, therapist and great pain doctor who helped bring me back together again :)
Hugs and love to my 2016 heart warriors. Miss all of you!
Happy new normal. Happy 3 years. (My 4yr post will be arriving on April 10th...) xoxox
Hey Adam thank you! I'm drinking my favorite riesling ... Read more
Hey Adam thank you! I'm drinking my favorite riesling from Chateau St Michelle. The winery is fairly close to me in Washington state, it's so beautiful there if you ever get a chance to visit!