Kristen's Journal

Dan S-otts  Congrats on you getting home to some peace and quiet. I remember being awakened every 2 hours at night (X-rays, vitals, check weight etc) and up at 6am, out of bed and walk the hall. I think they work you over in there so your motivated to get well and get home  😂😎

Marie-Ange Jacques   You can never really sleep in hospital.I remember last year after my heart valve replacement, I kept getting disturbed,weight check, blood taking every morning at 4 am as I am on waferin and it was a nightmare but I am happy I am back to normal now.

Isabella Heart  So happy for you Kristen, wish to be on the other side already. Now, everyday you will get better and stronger

Grace Mason   Getting sleep was the No 1 thing that made me feel better too. Walk as much as you are able, get plenty of protein and keep using your spirometer. You are doing great!

Allen Carkner  Congratulations! Shower is very nice after just having had wipe downs. Best of luck on your recovery journey.

Timothy Andre  Congrats Kristen, so happy for you that everything was a success and you are home and on to the road of recovery ❤️‍🩹 

Deena Z  Oh boy, what you just went through the first two days sounds painful at all levels. — Don't usually hear about this type of pain etc. Glad the hardest part is over. The most important thing right now is that your surgery was successful. Enjoy the pre-discharge shower. Get a good meal. And get some fresh air, heart warrior.

Sue Maize  Great update Kristen! Glad things went successfully and your pain is being well managed now, but sorry your first couple of days were so unpleasant. I’m not looking forward to my sternotomy but am grateful to hear that others get through it. Wishing you a smooth and successful recovery—please keep us updated! Still trying to get my head around 823 Ross procedures! Wow. 

Grace Mason   Oh, Kristen, so sorry to hear you had so much trouble with finding pain meds that worked for you. Throwing up after sternotomy sounds awful, too. I am glad to hear you are doing better and wish you a smooth recovery going forward. Hope you get some good sleep at your hotel or rental and some good weather for walking around outside a bit ❤️‍🩹❤️

Allen Carkner  Glad to hear you’re making progress! Sorry the pain was so challenging days 1 and 2. I often bounced to a 7/10 or 8/10 those day and my team would help manage it. But it was hard, specially in the moments you move from bed to chair. It was sure a relief to have the chest tubes removed in my experience. Sternotomy is no joke. Welcome to recovery! Hope you get out soon! 

Isabella Heart  So happy to hear from you Kristen! I am so glad you are doing well. Wishing you a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹

Rose Madura  Glad all is well. I threw up once during my first few days.  Never a fun experience.  Hang in there! 🪖💪❤️‍🩹

Rich Butela  That was one of the things I most feared after surgery, throwing up.  Fortunately I never did.  Glad you're starting to feel better 

Ana Brusso  Glad your pain was finally resolved. You will feel so much better being home. Continued good health and God bless you ❤️‍🩹❤️🙏

Barbara deLoache  Thank you so much for the update. Vomiting with a fresh sternotomy is scary & certainly would increase pain. Thank goodness you are on the other side of that!!! Hope from now on your recovery will be much easier. 🌷🌷

J Alexander Lassally  Totally know what you mean. I had a few "low" moments about a week before, then I perked up.  I remember driving to CC in the rain at 5:30 AM for prep pre-operation stuff thinking, "I can't do this." Then, I perked up once I got it over with, and 24 hours later I was psyched. 

The positive of traveling for the event is that you can kind of psyche yourself up and make it more of a memorable odyssey.  Think of it as an personal odyssey. 

Danny Mahoney  Best of luck on your upcoming operation.  I'm sure you'll do great (just like me). Mt Sinai has a great reputation. 

Dan Fouratt  Like Christine I am not far behind you (3/21) and can relate.  We will all do well.  Good Luck and rant whenever need.  Prayers will be with you.

Andrea Babcock  Best Wishes for a succesful surgery! My husband just had his valve replacement surgery on Feb. 7th. Wishing for you that it will go just as good as it went for him. 

Sue Maize  The nerves are totally natural Kristen, but you are each day closer to beginning a new healthy chapter in your life! When I read others’ stories of having the Ross, it inspired me to find out if it was the right surgery for me too! I’d encourage you to read Timothy Andre’s journal—he had his Ross and then on the 1 year anniversary set out on the 600 mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain! Talk about an encouraging testimony! You’re in possibly the BEST hands imaginable with Dr. Stelzer too!  Can’t wait to read your updates post-surgery! 🙏🏻💕

Dan S-otts  You’ll soon be on the other side and feeling so much better in a few weeks/months. The new you is only days away. Take Good Care! 💔❤️‍🩹❤️

J Alexander Lassally  Can't speak for Ross but most open sternotomy it starts at about week 6 earliest - but many wait a bit longer, too.   Sternal precautions are pretty strict in general.   Walking, though, immediately after discharge. 

Bend Oregon? 

Kristen Newton  Yeah I live in Bend, Oregon. I wasn't sure if the guidelines for a Ross are different because I read that blood pressure is supposed to stay low for a while. I'll be able to ask my surgeon more details next week, but I will be anxious to get back into some sort of workout routine sooner than later.

Thank you for responding!

J Alexander Lassally  Sure, here in the PNW resting up too.  Yes, Ross may be special due to BP. Most of us are on beta blockers and you will likely be too - as well as BP if needed.  
Good for you for traveling ! I did the same... 

Grace Mason   Hi Kristen,
I had a Ross at Mt Sinai 5 months ago with Dr El-Hamamsy. You are in good hands at Mt Sinai. 
Walking is recommended immediately post surgery and is probably the most cardio you will be doing for several weeks. I am attaching a part of the guidelines I was given on discharge. I was also told not to twist or bend my upper body repetitively for 3 months. I was able to begin cardiac rehab at 7 weeks and had use of treadmill, recumbent bikes, and hand bikes. 
They want me to keep my resting SBP at 110 for the first year- During exercise to limit my SBP to 140-150 and limit my heart rate to 130-140. My resting heart rate was higher for several weeks post surgery so it would jump up with just walking pretty quickly. It finally seemed to level down around 12 weeks. Now, I am able to keep within these limits at 5 months with a light jog.

Kristen Newton  Thank you for the info, Grace! I was wondering what the limits were for BP and HR during exercise. Did they give you medication to lower your BP? 

Grace Mason   Lol, that's right J! And no digging 😄

Kristen, yes I was taking 50mg of metoprolol 1x day before surgery(for many years, to try and delay surgical intervention)
Post surgery I was taking 25mg metoprolol 2x a day upon discharge.
Now I am taking 25 mg metoprolol in the morning and 25mg of Losartan at night. Both lower the BP but metoprolol acts more on the HR. 

Allen Carkner  I had a Ross in March 2023. I was on labetalol, losartan, and amlodipine for a while then dropped the amlodipine because I was getting a little lightheaded. Still taking labetalol and losartan in order to maintain “aggressive” blood pressure control, my goal is to be under 120/80 all the time. Even lower if possible 115/70. I was able to walk start cardiac rehab 4 or 5 weeks post op. There I gradually transitioned from biking and walking to a slow jog a few weeks into it. I wasn’t particularly much of a runner before surgery though anyways. I’m currently training for a half marathon that is 1 year one day post op.

Allen Carkner  Currently still on 200mg labetalol, and 25mg losartan both twice daily. Probably can drop the second dose of losartan soon.

Allen Carkner  We found when my blood pressure dipped below about 100 I have a tendency to get fairly lightheaded standing up.

Kristen Newton  That's great, Allen! What made you decide to take up running? How long did it take you to work up to a slow jog?

I used to be very active - I've run marathons and triathlons, trained for fitness competitions, etc., but the last year or so I've not been able to tolerate exercise well and have gotten out of shape. I cannot wait to get back to my former, active self. I miss her. 😂 

Allen Carkner  I found myself lacking “motivation” beforehand as well regarding exercise. I now know it was due to the severe stenosis. I started back at work as a phlebotomist 12 weeks after surgery. I could have earlier but I wanted the time to go to rehab. I must have been jogging a bit at 10 week's post op. But barely. I decided I wanted to do something special to show myself that I can again do challenging activities and push myself a bit. My two brothers are training with me and doing the run with me.

Kristen Newton  Thanks, Joanne. There's a lot of good information out there about recovering from OHS, but I know with the Ross procedure, it can be a bit different, and there isn't a lot in terms of guidelines for exercise following a Ross procedure. 

Greg Lewis  Hi Kristen! You can read my story, but suffice to say, I went down a long recovery road. So here are some tips: please be careful with lifting and twisting. You can't always tell its too much until later. So keep it very cool for awhile! If you interrupt the healing/fusing together of the breast bone, you could have a very long and painful journey, so just don't push it too hard! Take your time, and it will heal. It sounds like you are concerned with the recovery time here...don't be! Healing properly should be the goal here, not jogging. When you do start walking, stand nice and straight, shoulders back, chest opened up...your body will want to close in on itself, and if you let it, it can be hard to correct later. ..you will have drain holes just under your ribs, in the middle.  This area is very tender, and easy to hurt from doing too much. Even after they fill in. I find it to be a problem area, I think there is a lot of scar tissue there. So there are a few tips for you. Take your recovery as it comes. Don't put a time on it. Take it cool!  Good luck!

Timothy Andre  Hello Kristen, I am also a patient of Dr. Stelzer. As I approach my second anniversary of my Ross procedure it seems forever ago that I had surgery. I think I started rehab around 8-12 weeks post-op. Some begin sooner. It’s important to take things day by day and listen to your body and the experts. Before you know it you will be back to being active. If you care to, check out my story and journey on HVS and I will be happy to answer any questions you have. I may be a bit bias, but you are in the absolute best hands with Dr. Stelzer. I can’t thank God enough that he was the man to work on my heart. He is an amazing surgeon and wonderful man. I am Stelzer Ross patient 778. What will you be? You will do great. Take a deep breath and know you are in good hands 🙏🏽

Kristen Newton  Timothy - I’m not sure what number Ross I’ll be, but it sounds like your experience was great! Thank you for the encouragement ❤️