Mary's Journal

Please keep the prayers and positive energy for our heart brother Duane Beeman, as he is on his way to recovery. God Bless each and every heart sister and brother. Keep on moving and enjoy each day.

This is Mary Myers, one of your heart sisters from Sterling Heights, Mi. Duane wanted to make sure that our heart family was kept updated on his progress. I talked with Duane's sister, she asked me to relay this message, Duane had his valve replacement today. He is in I.C.U. and will be there a bit longer than expected. Right now there our a few bumps in the road. Duane is holding his own. Please remember him in your prayers. I will keep the posts coming until Duane is ready to post.

Thinking and praying for Pam, Peter, Sandy, and Jim today as each of them begins the next chapter of their journey. God bless each and everyone of them and all of this wonderful heart village. I cannot express how important each and everyone of you are to me. Have a beautiful day! Mia (Mary)

Hello all my heart sisters and brothers. Wishing each one of you a wonderful holiday season. I am so thankful to be a part of this wonderful heartvalve family! I am five months post op and doing great. Hoping the New Year is filled with good health, happiness and love to all! Mia

Good morning my heart family. It has been three months since my mitral valve replacement. Everything is going well. During this journey I sometimes felt that I needed to be superwoman to get through this adventure. My sister often will tell me I am acting like superwoman. Last evening she told me I am made of steele. I decided that this would be a great costume for me. See my latest photo.On Thursday, I will be wearing my superwoman costume to my preschool center., for our Halloween Party! Wanted to share the photo with my heart family. So to all my Super heart family, may you each feel like supermen and superwomen. We have all accepted the challenge, and on the road to recovery. At this time I want to express my thankfulness for each and every member of our heart village. This community is like no other. The friendship, support, information , prayers and love has helped me feel like superwomen! Happy Halloween. Sending Superwoman hugs to all of you! Love, Mia

Erica, I seemed to experience some symptoms before my mitral valve replacement. I had some sheet of breathe, a constant cough, congestion in lungs, fluttering in middle of my chest, Since my surgery I find all of these symptoms have disappeared. I feel very good. I start cardiac rehab soon. I will be eight weeks post op next Tuesday! Time has really flown by. I am so thankful for the wonderfully surgeons and cardiac teams that make it possible for our heart family to have a healthier heart and a healthy and longer life. Am thankful for Adam and his mission to write his book,and developing this amazing site. Our heart family continues to grow. I love each and every member of the heart family. Some I have gotten to know well, others just briefly. I am truly blessed to have found all these amazing, loving, caring people. Which have become so important in my life. So whatever you need your heart family is here for you Erica! I always send butterfly kisses from my heart to yours! Love Mary(mia)

Hello heart brothers and sisters. I am five weeks two days postop from my surgery. I continue to get stronger everyday. I have been driving almost two weeks. I will have a stress test done next Wednesday. This will clear me to start cardiac rehab. I am looking forward to rehab. Especially since I had the Afib, I want to be monitored. On coumadin and a beta blocker and rhythm medicine. This will eventually change. I started back to work about five hours a day for two days a week. I still have a 20 pound lifting restriction. Sometimes I forget. I work with children and it is hard not to pick them up. Three more weeks and I should be able to increase the lifting. I continue to remember my heart brothers and sisters in my prayers. For those of you waiting to have surgery, try not to worry, focus on the positive. Be sure to ask our heart family any questions you may have. Once surgery is done it's such an awesome feeling to know your heart will be healthier. For me I was just so happy to be wake up from surgery! My team of teachers are pretty protective of me. I am thankful for that. My brothers and sisters that are recovering, take care of yourself, take time to enjoy each day. May I suggest you keep in contact with our heart community. I plan on being active on the site to keep connected with my heart brothers and sisters, and to be available to help any new members. I am so thankful to Adam for creating the heart valve site. It has been a blessing to me and to many members. Thank you to everyone that has shown so much love and caring. All of you are so amazing and I love you all! Sending butterfly kisses to all my heart brothers and sisters. Mary (Mia)

Hello my heart brothers and sisters. I have bern thinking of all of you. We each are on a different journey with the same end result : a healthier heart. Today is day 16 post op. I wake up each day thinking how thankful I.am to be here after surgery. I take time to smell the flowers and of course the buttetflies. My progress is good. I try towalk three times a day, and increase the distance each time. I still wake up every morning around 3 a.m.. My body needs a pain pill by then. Try not to use many during the day. I am a preschool teacher and am anxious to get back to my kids. For those of you that will be having surgery soon, Have a blessed day! Try to put worry aside and focus on returning home sweet home! All my other heart sisters and brothers I wish you loads of happiness, good luck, and healing during your journey. Drop me a line any time. Would love to hear from you! Your heart sister!

Hello everyone! Hope all our sisters and brothers that are preparing for surgery will relax, and enjoy each moment of every day. Those of us that have had surgery I wish you loads of happiness,love and a new lease on life! Before surgery: I worried so much. A few thingsI may suggest that will help you..  1.Stay connected with our heart valve community! 2. Read Adams book. (A very good book on valve replacement. ) 3. Smile 4. Think positive 5.Obtain an assist chair 6. Pray 7.Express your thoughts to friends and family! 8. Remember this is only one day of your life. 9. Count up to the approx day you will be home sweet home. 10. Remember you have all your heart brothers and sisters praying for you and waiting to hear from you. 11. Make sure to have all your legal papers in order. 12. Have a friend post on heart valve journal to keep our heart family updated. 13. Practice relaxation exercises. 14. Listen to calming music. 15. Be happy 16.Drink lots of water 17. Eat something with your pills in hospital and at home.Your tummy will thank you. 18. Do not let your pain level get out of hand. 19. Walk,sleep eat,relax and prepare for going home with your new baby Valve or repair! God Bless each and everyone of you everyday of your life. Please drop me a note. Would love tho hear from you. Butterfly kisses, Eskimo hugs all the way from Michigan. Mary (mia)

Just wanted to thank you all for being such a great family to me. All your words, prayers, journaling and love have touched my heart forever. The good news is all went well. I arrived home today. Everyday I get stronger and stronger. I will keep journaling and praying for all our heart families. Please let me know if you have any questions that I may be able to answer. Butterfly Kisses, Mary (Mia)

Hi everyone! We spent some time with Mary again today! She is continuing to heal each day. Due to her having another bout of Afib this morning, the doctors decided that they are going to keep her at the hospital for a few more days.Mary also would rather stay in the hospital a few more days, just to make sure everything is working and healing as it should be. When we visited her, we brought her a big box of chocolates that have a nurse theme. She cannot wait to be home so that she can eat them, and hopes that her husband does not eat them before she goes back home. While we were visiting today, she wanted us to upload some pictures of all of the nice/cheerful gifts that everyone has given her over the past few days, so there are a few pictures under the My Photos tab. The next post may come from Mary herself, she wants to post, but it is hard for her to post from her phone. Hope all is well with everyone!

Hi everyone! We had a nice visit with Mary today. It was family and friend day, she had so many visitors that she was about ready to close the door on them. She loved seeing everyone, but she still needed to rest. She had another round of Afib but the doctors are not concerned. She may be going home as soon as tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well also.

Thank you to all my wonderful heart sisters and brothers for all you r prayersd and support. I recived all l the butterfly kisses and Eskimo hugs hummingbird and dragon kisses. I continually feel so blessed to be a part of this amazing heart family. ishave inherited this community of family.. Glad gingers surgery went well. Terri, thank you for all the updates_ prayers.. I write more as I feel better! Love you all! Mia

Hi everyone, Just wanted to update you on how Mary is doing. She is still in ICU. They did not move her because of a bout with Afib at 5am this morning. It is corrected and the nursing staff says that it is very common and that all is going as planned. She is continuing to rest and letting her body begin the healing process. She sends her love and prayers to all of you!

Hello Heart Sisters and Brothers, Mary had her surgery yesterday morning and everything went as planned. She did have to have a mitral valve replacement, instead of a repair, but she is doing well and is recovering quickly! Mary is on her second day in the ICU, and is moving out of ICU and into a regular room tomorrow. :) She has been getting lots of rest, and enjoys her family visiting her daily. Mary even got to eat some ice cream today (which she was super excited about)! After visiting with her, I can tell that although she is in some pain and is tired, she is close to being back to her old self. Mary (Mia) sends Hugs and Butterfly Kisses from Michigan to all of you!

Hello Heart Sisters and Brothers, I had my pre- testing yesterday. Everything went smoothe. Surgery is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. today. Usually not up this late but just kind of anxious. Thank you to everyone that is praying for my surgery along with all our other sisters and brothers. Wishing you all a good night sleep. I will continue to remember you all in my prayers. Thinking of Mitchell, Ginger, Rebecca, M, and Terri on their upcoming procedure. This is day 29 of my count up to 42. God bless each and everyone of you. I will be back on line as soon as I can. Hugs and Butterfly kisses! Mary (Mia) from Michigan

Hello my heart brothers and sisters, Wow, time has flown by so fast. I have been getting things in order for before my surgery and when I come home. That is a job and a half! I have a preschool/childcare center so preparing for my absence is a bit overwhelming! I want to thank each and everyone of you for being a part of this wonderful community we belong too. So many of our heart sisters and brothers have really shared their experiences, both positive and negative. This has really helped me to prepare for this journey, I will look forward to writing again in the journal again as soon as I am awake and able. I plan on being able real soon. For those of our family that have just finished surgery and those preparing, I wish you lots of good health, a speedy recovery and many years with your new healthy heart valve! Looking forward to my healthier heart,and being back home with my family and eating ice cream. Love from your heart sister, Mary (Mia)

I am so happy that Adam created this wonderful site for patients and caregivers. This has helped me to be more in tune with valve surgeries. Thank you to everyone that has written to me with their story, and for all the words of encouragement. Please keep the journals going. I will do my best to post my experiences along my journey. My surgery is scheduled for July 29th. Hopefully a mitral valve repair. If necessary a replacement mitral valve. If a replacement is necessary I am leading toward a tissue (bovine) ,valve. Everyone enjoy the beautiful weather and make sure to take time for yourself. (Mary) Mia