pam's Journal

Kathleen F.  Hi Pam, you're having a normal response to an abnormal situation. That's what my doctor told me; I am 45, healthy, no symptoms, and was running well, yet needed aortic valve replacement. It made no sense to me either. It is such a routine surgery these days, for a much older population, in fact, so I have no doubt your husband will be fine in no time! My surgery was last Monday, and I've been home since Saturday, going for daily walks, feeling stronger than ever. This is not a condition that gets better, and in fact, is fatal if not fixed, so he is doing the right thing with surgery - for himself, for you, and your child. Best of luck! It's great your husband is in otherwise good health, it makes recovery that much easier!

Julio LaSalle  Hi Pam,
I know what you are going through. I have been there too many times with my wife. My advise is to have confidence in the surgeon and his skills. If you are a believer, then pray the prayer of faith in the book of James 5:15 "Prayer of Faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up". Tell your son that Daddy has to go to hospital to get something fixed. There is nothing you can do by being afraid. Nothing is going to change by worry, and your son will pick it up, and that will make it worse. I will keep you in my prayer.

Mark Schmitz  Hi Pam. I am officially 4 weeks post aortic valve replacement surgery today. I too felt I didn't have any symptoms and just wrote off that I was getting older (49 years old). Looking back I do now feel that I was having a few symptoms. As we got closer to the surgery date they started to get worse. I have no symptoms now but am dealing with recovery. I was very active before this and thought that I would "bounce" right back into normalcy - so - if I had any advice for your husband it would be to take your time in the recovery process. Also, in reference to your son: I have 5 children under the age of 8 and I told them that daddy's heart was broken and the doctors were going to fix it so I can run and play with them next summer and they weren't scared. I even had them come to the hospital when I was feeling better and it went great. My wife was worried that they would be scared but we told them what to expect beforehand. It really helped me get my head on straight. It also helped me to have my ipod ready with some good tunes and I bought some bose noise cancelling headphones, it really brought my spirits up! I hope this helps. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. My wife can even answer things if you want a caregivers perspective.
Take care and hope this helps.
Mark

Bob M  Hi Pam! I pray that your husband's surgery and recovery will be peaceful. Similarly, I did not have noticeable symptoms; however, the data from the Echo and the angiogram showed the leaky valve that needed to be replaced. I assume that is similar to your husband's case. I am so blessed that my aortic valve replacement and recovery has been perfect. I pray that your husband's will also be a blessing for him. God bless and rise up! 3 items still fresh in my mind: 1) breathing tube and 2) cherry Popsicle and 3) eating and walking in the hospital. 1) many on this board reference the breathing tube after surgery. I told my wife about it, so she was prepared. My recollection is that when they reduced my sedation, they also reduced the lighting in my ICU room (that is what they told me). I saw my wife talking with the nurses and I noticed the breathing tube. It was working correctly with no problems. I was calm. In a moment, the nurses removed the tube, I turned my head and vomited a little amount of water. No problem. 2) many on this board referenced a cherry Popsicle after the tube was removed. So I started asking for it. The immediate thing after the day of my surgery, the nurses gave me the cherry Popsicle. It was awesome! It was cold and delicious. Unbelievable. I have been eating them twice a day everyday since my surgery. 3) the nurses told me I needed to eat and walk everyday. Although I didn't want to at first, I did, and I am sure that it really helped my recovery.

Jason Leber  Hello Pam, I'm similar to your husband and I also have a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The way my wife and I dealt with it was to do a lot of research to learn about the condition, solutions and locating a surgeon we were confident in and then the rest was out of our hands. What also helped us was to make sure everything at home was in order - recovery items, finances, estate stuff...etc. That way we knew that we were prepared for anything. I think it is a good thing to get the surgery done and get back to enjoying life. Best wishes.

pam duncan  Thank you all for your advice and thoughts! It really helps to hear from people who have been there and felt this. We have family and friends with us but it is hard to explain how it feels to them. I really appreciate all your advice!