Paula's Journal

Deena Z  Hi Warrior Paula, so glad that you safely got through surgery! Not being able to sleep on your side or underside is perfectly normal as well as pain in the incision area. I would speak with the surgeon on Sept 2nd about the R ankle swelling and possible murmur. As for getting out of breath still, for sure! Give yourself some time! :)

Kimberly Eisenhut  Good to see you are doing pretty well! Let us know how your appointment goes on the 2nd, and prayers for your full healing and to sleep well.
Much love and hugs sent !

Peter Linn  Paula, thinking about you now and you will stay in my thoughts through recovery! Light and prayers sent your way.

Bob McRae  Hi Paula,
Sending you positive thoughts & prayers. You will be fine ! Your story is similar to mine, completely asymptomatic, working out hard 5X per week with no symptoms although my aortic valve is insufficient rather than stenosis like you. That's the hard part for me also, feeling great and thinking, what am I about to do to my body. Although I know I'm adding years to my life and I want to go through this process feeling as strong as possible. Bob

Paula Romero  Thanks everyone for the Positive Vibes! I will post as soon as I can after surgery……getting fixed will be awesome! 💔❤️💜

Craig Atwater  Paula, no doubt lots of anxiety this weekend ... but you've got this. All of us who have been there ourselves will be thinking about you on Monday.

Adam Pick  Great to hear Paula. All the ducks are lining up for a successful procedure! My thoughts and prayers are with you!

Linda Alsdorf  God bless you! abundantly Paula! You are 1 day ahead of me. We're going for the same operation!I Will lkeep you in my prayers!

Adam Pick  Hey Paula, Great to hear that you now have definitive next steps. The path is set and your journey to a healthy heart continues. My thoughts and prayers are with you! If you need anything, please let me know. And, thanks for the kind words about the website. That really means a lot to me. Adam

E Taub  I'm having my surgery on the 22nd too! Very nervous but all the comments here have helped so much. We can do this!

Paula Romero  Hi Elisa - We CAN do this! As anxious as I am about my surgery all the positive people on this Website have really helped. It’s just a bump in the road. Let’s talk after surgery to compare!! Praying 🙏🏻 for us!

Darlene Clark  Your comments and positive attitude are so helpful! My surgery to replace my aorta and my mitral valves is scheduled for July 14th with Dr. Doolabh at UT Southwestern in Dallas. Next week I do the heart cath in preparation for the July surgery. I share the pre-surgery anxiety expressed by others, but am so encouraged when I read positive comments by many like you, Paula. Thank you!

Craig Atwater  My surgery was April 5th ... Aortic Valve Replacement and a double bypass (while the surgeon was "in the neighborhood"). Open heart surgery was the right choice for me for the same reason you mention: If I need a replacement in the future, TAVR could be used. Even at my current age of 70, that was helpful to know. The open-heart procedure is definitely intimidating, but the final results are well worth it. I will be thinking about both you & Paula on June 22. Yes, you CAN do this!

stephanie arnold  hi, Paula. sounds like you're in good hands. it's scary to find out that the 20 year heart murmur turned into critical severe aortic valve crisis. good the echo caught that when it did. I also went years with a murmur, routine job physical in 77. ok fine. lived my life as usual,active,hard work, athletic and fit. last year I fell apart, almost died. yup, open heart AVR and aortic aneurisms repair. it's been 13 months. I'm 77 and still healing,but have most of my strength back. I hope you have help at home, a strong support system, and patience with your rebuilt heart. it's hard at first, but you'll be fine. this community is the best moral support in the world, next to Jesus . prayers🙏...love,stephanie

Tom Everson  Make a list of questions, tell the doctors your concerns ( must be honest) ask about what to expect before and after the operation, will you need a pace maker, i asked the doctor what questions other patients ask. Do not rush your visit . I believe you must feel a connection with your heart team. Bring someone with you , they will hear more than you. If you are not allowed to have someone, have them on the phone. I believe you are responsible for your health so go in prepared

Susan Lynn  Paula - Waiting is the worst especially when your status is serious. You'll probably get more than one surgical consultation, you might want to reach out to a few other surgeons and get your appointments scheduled. Please keep us posted. Best of luck to you! ❤

Joseph Heinzmann  Paula, I also had to be persistent to get an initial appointment with the surgeon. In addition to calling, get an email address and send a nice email to the office. It they have something in writing, like an email, it's going to get a response.

Richard Munson  As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. You can be persistent in a nice way. The key word is persistent. All this worry is not helping you. Good luck.

Debra Keife  That also happened to me. I was very persistent in getting another surgeon since the one that was recommended was going on vacation and could not see me until July. No Way was I going to wait. Mt cargoedilogist recommended another surgeon who has already seen me for consult and I go back for the 2nd consult with his new partner (not new as a DR) to schedule a less invasive open heart surgery. You have to be your own advocate, it seems/ Good luck!!

Craig Atwater  Although my aortic stenosis was critical, I had to wait for the surgeon and for a hospital bed. I was told that, for whatever reason, there was a backlog of patients. There was speculation that as COVID-19 restrictions began to ease, and more people were vaccinated, that more people were seeing cardiologists (which they had put off) or having certain elective cardiac surgeries. I was kept in the hospital for 9 days until the surgeon and a room became available (on April 5).