Sean's Journal

4 days, 5/25, removed from my AVR and aorta repair. First Svensson did the entire procedure through a "key hole" or ministernectemy. He did not replace the bad aorta, but repaired it. I received a biological tissue valve. Today they tell me I can leave the ICU. Initially all was good but I went into sever tachycardia and afib Friday night. At one point my pulse was over 200 and it was sustained between 125 and 135 for over 24 hours. All of the heart meds made me very nauseous and I was also very hot. They all told me that this was very common. Yesterday afternoon (Sunday) they performed a cardio inversion, to shock my heart back into normal performance. It worked the first time. Today I feel r ally well and hope soon to be moved to my normal room.

This is Lauren, Sean's wife. I wanted to post a quick update. His surgery on the 25th went well, and Dr. Svensson is pleased with the overall surgery and outcome. Sean is in ICU now, and he might be moved to a step-down room tomorrow. We will post more details in the next few days. Thank you all for the support and information over the past months!

Tomorrow morning is the big day for me, and surprisingly I am peace today. I slept well last night and have been overcome with calm. I attribute that to all of the knowledge and encouragement I have received from the great people on this site. Knowledge trumps fear. I can't thank this community enough for getting me to today, and I hope to contribute to others in the same way everyone helped me.

With just over a week to go until my AVR and AAA repair, I look more and more to this site for inspiration and calm. I wanted to thank everyone that continues to post, answer questions and provide feedback well after their surgery. It helps me more than I can put into words. I only hope that one day I can help bring as much calm, inspiration and hope to someone as this community has brought me.

As my wife and I prepare to head to Cleveland we are trying to figure out the best way to keep friends and family updated on my progress, are there any sites that you guys recommend? I don't want my wife having to deal with repeating herself over text to dozens of people. On another note, what did you guys do post op to pass the time at home while you recovered? Im considering getting Netflix and/or learning Spanish. Any other unique ideas?

I received a call yesterday to schedule my AVR and AAA repair, making it more real to me than ever. I will be traveling to Cleveland for my procedure and have read Adam's book. I also have several doctors including a cardio thoracic surgeon that are close friends, but none of them have lived it like many of you have. Any words of wisdom or pieces of advice that you wish were passed to you prior to your surgery?