Shaun Bloodworth - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

10 days ago

Daisy Tanner, Pamela Gregory reacted to this

My Surgeon called me yesterday & gave me the date for my mitral valve repair / replacement, 29th July 2025. I must say, I didn't get the best sleep last ...Read more

My Surgeon called me yesterday & gave me the date for my mitral valve repair / replacement, 29th July 2025. I must say, I didn't get the best sleep last night. I am happy that I have a date and can hit this situation with gusto and positivity but the protective brain still sneaks in gives you a few negative thoughts. I know nothing is going happen, its just about stopping the brain from spiralling out of control.

Robert Miller I am not sure what to add. You seem to have everything covered and now have a date. As you said, ever ... Read more

Robert Miller I am not sure what to add. You seem to have everything covered and now have a date. As you said, everything is going to be fine. Especially the first few days are not going to be easy but it gets better every day until you are better than before within a couple of months. I am wishing you all the best.

J Alexander Lassally It is always chilling to get the surgery date set in stone- but 1 month is a comfortable thing and yo ... Read more

J Alexander Lassally It is always chilling to get the surgery date set in stone- but 1 month is a comfortable thing and you can get things sorted and set up for recovery!

Shaun Bloodworthposted an update

21 days ago

Shaun Bloodworth reacted to this

Hi Guys. I live in Australia and I am having my mitral valve hopefully repaired or at worst replaced in a couple of months. I go through stages of positivity ...Read more

Hi Guys. I live in Australia and I am having my mitral valve hopefully repaired or at worst replaced in a couple of months. I go through stages of positivity and of course the other side. I have read the e-book but is there any advice you would give me?

Ana Brusso Dear Shaun, welcome to our site. If you read our posts you can tell we have all gone through the stag ... Read more

Ana Brusso Dear Shaun, welcome to our site. If you read our posts you can tell we have all gone through the stages. As some of the hear warriors here say, try to stay busy doing the things you like to do. Keep fishing. I did a lot of praying. No easy way to get through but stay positive and know you are in good hands and it will all be ok. We will pray for your successful surgery and recovery. Keep posting and don’t be afraid to tell us how you feel. God bless you 🙏❤️

Rose Madura My friend, Ana, gives food advice. Try to remember that the odds are in your favor. For me, doing a ... Read more

Rose Madura My friend, Ana, gives food advice. Try to remember that the odds are in your favor. For me, doing a lot of research helped. Be sure to get a second opinion for peace of mind and make sure your surgeon is experienced. Please keep us posted on this journey and Godspeed.

John Cook Good luck with your surgery.

I had up days and down days pre-surgery for my aortic valve. Even ... Read more

John Cook Good luck with your surgery.

I had up days and down days pre-surgery for my aortic valve. Eventually, I came to peace with it and did a lot of meditations before bed.

Post-surgery, the first 3 days I remember were very difficult but I got through them. The next two weeks were not as difficult with good and bad days. Since I got past the 3-week mark, most of my days have been very good. I’ll be going back to working from home at 27-days after surgery and I’m making plans for when I’m healthy enough to start running again.

Glenn Tremper I'm on the same journey, Shaun. I appreciate the insights of Ana, Rose and John.

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Hi Shaun, I agree with former insights, and add that you try to arrive into the surgery with a good ... Read more

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Hi Shaun, I agree with former insights, and add that you try to arrive into the surgery with a good physical shape. You can try walk every day feeling confortable and with a good nutrition. And of course, given that repairing requires a lot of expertise by the side of surgeons, to choose well the surgeon and be confident in him/her. A good valve replacement is more worthwhile than a poor repair, even considering that the latter option is the gold one.

Richard Munson I like the fish

Ana Brusso Thank you Richard 😂

Richard Munson Thats an aussie fish, i prefer swedish fish

Susan Lynn The worst part is waiting for game day! I didn't find any part of the surgery or recovery more chal ... Read more

Susan Lynn The worst part is waiting for game day! I didn't find any part of the surgery or recovery more challenging than my imagination in the weeks leading up to it. Think positive thoughts. If I did it, you can do it! Best of luck to you!

Shaun Bloodworth Thanks Guys and I will update as I proceed in this journey. I am having an invasive angiogram in 2 w ... Read more

Shaun Bloodworth Thanks Guys and I will update as I proceed in this journey. I am having an invasive angiogram in 2 weeks to make sure there are no hiddens blockages etc before my surgery.

Robert Miller It looks like you did all your research. Make sure you read the learning center on this website. The ... Read more

Robert Miller It looks like you did all your research. Make sure you read the learning center on this website. The first few days after surgery are going to be the hardest. But it only goes up from there. The way I looked at it is that the surgeries gave me quite a few more years. That's more years to spend with kids/grandkids, travelling, spend time with your partner, etc. Imagine you wouldn't have caught this heart issue and you would have missed all of that. The pain for a few weeks makes up for everything afterwards 100x.