Teresa's Journal

Susan Lynn  Congratulations!, Theresa! What a difference 4 weeks can make! Continued success with your recovery!

Donald Roberts   When I was first told that I needed surgery, I was quite nervous to say the least. I was a healthy runner and had no idea I needed surgery so I didn’t have much time to think about it. The best advise I can give anyone, find the best hospital and the best surgeon. You want a facility that has high volume and a doctor that performs thousands of the procedure you will undertake. I live in Connecticut and traveled to Cleveland Clinic and Dr Gillinov and would absolutely do it again.
I stayed away from internet presurgery and any information I needed was provided by the hospital and their team. Post op I started walking right away and went to cardiac rehab when I returned to Connecticut. I was a let to run a half marathon 4 months after surgery.

Louanna Miller  I agree with Donald, find a highly respected medical facility and an excellent surgeon who does your heart surgery 3 plus times a week. I went to Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and Dr McCarthy performed my Mitro Valve Repair. He has done 10000 heart surgeries and 3000 plus Mitro Valve repairs.

I read Adam Picks book. It’s an excellent place to start. Wherever you decide you habecyour surgery will provide you will the information you need to prepare and get through the surgery.

I would take my own pillow if I had to do over. Just more comfortable than the plastic cover ones in the hospital. Once you are on the cardiac step down unit from ICU you won’t feel like doing much and you will be busy with physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, etc. I took a small book to read at night. Great lip moisturizer and have someone put it on you in ICU. Phone charger and long cord.

Will send more info later. Ask any questions and I’ll answer best I can.

Rita Savelis  Trust your surgeon. Your situation/story/case is different from everyone else's so what works for you will be personal. That's alright. Not everyone on this site is in your situation. Different things work for different people. So finding doctors you trust and asking all the questions you can is important. At thesame time you have to give up some control. There is much anxiety before surgery, but it is relatively safe these days and is over fast. Recovery can take much more time and you can be tired/exhausted for a long time. This is normal. Everyone has their own time for recovering so just let it happen as it will. Your heart controls a lot and you may be surprised by repercussions in the rest of your body as it all adjusts to what it went through. But things get back to normal or a new normal, they just need time. Take care.

Dan Vechiola  All great info above! I would like to add that these surgeries have come a loooong way. The wait is the hardest part and your surgery and recovery will be nowehere near what you are expecting. Very quickly you will be back to a normal life, feeling better and living with peace of mind. Think positive going into it and place your fate in the hands of your surgeon and hospital. Visualize a successful surgery and recovery and march through the process.

Jennifer John  Teresa, here’s my best advice: Keep the Faith — and trust the science. Check out some of my past Journal posts. Might help ease your mind a bit.❤️🙏🏼

Willie Radl  Teresa, hi from Lakeville! For Pre-op i would say getting the doctor, hospital and surgical procedure you want nailed down is the most important. I see you are at MHI which is a very good hospital for heart surgeries. I went drove down to Mayo to have mine done and had a great outcome, may be a second option/opinion for you.
Post op you just need to focus on healing and taking it easy for a few weeks, you will get detailed instructions from your medical team regarding what you can/can't do so don't over think it at this point. Just make sure you have a comfortable place to rest and have someone to help you out the first week or so when you are home,i.e. husband, relative, friend, etc.

Susan Lynn  Definitely do your homework and make an informed decision about your surgeon and procedure. Think only positive thoughts - imagine every part of the process going exactly as planned. After surgery, walk, walk, walk. It's the key to feeling stronger and being released! All the best! ❤💚