Thomas's Journal

Ana Brusso  YEAH! Congratulations Thomas! So grateful you are now in recovery, welcome! Continued good health and take it one day at a time. Don’t try to do too much and listen to your body. God bless you

Patsy Stewart  Fantastic news!! It’s great that you felt like posting so quickly. Get ready to get those tennis shoes tied on and get this thing called recovery conquered. I’ll continue to keep you in my prayers.
~❤️

Ginny Turner  Wow - posting from ICU! As someone still awaiting surgery, that's so encouraging. Grateful surgery is behind you and you're on the road to recovery. Congratulations!

Susan Lynn  Thomas - It's almost game day! You're ready and by this time next week you'll be well on the road to recovery! We'll be here cheering you on!

Ana Brusso  Hi Thomas, you are ready for this. I also had the Bentall procedure almost two years ago. I had a bio valve replacement. You have a good attitude and you will do well. Will lift you up in prayer. God bless you

Rose Madura  Hi Thomas. Your feelings are valid. My advice would be to try to focus on the positive...you are in good hands; you are going to feel much better; and the odds are in your favor. Also, when I was feeling overwhelmed, I would get on YouTube and watch documentaries , of all things, about JFK assassination. It worked by getting me to think about something else. God bless you.

Nancy W  Take deep breaths, we’ve all been there in the scary waiting room, plan any calming activities in the next days - I took myself to the beach a week before my surgery, journal, listen to music, anything that can help relieve the anxiety. I focused on trust in my surgeon as I meditated. I didn’t find this forum until after my surgery. Wishing you calmness, strength and peace as you wait.

Mike Tirrell  Thomas - feel free to email me at: michaeldtirrell@yahoo.com. If you want to talk over the phone, I would be happy to do so as well. I understand the anxiety. I tried to combat it with research and preparation. Take comfort in the knowledge that while this is not a walk in the park, you will come through it better off. Best wishes, looking forward to your "I made it!" post after surgery.

Richard Munson  Thomas, we are all nervous before heart surgery so don’t feel alone. If its any consolation i am on my way for a colonoscopy and i am nervous about that as well. My wife calls me nervous nellie. Stay strong, it will be fine.

Mike Dotson  "Beyond overwhelmed" is certainly something I can relate to. Most of us on this board can. One of the things that helped me the most was focusing my mind on what was within my control, and accepting what was not. That second part was the hardest for me. Once they wheel you in for surgery, you just have to trust you team. It looks like you picked a great surgeon and you can take comfort in that. Be thinking about what you will do afterwards. For example, using the spirometer, taking those difficult (but needed) short walks up and down the halls, eating your meals, taking your meds, etc. Also, think about what you want to do after you are recovered. What goals do you have with this second chance of life you are given? Best of luck to you!

Meredith Bray  I was too. I found an old folk music album from my childhood and just played it on repeat until I knew every single word and chord change. Maybe your doc can prescribe something like metoprolol to help you get through the next week.

Rose Madura  I think that's a good decision. Had I gotten a mechanical valve, it would have been the Onyx. Best wishes for a successful surgery and uneventful recovery. Before you know it, you will start feeling better. Godspeed.

Marie Myers  Totally understand the nerves, since that is how I felt. It is good to have made your decision on choice of valves. I think that decision was the hardest one I have ever had to make. Wishing you peace during your wait.

Mike Tirrell  I went with the On-x aortic valve, surgery was 8/3/21. I am ~4.5 weeks out now, feeling pretty good, still a little sore but that is to be expected. Good luck, best wishes on your surgery. It is uncomfortable but it gets better fairly quickly.

Alex Hunt  I have the On-X valve (although only three weeks in). The only thing I can add is to be cautious about the 1.5 - 2.0 INR claims. If you read the study, the results at that range were worse than the 2-3 range and all the participants were on aspirin as well, which seems to be forgotten when the lower range is mentioned. I'm hoping the PROACT XA study produces more convincing results but it's a few years off.

This thread (https://www.valvereplacement.org/threads/failure-of-onx-valve-and-problems-with-lowering-inr.878615/) might be worth reading.

Lisa Coombe  Depending on what surgery you get, weather it is open heart or minimal invasive as to what you can expect. Everyone is different, I had open heart surgery 9 weeks and the first few weeks were tough but knowing my heart was working better then it had in years was worth the pain. One thing that helped me was watching videos on YouTube, mostly about getting up for the first time after surgery

Ana Brusso  Thomas, welcome to our community of heart warriors. Hope we can be a source of information, tips and comfort to you. Nervous, we have all been but here we are. Hope you like your surgeon and make sure you ask him questions. Write them down and bring someone with you. If you are not satisfied with your surgeon find another one and get a second or third or more opinions until you feel confident you found the right one. If you have questions for us ask away, we will do our best to answer them. Also on the top right side of this site is a menu that might also be helpful. Keep us posted on your upcoming meeting and continue to write. We will be here for you. Be well and God bless you

Rose Madura  Welcome! It's very normal to be nervous bit try not to let your imagination take you to places that make you more anxious. Ana gives great advice. You need to be comfortable with your doctors and need to be able to trust them completely. The odds are in your favor and after you recover, you'll be so happy at how great you feel. Keep us posted on your journey.

Thomas LaCombe  Thank you so much! I have questions but was there any you asked that brought you peace of mind?

So glad I’m here

Meredith Bray  The day I met with my surgeon I knew I was in good hands. Getting an actual date for surgery relieved a lot of anxiety (and brought some new issues too...) I think reading about survivability rates helped me a lot. I didn't really feel peace of mind until I woke up in ICU, to be honest. I did a lot of crying and moping the few weeks before. But I also did a lot of reading articles and journals and other forums about heart surgery and life afterwards. I read about a guy that got a mechanical valve in the late 1960s and that made me feel better. Friends and family reached out with their stories, and I learned there are a LOT more heart patients out there than you think there are! I found that in my small circle at work there were 2 valve patients and 3 bypass patients, and about 15 relatives of coworkers with different heart surgery stories.

I'm glad you found this group. No question is unimportant. I got my mechanical valve in 2014 when I was 43. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't, so there's that...

Meredith
Clearwater, FL

Jay Heagerty  Welcome Thomas. I have found that learning all you can learn about the heart and the procedure that will treat the condition has helped me cope with the anxiety of my upcoming surgery. I also have a bicuspid aortic valve with an aortic aneurysm. Best wishes to you in your journey.

Lisa Coombe  I told my son he could ask any question he wanted and the only thing he asked was if he could have a photo of my heart and we got it