Tim's Journal

Sue Maize  Wow Tim—aren’t our bodies incredible for how they compensate for such things for so long! You will probably feel so much more energy with this new valve (eventually, go easy in recovery 😉). Wishing you all the best! ❤️‍🩹🙏🏻 

Tim Carpenter   Thank you guys yes I was so worried I didn’t do enough and I was going to be super hard on me and what a blessing God is always on time I hope and pray for all of those fellow warriors past and present that all will be well and Gid always just in time thank you all again you have been so helpful to throughout my journey 

Rose Madura  Tim that's great to hear. I agree with Sue about our bodies. They are amazing. My very calcified bicuspid valve was so horrible, it's a wonder I was even alive. On one echo prior to my surgery, they said they couldn't determine if it was bicuspid or tricuspid.  Anyway God is good and he always takes care of us. Listen to your body during recovery.  Walk and rest when you need to.

Anna Rakowicz  Great to see this on day 3, best wishes for continued strength, looks like you are well on your way! 

Susan Lynn  You're looking like a million bucks, Tim! Keep smiling and inspiring all the folks in the waiting room!

Selene Munach  Hello.  Congratulations on your successful
Surgery! Does Cleveland Clinic use rigid sternal fixation?

Valerie Allen  My recovery was no where near what I had imagined, with Dr Roselli at CC. Just had my 3 month check up there, all good. You will be happy when it is done. Best wishes!

Carmen P  Yes, Valerie and Tim, I'm also scheduled for August 23th with Dr. Roselli.  Just saw Tim's post.  Guess I'll see you there.
Valerie, you can tell me if there are hair dryers in the rooms.

Tim Carpenter   Yes Valarie it is Carmen I just saw that she is asking if the clinic has hair driers thank you for your prayers I appreciate it very much

Tim Carpenter   Don’t know about dryers but my wife is gonna be able to stay with me in the step down rooms we are very excited about that

Carmen P  We've been told the same about the room and I'm happy that my husband will be able to stay to help me.  Hence, the dryer question.  He was able to stay with me for the first valve replacement and is a Husband Hero and a great help to me.  

Patricia Miller  There is a long fold out couch in each room.  The rooms are pretty spacious.  Very clean. Most have views.  Large windows were good for my soul.  My husband and two adult daughters stayed at the nearby Residence Inn.  5 min walk.  They would take shuttle at night to return to hotel.  Never had to wait long.  There are multiple food option sites on ground floor.  In same area.  Couple Starbucks in the Miller heart building.  

Shawna D.  Hey Tim, I'm new here so I'm just catching up on your story. I see that your surgery is in TWO days. I also have not had any symptoms (that I can tell, anyway). But I'm interested to see what happens after surgery and if I can tell a difference (scheduled for 8/27). I'll be following your journey. Prayers and best wishes your way!

Dan Fouratt  Good question, I was a systematic and not sure what is different.  I spent more time exercising before the surgery and not sure if my feeling better is just the exercise or the surgery.

Tim Carpenter   Dan that’s what I was wondering I’m walking between 7000 and 12000 steps a day trying to eat a mostly fruit diet. Just wondered if there was a noticeable difference?

Tim Carpenter   I have read that some notice a difference right away and I have never seen anyone on here say anything about that

Dan Fouratt  I have a friend in town and he noticed a change in several weeks post surgery.  We are members of the same CC.  The difference was we both use to walk the 18 holes.  By the time he discovered his issue he no longer was able to walk 18 holes (or 1). He blamed it in long covid, found out he needed a new aortic valve.  I walked 18 holes the day before my surgery and never felt it was an issue before receiving my new aortic valve.  So part of it is your starting point.

Tim Carpenter   Dan I wondered if that was the case I mean I do get winded when I’m exerting myself extremely.Sometimes after I eat and go for a spirited walk I do notice tightness in my chest and a lot of belching . Just wanted to know if I could expect a noticeable difference. Although I probably will be hard for me to tell because I don’t think I know what normal feels like.

Tim Carpenter   Dan also a question I noticed a few on here talking about having to give up coffee? I am a heavy coffee drinker I mean from the time I wake till I go to bed. I work for GM and drive a little over a hour to work and just simply enjoy coffee. Only other thing I drink is water and maybe a Diet Coke on occasion.

Tim Carpenter   Sorry for all the questions I spend a lot of time on this site trying prepare myself for upcoming procedure.i have not meat with Dr Roselle as of yet just trying go educate myself as much as possible. Also if you don’t mind me asking which valve did you choose? I can’t wrap my head around warfarin for the rest of my life so I’ll probably go with bovine valve . Which I know will set me up for future ohs as I’m 56 years old

Adam Baumgartner  Tim, I never knew I had a bicuspid valve until I was symptomatic. I felt like I got bad fast. About 8 months to a year after surgery I felt much better than I had in years (even better than before I thought symptoms started). 

Tim Carpenter   That is good to know I have read other places about people noticing right away. I have never heard it talked about on here.If you don’t mind me asking which style of valve did you get ? I have a hard time thinking about warfarin.

Marie Myers  You probably will get relief from the shortness of breath and irregular heart beat. I didn’t have any symptoms from my bicuspid aortic valve except for feeling irregular heart beats occasionally. That improved after the surgery. The driving force for my surgery was 2 aneurysms. One was on the ascending aorta, and the other was the aortic root. I never had chest pain or fatigue. My valve was regurgitant, and I chose a tissue valve to replace it. I am hoping for TAVR next time around. I had a 98 year old friend who had aortic  stenosis with chest pain and shortness of breath,  and she had TAVR which relieved her symptoms quickly. She survived till 101 years old. If you have any other questions, please ask. I remember how difficult and overwhelmed I felt when finding out I needed surgery!

Tim Carpenter   Thanks Marie I pray that will be my case. I know I will have other ohs in my life as I’m only 56 and I don’t like the idea of being on warfarin for the rest of my days.

Tim Carpenter   Marie I have read that coffee is a Nono after ohs ? I am a coffee fanatic drink it till I lay down to sleep at night. I have tried to slow down my caffeine intake as I have read it’s not good after ohs.

Stephen Walsh  Also bicuspid, severe regurgitation. Had bovine AVR ohs Aug 2023 (10 months ago).  Blood ox levels back to normal, feeling of drowning gone, ankle swelling now minor, racing heart on excertation gone, BP good, distolic back to normal (was low 50s). No out of breadth. But not perfect yet, if on vacation and do all day walking and sight seeing, still need a rest day (maybe just because I am 62 and also have back and knee issues!). It takes 8 weeks to notice a difference and 6 months to forget that you have improved a lot! and I drink coffee and wine, had weak coffee in hospital 5 days after surgery - cardiologist says one mug a day is  fine, but not 5 expressos a day!

Marie Myers  I still drink coffee, and have since my surgery. I have cut back to only 2 cups a day in the morning. I noticed i have become more sensitive to caffeine as i age. (I am now70). If you are having irregular heartbeats , insomnia or high blood pressures, it might be wise to reduce your caffeine intake, especially after noon. Caffeine remains in your system for up to 8 hours…

Adam Pick  Another really great question. After speaking with thousands of patients over the years, I think your experience will be unique to you. Some patients I talk with feel better as soon as they wake up. Others, who were asymptomatic, did not notice much of a change. The good news is that, regardless of your immediate experience post-op, your heart will notice the difference as blood flows without obstruction to the other parts of the body which have been deficient of the blood (and nutrients) they need to properly function.

Daneen Douglas  Tim, you asked me this question on one of my posts so in case you missed my response I thought I would repost it here too.

Tim, I have noticed a lot of differences after surgery. My ankles are swelling much less. They would be 100% skinny but I have lymph edema and venous insufficiency so I'm afraid I'm a bit stuck with it. But it is WAY better, especially when I stick to low sodium.

I have no more angina, my heart beats softer, and my heart rate and blood pressure have come down a lot. Although I am only at 2 months, my shortness of breath is way better and when I exercise my heart rate doesn't spike, but is at about 105 at this point but haven't bumped up the exercise level yet. My heart rate really drops back down to the 60's really quickly.

I'm hoping when my stamina has fully returned, my heart is healed completely, and I'm off of the anti afib meds, my shortness of breath will be totally gone when doing daily activity and normal walking.

Tim Carpenter   Thank you all for the responses I’m just trying to get information from people who have been through the ohs. There is no doubt I need it done and will walk that path real soon just trying to gain all information possible thank you all again 

Valerie Allen  Dr. Roselli probably has a longer wait than most as he is in great demand as a surgeon and as head of the Aortic Center. For me, I was just entering into surgery territory and the wait was 5 months. I know someone who had a more urgent scenario who got slotted into a spot in a matter of weeks.

Robert Miller  Two weeks with a very well known surgeon in our area. My case was kind of urgent, though. I was sent to ER and they didn't want me to leave the hospital. Only after I told them I need a bit of time to do research, check with insurance, decide for a surgeon they let me go.

I don't recall how long it took for my second surgery. There were about 4 months between me learning I needed surgery and getting surgery. I took a bit more time to do research, consulting with my previous surgeon, a well-known surgeon at Stanford and another very well know surgeon in our area. My mother actually found this website and read about the surgeon I finally decided to go with. All of this took probably about a month. So maybe 3 months out. 

Rita Savelis  It can really vary depending on whether you need surgery soon or not. I saw my surgeon many months before surgery and then we waited until it needed to be done.

Lori Risboskin  Hi Tim, I am right behind you with ohs on September 12th and we have a lot of the same questions. I will be thinking of you this week and going through the recovery process together