Timothy's Journal

Hello heart warriors and Adams angels. I promised a final post about my journey on the Camino de Santiago. I’m happy to announce that I arrived on May 13th and completed over 600 miles walking across Spain to Santiago de Compostela and beyond to the ocean. Behind me is the Cathedral of Saint James.
For those that don’t know, I started my journey on the one year anniversary of my Ross Procedure. My heart held up fantastically with out any worries. What a blessing from God.
To the new heart warriors waiting for surgery or those of you newly into recovery…..You can and will do it. It takes time and patience but know that you are in the absolute best time in history to be having heart surgery. The technology and skills of the surgeons is top notch. Do your best to stay positive and take each step of the way with grace. Lean on our community, we love to support each other. We want to hear about your journey. And, please know that having heart surgery is a blessing in disguise. Life continues and many times it gets better as we truly feel blessed for every day given to us.
I hope my journey walking across Spain can inspire you and tell you that you can do it and accomplish anything you put your mind to. I love you all and have so much respect for our community. Thank you Adam, you are truly the best. Keep on tickin’ heart warriors ❤️❤️❤️

Hello heart warriors and Adams angels. It’s been brought to my attention that I have been silent lately, and for good reason. I am still on my “Camino de Santiago” in Spain 🇪🇸 I promised updates but didn’t want to flood our community with my “vacation” posts.

For those that don’t know, the French route is a 500+ mile pilgrimage from the south of France all the way across northern Spain. I began my journey on the year anniversary of my “Ross Procedure”, April 6th. My heart has been doing amazing with zero worries. This journey has been filled with physical and mental challenges as well as so many smiles and laughs. I’ve met the most amazing people from all over the world.
According to my Fitbit, since I landed in Madrid on April 2nd, I have already walked 540 miles. I’ve had a total of 5 rest days in the larger cities so I could play tourist, but all the other days I have been walking with 30+ pounds on my back averaging between 12-18 miles. I am so proud and happy to be able to do this journey just one year after such a huge surgery. What a blessing. I have Dr. Stelzer and his staff at Mt. Sinai in NYC to thank for healing my heart ❤️ I trained for 6 months before my departure and it paid off.

For those of you waiting for surgery or in the beginning stages of recovery, stay positive and don’t be hard on yourself. You will heal with time. Take it one day at a time and maybe plan something for yourself so you have a goal ahead of you for motivation.

I am wearing our HVS hat in honor of all of us heart warriors. We are a very special group of people that get to experience an unbelievable heart journey. I pray for all of us. Much love and respect to you all ❤️

I still have another week of walking before reaching the cathedral of Saint James in Santiago de Compostella and another 4-7 days to continue waking to the ocean, “The end of the World”. I will do one more post when I finish this pilgrimage. God bless you all 🙏🏽

Hello heart warrior friends. Thursday was my year anniversary from OHS and the beginning of my 500 mile pilgrimage on the "Camino de Santiago". I am done with the first two stages and taking a rest day in Pamplona, Spain. The photo of me was day one on the top of the Pyrenees mountains. What a grueling day it was. My heart did great but my knees struggled on the way down. It was a 16 mile day up and over the mountain climbing 3500ft. You can see in the distance was where I began, a small village in the foothills of the Pyrenees, Saint Jean Pied de Port in France. I am so blessed to be experiencing this adventure, testing my rebuilt heart, making new friends from around the world and deepening my relationship with God. Happy early Easter to you all.
As you can see, my sweaty hat is in honor of all of us heart warriors that have found this lovely community. Those who are years past surgery, those early in recovery and those in waiting. Trust the process and believe that all will be well, no matter what your journey brings you. There will be ups and downs but you can do it. Much love and respect to you all. God bless you

8.5 months post-op, I'm blessed to say I had the energy bake cookies again this year. It takes me two days but it's worth it when I delivery to our farmers and neighbors. I have only had one of each for quality check! That's a lie, maybe 2 of each.
Continued good progress for those in recovery and peace of mind for those who wait for their big day. God bless you all and thank you for your continued support for me and all the members here in HVS

Today I am 21 days post-op “Ross Procedure” and yesterday was my first follow up appointment. Dr. Stelzer is very pleased with the success of my surgery and amazed by the numbers the post tests are showing. I am finally turning a corner and getting stronger every day. I’m walking 1-3 miles most days, have a healthy appetite and am getting good rest. I am ok to drive short distances, the grocery store and local walking paths. That tiny bit of freedom means the world to me. In just 9 more weeks I can return to the gym for cardio and light weights. And, also in July I can return for a new farming season and consult with my farmers and walk multiple fields a day with out any problem. For now, I will take all that good news and focus one day at a time at getting back to normal and possibly better than ever. Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. This community has been a huge help and will continue to be. God bless you all, Timmy
Below is a picture of me and my new friend, Dr. Stelzer What a blessing he is in my life 🙏🏽❤️‍🩹