Todd's Journal

Susan Lynn  Exactly, Todd! Glad you had a good experience! Waiting really is the worst part! Wishing you continued success with your recovery!

Timothy Andre  Great news Todd, nothing like being at home after surgery. Best wishes for a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹

  Yeah Todd! God is good and I’m so happy you are going home. Welcome to recovery! God bless you and continued good health 🙏❤️

Susan Lynn  Totally normal! Todd - when game day arrives, you'll be ready to put it behind you. Waiting really is the worst part. Surgery feels like a one minute nap! Relax and in a blink in time, it will be over! We'll be cheering for you! You can do it!

Ann Zucker  I’m not up for a couple of weeks.  The waiting does give us too much time to think! You’re almost there! You got this. 

Mary Milewski  Yes-the waiting period is difficult and anxiety provoking.  I think many of us can relate to what you are experiencing. I found it helpful to focus on the very positive statistics associated with SAVR and how much better I'd feel with a more functional aortic valve---I'm now 3 wks post op and everything I've experienced was manageable and recovery is proceeding well.  I hope that you can find some coping strategies for the present period (deep breathing, meditation, time w friends/family and any sort of physical exercise that you enjoy)--all helped me during the waiting phase. I can tell you that the 24 hrs before surgery and pre-op period flew by--there's almost no time to be nervous--sending positive energy and hope that you can find some ease from the anxiety.

Rose Madura  Hi Todd, as others have mentioned,  the waiting is difficult.   You'll be in recovery before you know it.  Keep in mind that these surgeries are done every day and the doctors know what to do even if you have complications.   Try to focus on the positive that the odds are un your favor.  You are a heart warrior!  Godspeed. 

Robert Young  Normal Todd. I too was very anxious but the veterans on this site talked me though it and were 100 % correct. You will be in the recovery phase next before you know it. We are lucky to live where we do and have access to our great medical system ( for the most part)

Marie Myers  I, too, was extremely anxious about my surgery. But i knew it just had to be done. Listening to calming meditations and doing yoga helped me. If you are able to do any walking , bike riding, or light stretching it can help also. I did ask my doc for some alprazolam .25mg to help me sleep at night. For me, getting some decent sleep really helped. Wishing you peace during your wait!

Dan Rhoden  Todd, trust the surgeon, nurses and staff 100%. Your job is to go to sleep, before you know it you're in recovery mode!

Ginny Turner  Todd, the whole experience for me was so much easier than my pre-surgery fears and apprehensions. Today marks 9 weeks since my surgery and I'm doing great. View it as a gift that will give you healthier years to come. You'll be fine!

Holly Wale  Todd - I echo everyone else's notes about waiting is really the harder part.      My surgery was almost 6 whole months ago.   I scheduled it for October in mid-Summer so I had lots of time to let my thoughts wander!    I will pray for your surgery and recovery!

Donna Carlson  Hi Todd, I am having a mitral valve repair at Morristown with Dr Brown on 4/26. I met with him last month, I was impressed with him personally and also his surgical record with mr repair. Good luck with your surgery, God bless!

Mary Jewett  Here in BC Canada I couldn't even set a date with the surgeon until I had a date for the cath.  Once I had that date I was able to see the surgeon right away.  I had my cath at the beginning of December on a Friday and saw the surgeon on the following Monday.  She asked me when I wanted to have surgery and if it hadn't been just before Christmas I could have gotten it done right away but I wanted to enjoy Christmas and do it afterwards.  It was scheduled for the end of January (2020) but my son had unexpected emergency brain surgery just before Christmas 2019 which they did not expect him to survive.  He did and it was a long haul to him being better and I ended postponing my  surgery until a month later than previously scheduled.

Marie Myers  If they found something critical, the docs would keep you in the hospital. If it is something “elective” they will discharge you, and you would plan accordingly with your surgeon/cardiologist. My cath was 4 months before my AVR and double aneurysm repair.

Susan Lynn  My cath was performed about two months before my surgery. Make sure you get a copy of the results if you're going to be meeting prospective surgeons. They will need to know this information. Best of luck to you!

Richard Munson  I think the cath is to determine if you have any blockages which would dictate which kind of surgery they would perform. If serious enough they might fix it all. I had a single 40% blockage and they said not enough to warrant fixing so they went ahead with the minimally invasive mitral and left it alone.

Patsy Stewart  My cardiac cath was one of the last tests done before I was scheduled for surgery. I think the only way they would keep you is if they found something that needed immediate attention. Other than that, they will send you home and will schedule an upcoming date for your surgery. You could always call your cardiologist and ask this question to get the answer specific to you. To ease your mind, the test isn’t as scary as what you might be imagining.  My cardiologist won’t put me under with anesthetic for anything unless it’s absolutely necessary because of all of my allergies and health conditions. I was petrified to think I was going to be awake. It’s actually quite fascinating. You can watch the procedure on the big screen and hear what’s going on. I had another one a few weeks ago. After everyone left the room, he asked if I would like to see what all was going on. He explained all the parts of my heart and pointed out my artificial valve. The only pain would be when they access your vein, and it truly wasn’t that bad for me at all. Good luck with your upcoming cath procedure. 

Richard Munson  Patsy, you are way tougher than me. Must be all that cake dough you have been nibbling all these years. Lol. They asked me if i wanted to be awake and i said no way. 

Rita Savelis  The cath is done so surgeons will have the information they need for the surgery. Surgery can be scheduled soon after the procedure or later. My surgery didn't happen till months after the cath, as the cath was done just so they'd have all the info they'd eventually need. If they haven't told you that you would stay in hospital, you will most probably go home after the cath and come back another time for surgery.

Kimberly Eisenhut  I was awake when I had my cath too, just mild sedative, so I was a little loopy, but also watched and asked questions. Pretty cool stuff :) My Dr, listened to the "Spice Girls", it was kind of fun!