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Sergio's Mitral Valve Surgery Story - Pictures Are Worth Thousands And Thousands Of Words

By Adam Pick on March 7, 2008

So you know... I never expected this.

I never expected to be so connected to the stories of fellow patients and caregivers experiencing heart valve surgery. But, the more I work on this blog, the more I work on this website and the more I work on my book, the more I feel lucky to have had aortic and pulmonary valve replacement surgery.

Yes, I did just say I was "lucky" to have heart valve surgery. How ridiculous and ironic does that sound?

Case in point... Sergio and Maribel Garzon from Cancun, Mexico.

I first learned of Sergio's defective mitral valve when his wife and caregiver, Maribel, emailed me a few months ago. Maribel wrote to thank me for writing my book. After that, we continued to email each other as Sergio prepared to travel to Mexico City for his mitral valve replacement surgery. Sergio had severe mitral valve regurgitation. (To learn more about regurgitant mitral valves, click here.)

Sergio Garzon 5 Days After Heart Valve Replacement Surgery

Well... I have good news to report!

SERGIO IS HOME AND DOING GREAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!!!

I just received the following email and pictures from Maribel:

"Dear Adam: Yesterday we arrived home to Cancun. You can imagine the piece of mind we had here in our house, our bed, our pillows, our bathroom, our air full of nature, trees and back to our family again! It is incredible how fast everything happened and how well it went for us. The whole experience has changed us, we feel lucky this gave us the chance to know wonderful people like you. Thanks to your book, we were so prepared for everything. There were no surprises at all. This is our 18th day from surgery and Sergio is having a wonderful recovery. We will be very happy to meet you someday, maybe someday you decide to come to Cancun!"

Here are a few pictures that Maribel took during Sergio's surgical experience:

Sergio Garzon In The Intensive Care Unit

Sergio Garzon 3 Days After Mitral Valve Replacement Surgery

Again, I am incredibly touched that Maribel and Sergio chose to share their mitral valve replacement surgery experience with me. All I can say now is, "GO! SERGIO! GO!" And, of course, "MUCHAS GRACIAS!"

Keep on tickin!
Adam

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Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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