Adam's Posts

This weeks marks 1 year since my Ross procedure! It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I still check in frequently and read y'all's posts, and I appreciate all the help you all have given me and everyone else here. A recap of my story: I was at the cardiologist for a something unrelated, and when he listened to my heart, he knew something was up. I was completely asymptomatic as near as I could tell, so when the TEE I had later came back saying I needed open heart surgery within the next couple months, it was a big surprise. Those couple months between diagnosis and surgery felt like about 10 years, what with all the decisions to make, all the fear, all the questions, all the worry. This last year since the surgery has gone by like a month or two. I was hoping that even though I was asymptomatic, that I'd feel like a brand new superman or something after I recovered from the surgery. I do feel better, but I'm still the same old me who needs to exercise more. :-) For years, I've struggled with panic attacks that can ruin an otherwise good day. Of course, hearing that I needed open heart surgery sent that anxiety into overdrive, and I was worried about the psychological toll going through something like that would take, especially since most of my anxiety and panic attacks were health-related (I try real hard not to be the annoying hypochondriac stereotype that I'm sure doctors *love* dealing with...). Everybody's different, but I'm happy to report that my anxiety and panic attacks have been much better now that I've recovered. I think the combination of being physically healthier (even in small ways that I might not realize or feel), and the, uh... character-building experience... of surviving open heart surgery have helped to change my perspective a little bit. I still get the occasional panic attack out of nowhere, and it still sucks, but I just feel more confident in general now. I've had my 6-month and 12-month followups, luckily with nothing "exciting" to report, so at this point I'm just keepin' on keepin' on. To Adam Pick for running this place all these years, and to all of you for posting here, thanks again, so much, for all of your stories, encouragement, and information. It really, really helped me navigate through all of this, and it was so, so comforting to be able to talk and vent and discuss with people who have been/are going through it. ❤

Minor Victory of the Day: Just now, for the first time since my open heart surgery over 6 weeks ago, I sneezed! "Who cares, Adam?" I care! My father-in-law had his open heart surgery years and years ago, and he told me he can remember the exact time, date, and place when he first sneezed during recovery, because it hurt so bad. So, my whole recovery, I've been dreading my first sneeze. Somehow, I managed not to sneeze for over 6 weeks. Just now, I sneezed twice, and it didn't hurt at all. I guess my sternum is healing after all!