Chris's Posts

Can't believe it has already been a year since Dr. Ryan gave me my new ON-X mechanical valve on July 27, 2020. What a crazy year! Walking and my Peloton bike really helped me recover fast right after surgery. I met with my cardiologist last week and she said my heart sounds perfect. Excellent BP, rhythm, etc. I celebrated the year anniversary by playing 2.5 hours of racquetball today and burned 1,782 calories with an average heart rate of 144 bpm. I'll sleep like a baby tonight! I've also been participating in the PROACT Xa Clinical trials for apixaban ("Eliquis") for about 4 months now. It's a randomized trial and I drew the lucky straw and am taking 5mg of Eliquis 2 x day. It's quite nice not to have to go in for monthly INR Testing. I can also enjoy an extra beer here and there eat salads without worrying about adjusting coumadin levels. I'm hoping this becomes a permanent thinning medication after careful study. Fingers crossed! Big hugs to my valve family - I'll check in again next year! :-) Chris Dixon

It's been far too long since I posted -- I really need to get better about that! I had 7.5 great years of doing anything and everything I wanted to do but started noticing some PVC's last year while on a business trip in Europe. That's when I started noticing some PVC's which put me on this road to a 2nd OHS. Overall, my Ross experience was very positive and I've made many dear friends along the way. But in the end, it appears I suffered from the common weakening of the aortic root which caused my pulmonary autograft to leak. Evidently, this is a common result from those of us with a bicuspid aortic valve that went through the Ross. The amazing Dr. Stelzer reinforced my aortic root, as well as ascending aorta, with dacron but my root continued to dilate which caused moderate/severe aortic insufficiency. My left ventricle has also enlarged a bit because of the extra load. After visiting with several Houston-based surgeons, I decided on Dr. William Ryan in Plano, TX at the Baylor Scott & White Heart Hospital. I was looking for what I called the "Stelzer Effect" in a surgeon. Meaning, I needed a "connection" with a surgeon that I could feel in my gut. I'm 100% convinced this helps one's healing through the entire process. Since I couldn't hop on a plane to NYC to see Dr. Stelzer (thx Covid-19), I was prepared to look however long it took! 8 years ago, I remember being against the St. Jude Mechanical Valve because of the ticking and blood thinners. Fast forward, I've really changed my opinion now after studying this newer "ON-X" mechanical valve which requires a much lower INR / clotting level (normal levels are 1.1 and ON-X is 1.6-2.0). I've spoken with several folks that have the ON-X valve and they're living very active lifestyles and say managing blood thinners isn't very difficult. Most likely, I'll end up with an ON-X valve but there's a small chance Dr. Ryan can repair my existing aortic root and aortic valve. If a repair can be done, that will enable me to get TAVR valves in the future. Part of me just wants to get the ON-X for the life-long durability and be done with it for good, to be honest. I've read a lot about new polymeric valves coming soon and it's enticing. But I owe it to my family to go with time-tested, proven solutions and not wonder "what if." You know the drill! Send me those positive, healing vibes and prayers next week! We got through this together last time, we'll do it again. With God, all things are possible. Piece of cake! ;-) Stay Safe! Chris Dixon Stelzer Ross #508, 27FEB12 "TBA," 27JUL20

Today is my 5th birthday, woohoo!!! My day started awesome and ended up challenging as I sit in the Charlotte airport looking for my lost bag. It's been a long day but I'm still the luckiest guy on the planet. My annual ticker check ups are nice and boring and still no meds. I'm so glad I opted for the Ross Procedure -- I still pray for Dr. Stelzer and Dr. Varghesi all the time. Those boys saved my life and I'm so grateful I'm in bonus coverage -- even with lost luggage! ;-)