Fred's Posts

Today, July 22, 2021, is 9 weeks post-op from my aortic valve replacement surgery. My surgery was at UF Shands Heart and Vascular Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Dr. Thomas Beaver was my surgeon. Rather than having to endure a full open-heart surgery, my aortic valve was in the right place for a mini-thoracotomy. This means my surgery was performed through a 5 or 6-inch incision in my upper right chest. The negative in this is that the surgery is a longer procedure because of the intricacies involved; my surgery was about 7 hours long. My roll to the OR began at about 7:00 a.m., and my wife was able to see me at about 8:00 p.m. that evening. It was a very long day for her, but the medical personnel was good about keeping her up to date with my progress through the day. I ended up on the heart-lung machine for about 4 1/2 hours. The ICU was full at the end of the day so I had to wait for an ICU room to open up for me. I spent a couple of hours in the OR while waiting for an ICU room. I spent 4 nights in the ICU, with one additional day in a regular room before I was released. As I look back at my procedure and hospital stay I will say I am very pleased with how things went. While I was in pain after the surgery, everyone was good at making sure my pain was manageable. I did have to beg for ice, then water, on Friday afternoon as I hadn't had anything to drink since Wednesday night. Once I proved I could swallow the water and keep it down, someone approved me for food. Imagine my surprise when I was delivered a dinner of Bar-B-Q chicken, with spinach (yes I like spinach), part of a sweet potato, some fruit, and a small can of ginger ale. It didn't last long as I was starved! I did encounter a bout of AFIB on Sunday evening. It lasted into early Monday morning then vanished for good. I was moved to a regular room Monday evening. Some other things of note: My family stayed in a suite at a hotel in Gainesville the entire time. We went to Gainesville on Monday as I had to have some tests and procedures prior to the surgery. My surgery was on Thursday, and I left the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. We checked out of the hotel on Thursday morning. On Sunday morning I was up early to get dressed for church. Well, the shower and time spent getting dressed put me right back in my recliner. I was worn out for the DAY! On Tuesday I walked over 4000 steps in my first walk outside. It didn't put me in the recliner as hard as Sunday morning, but I was tired after the walk. I was driving at the two-week mark. This was with the surgeon's approval. I was told I could drive after of weeks, but not to enter into any racing events where I really had to "get up on the wheel." I took driving slowly, but it felt good being able to get back to life. I teach college online, and I was actively teaching a class that started the Monday a week before my surgery. My wife said I was crazy, but I had everything covered with her so she knew what to do if anything happened to me. After surgery, I had a hard time making myself get back to grading again. I just couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a minute or two. I was not expecting this, so I had to push myself to get back to grading the assignments so I didn't get behind. I am a vocalist, a trained singer. I volunteered to sing the National Anthem on July 4th. Wow...getting my voice back into shape after my surgery was an ordeal, and I only had a week to get my lungs and all the muscles working again to support my voice. I'm a baritone, and I generally have no problem with the upper notes at the end of the Anthem, but I did have to lower the beginning so I could hit the high notes at the end. I had no upper voice for several weeks. Now, 9-weeks after surgery I am still getting stronger. I am careful about laying on my right side, but I am sleeping in my own bed...that was an awesome thing to get back to MY bed. I feel great! My strength has returned. I didn't know my color was grey, but everyone tells me my color is good. I went to an Atlanta Braves ballgame this week as was able to walk a long way to my seat and back to the car 5 minutes after arriving at my seat as they canceled the game due to rainy weather. I was exhausted for sure and ended up with over 8000 steps for the day. If you find yourself reading this post, and have valve surgery in the future, know that after the surgery you will feel so much better. Be sure you communicate concerns to your surgeon. I told my team about being a vocalist...I also perform voiceovers, so I was very concerned about losing my voice...and my anesthesiologist worked to make sure I came through with no problems, even using the smaller tube in my throat so as not to damage my vocal folds. As I left the hospital my surgeon told me..."remember, you just got into a knife fight and your heart took most of the damage, so take it easy for a few months and you'll be just fine." He was right. My incisions are still tender but mostly healed now, and I can still feel soreness in my chest muscles. One more thing...make sure you have an advocate for yourself. You need someone who is there with you to just watch out for you while you recover. I asked about every pill I was given, and my wife asked about the pills before I was really aware of my surroundings again after surgery. Oh, and it's ok to be nervous about everything. Have a great day! Fred Earls