John's Posts

Heart Warriors......3 weeks ago today at this exact moment I was on the operating table having my severe leaky Aortic Valve replaced with a biological bovine valve. A Carpentier-Edwards MAGNA Bioprosthetic 27mm Valve to be exact! The surgical procedure was a MINI Thoracotomy in G minor.🎶...the back-up plan was a full Sternotomy if needed. Thank God the MINI T was executed to perfection by an incredibly gifted Heart Surgeon and an equally incredibly gifted surgical team! I will always be grateful for all of them and the entire supporting cast of nurses, NP’s, nurse assistants, lab workers, food service people, transport aides, technicians, janitors, etc. at DUKE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL! 3 weeks later to the exact day and time.....I am released with very limited restrictions! I can drive again....I can actually start back “spinning” at my gym if I want too (but only for 20-30 minutes at a time...nothing crazy yet). I can start participating in a nearby Cardiac Rehab which I plan to check out today or tomorrow (I have the RX script for a 12 week program which Medicare and my Supplement pays for in it’s entirety) I can progress slowly with lifting things...no routine dental cleaning for 3 months and when I do need dental work then I will need to take an antibiotic prior to the dental services....this protocol will be adhered too for life. BOTTOM LINE...I have my LIFE BACK! YIPPEE....I have no more shortness of breath; no more heart flutters or palpitations....I am still getting my full energy back and getting stronger and better everyday. My expectations are realistic and I know that 3 weeks is just a start.....in fact it took 3 weeks to actually start feeling somewhat normal. All of us are so different....so the timeframe is irrelevant just as long as you are getting somewhat better and stronger each and everyday....please DO NOT measure my recovery as the way YOUR recovery should be....we are all in this together BUT we are all different in the way we will recover from our Heart Valve Surgery! In closing...I am so grateful to have had this “life changing” surgery......5 months ago I had no clue that I had a bicuspid Aortic valve that was severely leaking....I had some clues that I was not quite feeling right (occasional shortness of breath; occasional heart palpitations and overall fatigue) TODAY.....all of that “bad stuff” is in my rear view mirror.....TODAY.....I feel like a new person....TODAY....I have none of those symptoms of a bad heart valve because I have been miraculous fixed with AVR Surgery.....YOU TOO....will feel great again.....just have FAITH and TRUST in your Surgeon and the entire Surgical Team AND DO NOT let negative BS creep into your State of Mind! Life is Good and Life will again be Good (no...GREAT) for you too! If you are in the waiting room....just know that all will be fine soon...don’t worry over this......the odds are stacked in our favor....these surgeons are amazing! If you are in recovery....Keep moving forward NOT backwards....everyday keep getting stronger and better. Have a “Not Today Satan Attitude”! God Bless All of You and Thank All of you for your continued support, prayers and encouragement as I will do for you in return! Thank You Adam for your book and this Forum....truly a “game changer and lifesaver tool for all of us”... Keep On Ticking My Heart Warrior Friends! John

Today is my 7th day since my very successful AVR Surgery last Tuesday am (January 15th, 2019). January 15th, 2019 has been etched in my heart and brain forever! All the details of this miraculous type of surgery are in the “details of the surgery itself”! It would take me 3-4 hours to explain it all.....So that ain’t going to happen Heart Warriors! If any of you in the waiting room, visiting room, observation room, post-op room would like to know the details then I encourage you to send me your e-mail address and we can have that very detailed conversation! My actual surgery lasted only 2 hours and 10 minutes....total prep time, etc and we had an average surgery of this type which lasted 4-5 hours. I spent roughly 24 hours in ICU and on to a “Step-down” room for the remainder of my hospital stay. I was discharged this past Saturday (January 19th @ 12 Noon) The infamous Breathing Tube came out around 2 p-m on Tuesday in the ICU Room. I was aware of the tube but was not uncomfortable. As all of you Post-Surgery Heart Warriors know.....the catheters are plenty, the chest tubes are not fun, the bladder Cath is OK and our bodies are absorbing an enormous amount of physical pain from enduring such a miraculous heart valve surgery. My “Hat and Heart” goes out to all those Heart Warriors who HAD TO HAVE A FULL Sternotomy....not fun...not fun at all my brothers and sisters! I was truly blessed and grateful that my surgery could be performed with only a MINI-T. Remember all Heart Surgeons have back-up plans and that back-up plan normally means a FULL Sternotomy. My Hospital Stay was filled with lot’s of interruptions and distractions....all I them planned. A Hospital is where you go to get fixed....recovery happens at home at in a very active Cardiac Rehab program which I’ll be starting soon. I have had numerous surgeries in the past 8 years (All Orthopedic related....knee replacement and both shoulders) and ALL my surgeries have been successful with very limited downtime and for that I am so grateful. I know 100% that this surgery will lead to an amazing recovery where I can set new goals and new challenges for many many years to come. I have not had any “glitches” so far and my Heart Surgeon said my surgery “was textbook perfect’! Amen to that! I now have a Carpenter Edwards MAGNA Bioprosthetic bovine valve which should last 12-15 years and then I am a perfect candidate for the TAVR catheter-based approach here at DUKE. So I am good till 90 + my brothers and sisters in the Heart Valve World! I am virtually taking very little pain medication (only at night). I am walking through-out the house because the weather outside where we live is hovering around 32 degrees which sucks! I hate Cold Weather....any temperature below 72 is unacceptable for me and the wifey! My 2 week Post-OP is 2/4 and I plan to enter Cardiac Rehab soon after that if the DOCS say YES. The WORST part of this whole entire ordeal so far....is my ICU Nurse ripping the tape off my (2) Neck Catheters followed by that nasty chest tube coming out! I am here to encourage any of you who need encouragement, strength, hope, guidance, etc. If I can do this...YOU CAN DO THIS! Praise these amazing Heart Surgeons and the entire Medical Teams (nurses, NP, everybody) who will literally hold your life in their talented hands! God Bless All the Heart Warriors....you guys are amazing!