Julia's Posts

A year ago now I was hooked up to a heart-lung machine. What a difference a year makes! Now the top of my health worries is whether my son has a sprain or a stress fracture on his back. My sister sent me a birthday card yesterday. Yes, I get to celebrate two birthdays in a year! Many people asked me, “How long does the recovery take?” I find this really hard to answer. Here is my experience. After 1 month, I felt “almost back to normal”: after all, I could drive and I could walk 1-2 miles albeit not too fast. After 3 months, I thought “I wasn’t that well at 1 month, but now I am much better”: I could take long car trips and even plane trip and sight seeing; sure I still need naps some days and get tired in the afternoons. After 6 months, I thought “3 months were really not enough; now I am back”: ankles no longer swollen, left shoulder much better, don’t need naps, sleep through the night, can walk fast, etc. After 9 months, I was working full time, worrying about mundane things, running around like chicken without heads, but my blood pressure and heart rate were still up and down doing random dances from day to day. Now, the blood pressure and heart rate fluctuations are gone. My remaining complaint is that my short-term memory is not as good as before. The key is that everyone’s recovery journey is unique. I also learned that human body is an incredibly complicated and coupled system. I had more doctors’ appointments and lab tests in the past year than probably my whole life combined. Most of them are not directly related to my heart surgery, but I am sure all of them are related. So I continue to deal with these annoying but not urgent health issues. I am very grateful that Dr. Ryan could perform Ross procedure for me. Otherwise, Coumadin would have made my other health problems much more difficult to deal with. I am celebrating today by reflecting on the journey for the past 21 months, doing things I enjoy, and not to responding to external pressures (i.e. work stress). The support and love from my family were invaluable for my recovery. I thank my friends for their kind thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. I thank Adam for providing this supportive venue for us to share our inner fear, experiences, and journey. I have “met” so many people who helped me “back to normal” on this website. Chinese say “揀回來了一條命”, literally means “pick up a life (from ground)”. That is how I feel now.