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Hi All, It has been a while since I logged in, but wanted to share that all is well. For my eight year heart-a-versary, I joined the 9/11 Memorial Firefighter hike up to Gray's peak in Colorado, which benefits the National Fallen Firefighters Association. It was a worthy cause on a memorable...

It has been seven years, give or take a few days. I don't get around here very often any more, but you all (literally!) have a special place in my heart. Life continues to be active, healthy and happy. Looks like this Thanksgiving will be spent on the beaches of Aruba, last summer got to...

Hello fellow VR.com-ers! I haven't poked my head in here lately, mainly because I have been working on a new website. The website serves as a guide to great content on the Internet - we not only find great websites, but then provide reviews, to make sure you don't miss any of the great...

This season makes me reflect on the miracles of modern life, and give thanks for second chances. For those whom I haven't yet had the pleasure to meet, I was a feverish poster on these boards over four years ago, with all of the questions and concerns of a newbie. Concerns over surgery...

Last week, I had the symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection and went to the doctor. My urinalysis came back negative, but the doc still sent me home with sulfa, just in case. This morning, the doctor called to tell me that, even though the urinalysis was negative, the urine culture had grown...

So, when I told my cardiologist I wanted to hike a 14-er, he gave me the okay, but explained some of the physiology I thought the rest of you all might find interesting. I am not sure if/how this also applies to artificial mitral valves, but here is what he said: Your heartbeat is composed of...

Had my three year checkup today. The good news was my heart was still beating. :D :D The bad news? Well, there was no bad news! Dr. Cosgrove did it again, another successful valve repair. As for the rest of life? Busy as ever! I know, I know - you all thought I would be sitting on my...

Just curious if anyone else deals with Isolated Systolic Hypertension and/or a wide pulse pressure. Isolated Systolic Hypertension is where your systolic blood pressure is high, but your diastolic number is low (normal = 120/80). Usual pulse pressure is around 40 - 60, and represents the...

Hopefully, our surgeons are more competent!

Funny how the days go. My anniversary date slipped by quietly and without notice. Only after seeing another valve-a-versary did it occur to me that mine had passed by on the 18th. So, happy 2nd birthday, to my repair! It has been a lesson in "the best of times, the worst of times," and...

Me and 48,000 friends are going to race the Bolder Boulder (10K) tomorrow. Should be a cool 57 degrees, which makes for good walking. Any chance another VR.com-er will be in the crowd? Melissa

On the first day of recovery my family said to me, you made it through surgery and we are as happy as can be. On the fifth day recovery, my surgeon came to me and said, "you can go home now;" I was filled with glee. On the second week of recovery, I walked around the block, taking it all in...

This falls in the category of things that make you go hmmm. . . My PCP called this morning with the results of Wednesday's MRI/MRA. She said that the MRI didn't show any signs of stroke or blod clots, but did show some small cavernous angiomas, "although these wouldn't be related to the...

Anyone ever had sutures spit back up at you? The surgeon who pulled out the wires used Vicryl, which is supposed to dissolved under the skin. Instead of dissolving, mine are popping up through the surface. The other day, it looked like a tiny bit of pus was under the surface of the skin. I...

I am not a very good judge of when "something is going on," and either tend to ignore it until it is massively out of control or suspect little stuff adds up to big stuff when it doesn't. So I thought maybe you all could help out. Here's the scoop: - Wide pulse pressure, BP ~145-70 - Pulse...

The past few weeks I've felt pretty crummy at work and am still getting visual disturbances on a regular basis. On a whim last week, I took my blood pressure at one of those grocery store machines and was surprised to see it read 146/64. Wanting to verify the results, I took my blood pressure...

On the stretcher again. .. like a band of gypsies running down the highway. .yours and my ways. . . :D Tomorrow I go in for four hours of pre-op ( :eek: ) to get my sternal wires removed. (Too much pain when goofing off and sailing - the wires gotta go!) Then at 7:30 am on Thursday, the...

Soul of a surgeon By Richard Selzer, M.D. Great article on how it feels to be a surgeon. My favorite paragraph: For many surgeons this tension [of keeping failure inside] is too much to bear, and they withdraw from the lists. For others, it is another challenge that must be overcome, one...

Howdy! I've been in lurk-but-can't-find-time-to-post mode for awhile. Sorry to have missed posting on some of the happenings of my VR.com family, but know that I've been sending good vibes from afar. Life continues to speed along in overdrive. I've been working on renovating the condo -...

I sure do. My heart is a beating one. Just got back from the cardiologist and after listening closely, he said, "I don't even hear a murmur. You are free to do whatever you would like. As for follow up, I'll let you decide when that should be - I don't see any reason to have you back."...