Heather Anne
Well-known member
Hi all -- I am now five weeks post op, and thought I'd post an update, again for those you are still standing at the edge of the pool waiting to jump in.
Short version: I feel great!
Long version: I feel really great! In fact, I feel better than I did when I went to a writers' conference in Tahoe (at 7500 feet) for a week in July and felt really draggy and foggy the whole time. For the past two weeks I have gone about most of my normal business (except for driving and housework and cardio workouts and weight lifting and all the things they won't let you do until six weeks post op). My "normal business" includes going to dinner with friends, going to the movies, going sailing on the Bay to watch the America's cup (okay, that's not really "normal"), and walking, walking, walking. Most days I am happy to fall into bed about an hour sooner than I would have before the surgery, and I do pace myself so as not to overdo it. But the fact that I am doing about 90% of what I was doing before the surgery makes me feel incredibly happy. I would advise everyone, to the extent possible with your own recovery path, to do things that feel like the stuff of normal life as soon as you feel up to it. Go to the movies. Go out for a beer with friends. Go shopping. The less you behave like a shut-in invalid, the less you will feel like one, in my opinion.
In other news, I had my first post-op checkup with my cardiologist, and he said everything looks great. He's normally this crabby, worried-looking guy, and to see him grinning with delight was so cool! I'm sure successful valve replacements, where his patients feel better and will live longer, are among the highlights of his job.
I'm also going to start cardiac rehab next week, so I'll post a note or two to let folks know what to expect there.
Finally, I'll conclude by saying that I know I am very lucky to have recovered as well as I have. Not everyone does. But I do think that if you keep a firmly positive attitude -- remembering always that this surgery, even with the constipation and ravaged muscles and spazzy aFibs you have to suffer through, is literally saving your life -- you can get through anything, even setbacks of the sort I've read about on this board. In fact, many of those who have suffered and written about those setbacks are walking, talking examples of exactly my point. (I'm looking at you, epstns and canon4me and pellicle, and others I'm not remembering off the top of my head but you know who you are!)
Short version: I feel great!
Long version: I feel really great! In fact, I feel better than I did when I went to a writers' conference in Tahoe (at 7500 feet) for a week in July and felt really draggy and foggy the whole time. For the past two weeks I have gone about most of my normal business (except for driving and housework and cardio workouts and weight lifting and all the things they won't let you do until six weeks post op). My "normal business" includes going to dinner with friends, going to the movies, going sailing on the Bay to watch the America's cup (okay, that's not really "normal"), and walking, walking, walking. Most days I am happy to fall into bed about an hour sooner than I would have before the surgery, and I do pace myself so as not to overdo it. But the fact that I am doing about 90% of what I was doing before the surgery makes me feel incredibly happy. I would advise everyone, to the extent possible with your own recovery path, to do things that feel like the stuff of normal life as soon as you feel up to it. Go to the movies. Go out for a beer with friends. Go shopping. The less you behave like a shut-in invalid, the less you will feel like one, in my opinion.
In other news, I had my first post-op checkup with my cardiologist, and he said everything looks great. He's normally this crabby, worried-looking guy, and to see him grinning with delight was so cool! I'm sure successful valve replacements, where his patients feel better and will live longer, are among the highlights of his job.
I'm also going to start cardiac rehab next week, so I'll post a note or two to let folks know what to expect there.
Finally, I'll conclude by saying that I know I am very lucky to have recovered as well as I have. Not everyone does. But I do think that if you keep a firmly positive attitude -- remembering always that this surgery, even with the constipation and ravaged muscles and spazzy aFibs you have to suffer through, is literally saving your life -- you can get through anything, even setbacks of the sort I've read about on this board. In fact, many of those who have suffered and written about those setbacks are walking, talking examples of exactly my point. (I'm looking at you, epstns and canon4me and pellicle, and others I'm not remembering off the top of my head but you know who you are!)
God bless and thank you for your encouraging words.
