It's not my anniversary, but it is the beginning of a new year, ....a year which i may or may not have seen without my surgery. I'm 43 now and had a severely dilated LV, but NO symptoms. A minor car accident led to the discovery of a bicuspid vavle, and 2 months later, i was fitted with the On-X mech valve.
I have to say that i'm amazed how soon i was able to get back to normal life, and within 6-9 months i was rarely thinking about my surgery or any of it. Now weeks go by and i don't think about it.
Yes i take Coumadin, and i test my INR at home, every 2 weeks, and i do pay attention to what i eat, but all these things have become part of routine, and none of them trigger the memories of all the anxiety and stress that i went through earlier, or my surgery. I look in the mirror everyday, and my eyes don't even look the scar.
Don't know what the future holds, and how long this goes on, but to all those waiting for their surgery, the message simply is that, Yes it's possible to have a 99.9% normal life afterwards. The pain and stress you feel before surgery, is worse than anything after surgery.
Most normal folks are afraid of the pain, and i was too, but the one thing that kept me sane was : from kids to 80 year olds have been having heart surgeries for decades. If they can do it, so can I. And with modern medicine, it's easier than before.
It's encouraging to see people here with multiple decades of life span after this. It does give me hope and to everyone else who is looking for answers.
I don't contribute here the amount that i would like to, but send me a personal message and it always comes in email, and i'll make sure to respond.
Cheers
I have to say that i'm amazed how soon i was able to get back to normal life, and within 6-9 months i was rarely thinking about my surgery or any of it. Now weeks go by and i don't think about it.
Yes i take Coumadin, and i test my INR at home, every 2 weeks, and i do pay attention to what i eat, but all these things have become part of routine, and none of them trigger the memories of all the anxiety and stress that i went through earlier, or my surgery. I look in the mirror everyday, and my eyes don't even look the scar.
Don't know what the future holds, and how long this goes on, but to all those waiting for their surgery, the message simply is that, Yes it's possible to have a 99.9% normal life afterwards. The pain and stress you feel before surgery, is worse than anything after surgery.
Most normal folks are afraid of the pain, and i was too, but the one thing that kept me sane was : from kids to 80 year olds have been having heart surgeries for decades. If they can do it, so can I. And with modern medicine, it's easier than before.
It's encouraging to see people here with multiple decades of life span after this. It does give me hope and to everyone else who is looking for answers.
I don't contribute here the amount that i would like to, but send me a personal message and it always comes in email, and i'll make sure to respond.
Cheers
