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Wow, Steve. Good for you to have stopped, chilled out, and then figured it out! What is life if not a learning experience? Glad all is well.

Hey, Steve... We ARE practically neighbors! It really is a small world after all! Looks like Disney was right! 8-)

Hi, all. It's 8 weeks today on the other side of the mountain for me. I'm back here on the board searching for some information on insomnia, and here we all are! If I were really clever, I'd check the times of these posts to see how many are up late! I have always had a weird body clock - a...

Please count me in for a Chicago-area meet if/when it comes up. I live in Niles (northwest suburb) and work in Schaumburg, so I'm flexible. I'll return to work probably early to mid-August, but I'm game any time. I'm 6 weeks post-op now and am driving again (yay!), so I could meet just about...

Welcome to the other side of the mountain, Rachel! It's Day 20 for me post-op, and one day at a time I'm doing better and better. You will too. I'm still looking for that truck, too, though; may have been the same one that got you! Take care, and keep us posted as you can. Mary Lou

Wow, Julian. That's quite a story! As a child of the '60s, I did my fair share of partying through the years; I just didn't know that I had a heart valve problem. I'm fairly new to this forum - lurking since April 2011 when I first suspected that surgery was on the horizon. I'm 17 days post-op...

Hi, Carolyn. It took me about a week after surgery to post an update after mine. My sis had agreed to do it, but then I'd given her the wrong password. I could only remember it with my own hands on the keyboard, so by the time that happened, a week had passed. Just keep sending positive energy...

I hear you, Luana. The idea of breaking the sternum was just terrifying to me. Still is scary, but it's down a notch from terrifying since that bridge has now been crossed. Any way you cut it though (pun intended), recovering from a 3-inch incision vs a 10- or 11-inch incision is bound to be...

Hello, robinfairchild. I had AVR on June 10, 2011 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. My surgeon, Dr. Malaiserie, said I was a good candidate for the minimally invasive mini-sternotomy, but that I needed to understand that it could end up being a full sternotomy if warranted at the...

Hello again! Good news to report. I told the nursing home that I wanted my cardiologist to "bless" the transfusion before sending me down there, but then I could not reach her. After leaving several messages for Dr. Kansal, and with nursing home staff knocking on my door every 5 minutes (or...

What would life be without bumpy roads? I'm walking each day and am doing my breathing exercises and OT and PT and doing my best to follow the rules and such. The facility I'm in has been pretty annoying, though. The right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing here, and I didn't...

Helloooo from the other side of the mountain! This report will be necessarily more brief than my initial post, because my energy and brain-tracking are still a little overwhelmed, but I've been told that not so long-winded is usually a good thing! The surgery went well - about 5 hours, so...

First post here, but I have been reading and absorbing the wealth of information on this site for a month or so. This is the most useful lurking experience I've ever had, and I thank you all for your willingness to share your stories. The breadth and depth of knowledge and the kindness and...