John & Joann
Well-known member
Greetings Heart Valve Friends,
This Friday, December 10th, Joann (My wife of 46 years) will celebrate her 33rd year of 2 mechanical valves. Yes, that is a long time. There are certainly many people to thank, (some are no longer with us) for this quantity and reasonable quality of life.
As I think back to that eventful time in our life, the goal was to see our daughter graduate from high school. (4th grade at the time). The goal then changed to college graduation, and then to see her happily married. The new goal was to see the first grandchild, then of course to see all of the grandchildren. We are now watching them grow and are looking forward to their high school graduation.
Coumadin, atrial fib/flutter, crisis events, several medical errors, a minor stroke due to stiching of the old valves letting loose, clicking of the old Star-Edwards valves, vascular disease, bypass issues, and frustrations have all been part of the journey. The good news is that she has made the trip and is still living a quality life (Most of the time).
We depart for Florida in our RV on Dec. 28th. Our dog, cat, and the 2 of us for 3 months makes a lot of togetherness. We plan to work on rennovations of hurricane damage with various church groups around Arcadia, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda.
We both extend to you our very BEST WISHES that you can experience the quantity and quality of life that Joann has enjoyed. We thank Hank & Michelle, Rain, Greg, Ross, Al, and the Many Other Friends that have/will in the future, climb the mountain. The view on the other side of the hill is sometimes cloudy, stormy, and windy, but if you keep moving along, YOU CAN CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN TOO!
We Thank God every day for the gifts that we have been given and hope that we both can help others face the challege of valve surgery.
From the bottom of our heart, we wish you all a Happy and Joyous Holiday Season.
John & Joann
This Friday, December 10th, Joann (My wife of 46 years) will celebrate her 33rd year of 2 mechanical valves. Yes, that is a long time. There are certainly many people to thank, (some are no longer with us) for this quantity and reasonable quality of life.
As I think back to that eventful time in our life, the goal was to see our daughter graduate from high school. (4th grade at the time). The goal then changed to college graduation, and then to see her happily married. The new goal was to see the first grandchild, then of course to see all of the grandchildren. We are now watching them grow and are looking forward to their high school graduation.
Coumadin, atrial fib/flutter, crisis events, several medical errors, a minor stroke due to stiching of the old valves letting loose, clicking of the old Star-Edwards valves, vascular disease, bypass issues, and frustrations have all been part of the journey. The good news is that she has made the trip and is still living a quality life (Most of the time).
We depart for Florida in our RV on Dec. 28th. Our dog, cat, and the 2 of us for 3 months makes a lot of togetherness. We plan to work on rennovations of hurricane damage with various church groups around Arcadia, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda.
We both extend to you our very BEST WISHES that you can experience the quantity and quality of life that Joann has enjoyed. We thank Hank & Michelle, Rain, Greg, Ross, Al, and the Many Other Friends that have/will in the future, climb the mountain. The view on the other side of the hill is sometimes cloudy, stormy, and windy, but if you keep moving along, YOU CAN CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN TOO!
We Thank God every day for the gifts that we have been given and hope that we both can help others face the challege of valve surgery.
From the bottom of our heart, we wish you all a Happy and Joyous Holiday Season.
John & Joann
(heh heh heh). 
