gerrychuck
Well-known member
Tonight marks 4 months since my completely unexpected emergency mitral valve replacement. Two weeks ago I celebrated my 54th birthday, a milestone I came within a razor's edge of not seeing. In light of that, I now think of Oct. 20 as my "Re-birthday" and intend to celebrate it annually from here on out! In addition, this week marks my return to full hours and duties at the physiotherapy clinic/rehab centre that I manage (and used to own until Dec. 31).
My recovery was slow initially, as my heart was severely weakened by the period of time between the failure of my valve and accurate diagnosis, coupled with my lungs being beaten up by 2 days in intensive care on a ventilator (and a little bit of post-op pneumonia). Once things got rolling, though, improvement started to accelerate. I am now on the treadmill daily for 45 minutes at increasingly higher intensity, and doing light weights twice a week. My shortness of breath, which was very pronounced for quite a while after surgery, is very nearly gone, and my energy levels are probably better now than they were before I got sick. I still have a bit of sternal soreness or itching once in a while along my scar, but it's a very minor issue. Frankly, my biggest problem right now is getting my flying medical back so I can once again take to the skies in my sport plane.
In short, life is returning to "normal". Only thing is, it will never be "normal" again. I skated very close to the edge last fall, and every milestone since then - Christmas, my son's wedding in early January, my birthday, Valentine's day - has been appreciated and celebrated by myself and my family at a deeper level and with greater joy than I could have imagined 6 months ago. It is so good to still be here. Funny thing, though; after coming so close to dying, I no longer fear death, and that fact actually increases my enjoyment of life even more. In addition, my relationships with my wife, my kids, my siblings and my friends has been forever changed and deepened, and I am profoundly grateful for that. Yes, I am now on warfarin for the rest of my life, and it's possible I might not get to fly again, but there have been so many positives that have come out of this experience that part of me is actually....almost glad it happened. I know that sounds nuts, but there it is. I have a new appreciation for every day, every person in my life, every song I get to play and sing and every new experience, and my life is in many ways better because of it. Go figure.
Hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with this little soliloquy, but I wanted to share my experience and also thank everyone on this forum for all the information and the reassurance it has provided. It is greatly appreciated!
My recovery was slow initially, as my heart was severely weakened by the period of time between the failure of my valve and accurate diagnosis, coupled with my lungs being beaten up by 2 days in intensive care on a ventilator (and a little bit of post-op pneumonia). Once things got rolling, though, improvement started to accelerate. I am now on the treadmill daily for 45 minutes at increasingly higher intensity, and doing light weights twice a week. My shortness of breath, which was very pronounced for quite a while after surgery, is very nearly gone, and my energy levels are probably better now than they were before I got sick. I still have a bit of sternal soreness or itching once in a while along my scar, but it's a very minor issue. Frankly, my biggest problem right now is getting my flying medical back so I can once again take to the skies in my sport plane.
In short, life is returning to "normal". Only thing is, it will never be "normal" again. I skated very close to the edge last fall, and every milestone since then - Christmas, my son's wedding in early January, my birthday, Valentine's day - has been appreciated and celebrated by myself and my family at a deeper level and with greater joy than I could have imagined 6 months ago. It is so good to still be here. Funny thing, though; after coming so close to dying, I no longer fear death, and that fact actually increases my enjoyment of life even more. In addition, my relationships with my wife, my kids, my siblings and my friends has been forever changed and deepened, and I am profoundly grateful for that. Yes, I am now on warfarin for the rest of my life, and it's possible I might not get to fly again, but there have been so many positives that have come out of this experience that part of me is actually....almost glad it happened. I know that sounds nuts, but there it is. I have a new appreciation for every day, every person in my life, every song I get to play and sing and every new experience, and my life is in many ways better because of it. Go figure.
Hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with this little soliloquy, but I wanted to share my experience and also thank everyone on this forum for all the information and the reassurance it has provided. It is greatly appreciated!
