HEART SURGERY Special on ABC TV Friday night

[ALCapshaw2]

There will be an ABC TV Special about Heart Surgery produced by Barbara Walters Friday Night (10 pm EST, 9 pm CST if I understood correctly). This was also announced in the Small Talk Forum under the "Barbara Walters Special" thread.

The program will feature discussions with celebrities Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Charlie Rose, Barbara Walters, and Robin Williams, all of whom have had various types of Heart Surgeries.

Charlie Rose had a discussion with Barbara Walters on his PBS TV show Tuesday night promoting the special. I got the impression they do not understand that their "Cow Valves" are not actual cow valves but are manufactured by hand from the Pericardium Tissue around a cow's heart. They did discuss the "You want to do What? I Feel Fine!" issue and how people would come up to them now that they have recovered asking "How ARE you? Are you OK? etc."

Looks Interesting.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[skeptic49]

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Jkm7]

On the other thread in the other section of VR.com, it was noted it would be great if Barbara Walters surgeon was on the show. I agree but doubt he'll be part of it or surely she would have mentioned that.

 

[AgilityDog]

Monday night (9 pm central) National Geographic Explorer has a show called "Some Assembly Required" about growing our own transplant organs. The commercial shows a heart in a jar. I assume we are disscussing the growing of organs from stem cells. I know they've grown a mouse heart and run it on a pacemaker.

 

[neil]

cant see it as live in uk

 

[Greg a]

set on my PVR/DVR already

 

[buncle]

This should be a good watch.I have enjoyed Robin Williams talk about his valve on a few of the late night talk shows.

 

[johnp]

No offense, but I wish they would have added in a younger person or two into the program. Its like a punch in the stomach being in the hospital, in a cardiac unit, and somebody walking by saying "so sorry, you are way too young to be here"

 

[Marguerite53]

Thanks for the head's up!! Sounds great! But I honestly think Hank should have been invited! What was Barbara thinking???

Here's the blurb from ABC.

"What do Barbara Walters, President Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Regis Philbin, Robin Williams and Charlie Rose all have in common? They all went from being in the spotlight to being in the operating room for life-and-death open heart surgery. Now in a groundbreaking report, the "brotherhood of the cracked chest club" (as Robin Williams describes them) all open their hearts to Walters and reveal their emotional stories of how they triumphed over heart disease. Each account is an intimate portrait of these most public figures, infused with laughter and tears. Walters also takes viewers on an unprecedented behind-the-scenes journey of her own battle from discovery of a faulty heart valve to the operating table and recovery. In addition, she talks to doctors, including her own, about what viewers, especially women, need to know to save themselves and their loved ones. "A Barbara Walters Special: A Matter of Life and Death" airs FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

Even though a half a million Americans annually will have their chests cracked open and their hearts literally stopped and repaired, open heart surgery remains shrouded in fear and mystery. As Walters says, "It's no big deal... just a matter of life and death."

:smile2: Marguerite

 

[Herburban1]

In my paper it says "She talks to Dr. including her own." so maybe he will make an appearance. I wish I could get my kids to watch it.. they don't get it that I needed it.. My youngest thinks I elected to have open heart surgery because I didn't look sick to her...Bugs the hell out of me. My kids are in their 20s and think they know everything.

 

[MarkU]

Thanks for the heads-up.
Mark

 

[Jkm7]

I heard Barbara Walters on one of the morning talk shows and her surgeon was shown in an interview. During the piece we saw, she learned for the first time she had suffered anemia and had a blood tranfusion. She was shocked as she had no memory of it. She was even more surprised she had bout of a-fib. It was treated, she responded and does not require ACT. He advised her she would have been on 'blood thinners' if the medication he prescribed had not worked.

 

[Luana]

I wish they wouldn't lump the valve people in with those who have CAD.

 

[Jkm7]

I wish they wouldn't lump the valve people in with those who have CAD

Why Not?


How about those folks who are both?
Can the CAD's be considered as long as they also have a valve problem?
We have members here who had bypasses at the time of their valve surgeries.
I've had both so what do you do about me?

 

[Herburban1]

That makes me wonder is MVP "heart disease?" It came up last wear red day and my dd didn't think it did, but she didn't think I needed surgery either.

 

[malibu82]

i am watching right now, very interesting to hear their personal stories. their feelings about surgery sound like things i have gone through! like robin williams, the strangest thing. i have no interest in eating meat anymore. i dont think its related to my cow valve, but it is something that has happened!

 

[mwkentner]

I found it a little more difficult to watch than I thought I might. It stirred up some not-so-old memories and fears I had of surgery. It did emphasize some important things. Don’t waste time, follow up when your symptoms start to present themselves and don’t fear surgery if you address it early.
The ones of us that have gone through OHS have been given a very special gift!!
whether we know it or not

 

[ottagal]

Unfortunately, I forgot to set my PVR and missed it! Is there any way of viewing it on another station or a re-run?

 

[Luana]

Unfortunately, I forgot to set my PVR and missed it! Is there any way of viewing it on another station or a re-run?

It's on Hulu. Here.

 

[Protimenow]

Interesting show. It brought back more memories for my wife than it did for me.

Yes, it was somewhat disappointing that they seemed to lump valve surgery with coronary artery disease.

The one message that I think was the most important -- that women are at risk of heart disease and that they don't have the same set of symptoms that men do -- wasn't given enough coverage. I'd have liked the message to have been a bit more complete and a bit stronger.

The other thing that sort of bothered my wife and me was that these privileged people were talking about getting the surgery just because they needed it. But they didn't get into the financial realities related to such potentially life saving surgeries. If you have no medical insurance -- or crummy insurance - the option 'if you need it, have it' doesn't always come into play. There sometimes isn't much of a choice. If I didn't have a good job and good insurance when I finally decided to get the surgery 19 years ago, I'd have probably just continued to decline as my heart weakened - and had no real options to deal with the failing aortic valve. I don't know how many people are out there in desperate need of OHS, but who have little choice but to put it off until it's too late. This special didn't address THAT population AT ALL.