Hi everyone

[Granbonny]

This tread has been dormant for 2 months.....Let's talk some about our others My sweetie gave me a Diamond Heart pendant to wear on my gold chain. I have been wearing a gold nugget he bought me in Alaska 10 years ago. My daughter waited months to tell me how he was..when I was having my open-heart surgery He told her..I would spend my last penny to know she will be O.K..... She told him. not to worry Dad...You know Mom..She's not to miss anything in ours life.....and he is so happy to have me back.. Still cooking when I am on Vr.com//Bonnie

 

[Nancy]

Hi Bonnie-

I was looking at Joe tonight, playing with our little dog. He was laughing and leaning over. He couldn't lean over before I brought him to the hospital recently. His lungs just seemed to close off when he leaned over and he would get breathless and have to sit down. It was a small thing, but I realized that this mundane scene might not have happened. It could have been a totally different picture.

He's a great guy, and I'm so happy that he's alive.

He's my hero and a real fighter.

 

[EVELYN]

HEY YOU GUYS....I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE BOTH MY HEROS....YOUR STRENGTH, SENSE OF HUMOR, PATIENCE, AND KNOWLEDGE AMAZE ME. YOUR GRACE HUMBLES ME.....I LOVE AND ADMIRE YOU BOTH.

EV

 

[Andrea]

Jason is 29 (I'm 31). He is a big teddy bear at 6'4 and 300 lbs. He has the most amazing blue eyes He is usually 'the quiet type' but he is always there for me. He is a big help with our girls (1 and 3). He is the one who plays 'airplane' with them and holds them up in the air flying around the house. He is quiet, but I can tell he is nervous about the surgery. I know that when I come home from surgery that he will be a huge help to me.

My other significant other is my Mom lol. She is a 51 year old charge nurse and has lots of experience with post-op hearts. WOW am I in good hands or what??? She is going to take a few weeks off from the hospital to nurse me back to health and take care of our girls.

I guess with these two I have nothing to worry about

 

[Granbonny]

Nancy

Nancy

If I remember correctly..you and Joe have a Shitzu? That is another thing that John and I share. the love of our pets. We had a Shitzu for 12 years. Little male black and white that traveled all over with us. Lordy did we love that dog. He got a heart condition and didn't last long. Died in my back seat as we left my Mom's house in Alabama. John turned around and went back and wrapped him up..brought him home and he is buried outside our back door. Did we grieve....Now, we have a Papillion. Same thing..and he loves our 2 cats. A 10 year old and one 7 months.A man that loves animals is special. Bonnie

 

[Nancy]

Joe and I are big time animal lovers too. He's really nuts about animals. We had a Shih Tzu that passed away, and now we have another. They are darling dogs. Harriet is white with a black mask. She's a real tomboy. Funny as can be.

 

[Andrea]

Off the subject entirely

Off the subject entirely

I know this is off the subject, but Nancy I just noticed that your husband got the St Jude for his Mytral. Thats what I am getting and I was wondering do you know the different benefits of different valves? And does the St Jude make a loud ticking like some people say they have heard with their valves?

My Cardiologist just told me last week they will give me the St Jude and silly me didnt think to ask what the pros and cons are of different valves and how this one stacks up.

 

[Nancy]

Hi Andrea-

Joe's mitral does click a little, but then he has an older aortic valve (Bjork-Shiley) which is 25 years old and is a ball and cage affair. That one clicks too. I can hear it sometimes, and other people can if it's very quiet and they are close. I can't tell you which one is louder, since they both make a little noise.

Joe doesn't even hear them anymore. He's so used to them, but the docs say it's quite a marching band inside there.

You do get used to the sound after awhile.

Joe uses a sound machine at night though. It emits white noise and masks the sound. When he's lying on a bed it does get noisy for him.

But with one valve and a modern one, you'll get over the sound in a short while.

Go to the main page of this site and click on heart links. There is info about the various valves. Also do a search on the Thread "Making the Choice" and take a look at that thread. You'll be there forever. It was started by Peter Easton.

 

[epstns]

Shih-Tzu's?

Shih-Tzu's?

Hi everyone!

I haven't gotten my wife to look into this site yet -- she's still absorbing all the info through the cardio and what I can explain. She isn't one to worry about it until it is time to head for the hospital (lol).

I did want to comment on all the Shih-Tzu lovers here, though. We had one, too. An adorable guy named Prince Paxton of Cheremy Kennels (Pax) who was our surrogate child for the first 7years we were married. When our daughter was born, he was one of the best helpers imaginable. He was truly like a MOF (member of the family)! He was with us for over 14 years, but when his Alzheimers' went too far, we had to put him to sleep. I'll admit that now, almost 10 years later, I still miss him a lot.

To butcher a quote of Jimmy Durante, "Good night my sweet puppy, wherever you are."

 

[pegne]

My husband is my rock

My husband is my rock

I just had to tell you all about my husband. We dated for six years before we got married. He had custody of his children from his former marriage. My daughter was 5 and she adored him from the minute she met him. After we were married for a year he adopted her. She IS his daughter. I went through my 2nd heart surgery while we were dating. I thought that would scare him off but no he came back for more. He has been through so much with me. In 1995 while I was in Cleveland he stayed in a motel room for 20 days. Hospital room to motel room to hospital room. I have not only had 4 heart surgeries but also a thorocotomy, hysterectomy and numerous other medical problems. One thing the surgeries did to me was got me dependant on pain medication and also tranquilizers. I took them for a long time. Nov. 17 1999 was the last time I took a habit forming medication. I cannot even imagine what it was like to live with me. He stuck by me even tough there were times when we both knew this marriage could not last like that. He is my rock. I didn't get married until I was 30. I tell everyone that it took me that long to find the best. And I did. Peggy

 

[Jan]

Husbands

Husbands

I have been very lucky,Bill has always been there for me

We had a motorcycle accident in Aug 94 and he suffered a serious spinal Injury, I fractured my leg we were in hospital for 4 weeks and when we came home although he was in pain he took care of me,

Since 94 I have had 15 surgeries on my leg ( I almost lost the leg due to infection in the bone) and Bill was there with me when I came around after each surgery,

When I was awake at night with the pain he would always sit with me and try and help me cope,

He did all the wound care and dressings

He did all the houshold chores and did them well,

I would never have got through it without him

Then came the AVR we were so worried but again he was there for me every step of the way.

We celebrate 30yrs of marriage on March 14th and I am looking forward to the next 30

He is a fantastic guy, a big softee and he will always do a favour for anyone

He is a great husband and father

He still suffers pain fron his injury but never complains,


Jan

 

[Granbonny]

Peggy and Jan

Peggy and Jan

I think we 3 married triplets. Jan, you have fun in Daytona..Where did you ship your bike.? What city? Take care and no more wrecks. Bonnie

 

[joy]

My husband is also amazing. I think allmy health issues are almost harder on him than they are on me But he stood(or sat) by my bedside the whole time I was in my coma, and then he took care of me when I got to come home. My mom brought Ian, our son(he was an only child at the time and he had just turned 2) back to Minnesota with her, and he stayed with his aunt for 3 1/2 weeks. I felt horrible, but Kevin would call out there every night and hand me the phone so I could talk to Ian. Even after that, Kevin had to get his orders changed so he could stay with me instead of going to singapore for a year. He drove me to seattle every week so I wouldn't have to go alone, and above all, he was emotionally supportive if I needed a shoulder, he was there.