Mike1952
Well-known member
I made it! My surgery was scheduled for Friday, the 10th but the doctor called on Wednesday afternoon and asked if I would mind doing it Thursday instead. So, the last thing I remember, it was 2pm Thursday. Next memory I had it was 9am Friday and I was struggling with the tube down my throat. They quickly removed it and from that point forward, it was only a couple of hours and they had me sitting in the chair!
There was a bump in the road during the surgery. They had sewed me up and the surgeon was concerned about the amount of blood coming out of the chest tube. They decided to open me back up to make sure the valve stitches weren't bleeding. Ends up they were fine and the bleeding was under control. I ended up with a tissue valve.
It is definitely a great relief to have the surgery out of the way. My blood pressure and heart beat are quite normal. The only concern is I am anemic. My reading is 19 and I think normal is 35. I have a pretty long scar but it looks like it will heal pretty well. All in all, I feel like it went really well. My surgeon is in his sixties and he has done thousands of heart surgeries in his career! He had a couple of physician's assistants that were on the team.
Next, I will begin the process of walking more and more each day to get my strength back. After all the posts on this forum, I am prepared for it to be somewhat slow at first.
LIFE IS GOOD!!!
There was a bump in the road during the surgery. They had sewed me up and the surgeon was concerned about the amount of blood coming out of the chest tube. They decided to open me back up to make sure the valve stitches weren't bleeding. Ends up they were fine and the bleeding was under control. I ended up with a tissue valve.
It is definitely a great relief to have the surgery out of the way. My blood pressure and heart beat are quite normal. The only concern is I am anemic. My reading is 19 and I think normal is 35. I have a pretty long scar but it looks like it will heal pretty well. All in all, I feel like it went really well. My surgeon is in his sixties and he has done thousands of heart surgeries in his career! He had a couple of physician's assistants that were on the team.
Next, I will begin the process of walking more and more each day to get my strength back. After all the posts on this forum, I am prepared for it to be somewhat slow at first.
LIFE IS GOOD!!!