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jwendlandt

Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
14
Location
Topeka KS, USA
I just found this forum last night. It has already been a great comfort to me. Hearing about other people in my situation helps greatly. It is helping assure me that my life can go on.
I found out two weeks ago, I have a severely leaking aortic valve. I am still learning to cope with this idea. I went to the Doctor for a sore throat and they found a heart murmur I had not had before. Several tests later and I have a bad aortic valve. I am going for a second opinion on Tuesday, February 2. I am still having trouble believing there is something wrong with me. I feel fine and have no symptoms. I am 46 years old and have two children and a wonderful wife. I am way too young to leave them.
 
First off - welcome to the zoo! Sorry to hear that you are going through this and I know how scared you are since I have been there, done that. But you have come to the right place. You have found a great place to vent and get all the information you need to get through this and you WILL get through this! I am 49 and found out last March that I had a leaking aortic valve, as well as a leaking tricuspid and mitral valve. By May, I was having OHS to replace the aortic valve and repairing the tricuspid. Still living with the mitral valve leaking, but getting tested again on Monday to see if it has gotten worse. The worst part of this whole process was the waiting once the surgeon decided that it had to be replaced. If you read the stories about the other members of VR.com you will see that we have a variety of ages, from really little and young to older. Some have had more than one OHS. The scariest part for me was thinking that I would not be around to see my grandbabies grow up. After finding this site, pretty much all my fears were gone. Of course, finding a great surgeon that you trust helps too! Please ask all the questions you want and we also have a great place for your wife to come and get answers to all her questions too!

diana (Ohio)
AVR, May 2008, Dayton Heart Hospital, Dr. John Miller, Surgeon!
 
First of all getting your valve repaired or replaced is not going to make you leave anyone. Maybe for a few hours while they are doing the surgery, but shortly after that you will see all there smiling faces looking down on you as you wake up when it is all over. My husband went through this a year ago plus had to have aorta replaced due to aneurysm. He did just fine and so will you. If your wife would like to talk to me please tell her she can send me a private post anytime she would like. Best wishes, and relax! Cathy
 
Hi there jwendlandt and Welcome to the best place on the web for information.
I too had no symptoms but all is well and doing just fine. I think I was 45 when I had my surgery and not once did it cross my mind that I would never see my family again - so wipe that thought out of head, you'll do just fine :)

You bound to have a lot of questions so don't be shy and ask away. The weekends can be a bit slow, but someone will be along to answer anything you have on your mind.

Cheers!
 
jwendlandt said:
I just found this forum last night. It has already been a great comfort to me. Hearing about other people in my situation helps greatly. It is helping assure me that my life can go on.
I found out two weeks ago, I have a severely leaking aortic valve. I am still learning to cope with this idea. I went to the Doctor for a sore throat and they found a heart murmur I had not had before. Several tests later and I have a bad aortic valve. I am going for a second opinion on Tuesday, February 2. I am still having trouble believing there is something wrong with me. I feel fine and have no symptoms. I am 46 years old and have two children and a wonderful wife. I am way too young to leave them.
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard! This is indeed a great place to find assurances and support. It a shock to hear those news, we know how it really feels and we all had been there, and here we are to assure you that you will enjoy your two children and life in a much healthier way and for many many long years to come. I lived with severe aortic leak for several years before I needed surgery, but I knew my fatigue was increasing year after year which was the start of symptoms.

Good luck and keep us posted. :)
 
Welcome. Happy you found us but sorry for the reason.
I had two OHS in four years and it never once was an option 'I would leave this world'. I had full intention of surviving and thriving and that attitude served me well. :)

I am coming up to a year anniversary from my second OHS and so far as I know am in no danger of leaving my DH anytime soon.

You will read us write over and over that the wait really is the worst part of this whole OHS experience and it truly is. The stress and wait is very difficult for some/most of us but we find the reality of the surgery no where near as bad as we expected...... at least that is the case for most of us. Some, unfortunately, have a few more complications but they are dealt with by the very fine surgeons and hospital staff at the wonderful heart center.

Ask all your questions. Usually someone has an answer to almost all the questions.
 
Welcome, and ditto to all the previous posts. Keep reading and I am sure your fears will be resolved. Be sure to stick with us and let us help you through this so you can get back to your beautiful family happier and healthier then ever!
 
Welcome. I just want to tell you that you're not alone. This is a great place where people share their experiences both pre and post surgery.

I can relate completey with you. I'm 40 years old, two children and a wonderful wife. I found out about a year ago that I had aortic reguritation and an enlarged left ventrical. I had no previous indication there was an issue. It was definitely a shock. I was in the best shape of my life. How could this happen to me. My mind was running 1000 miles per hour.

I did a lot of reading then on this board and the internet. Yes, the thought of open heart surgery is scary. But, I looked at all of the people on this board who have had successful surgeries and are thriving in their life. They are an inspiration.

Good luck on Tuesday. Do reading here. Let us know how it goes. And rememeber that you're not alone. It's ok to ask all of your questions.
 
Welcome to the insane asylum!

As I told you on registration, your not alone. Many many people go through this on a daily basis throughout the U.S. and the worst part of all of it is waiting for the surgery to take place. ;)
 
Welcome, from another newbie.

As others have said. You're not alone.

I was also like you, excellent health, 45 years old. Doc said I had a noisy valve and would need a valve job in about 10 years. He echoed it yearly, my lifestyle didn't change. I never gave it too much though until I woke up after surgery.
Year after surgery I was back to normal in excellent health. It's been a GREAT 18 years and looking forward to some more.

Best of luck to you.
 
Thank you

Thank you

This forum is one of the best things I have found for my overall moral. It is comforting to see the many success stories and know I am truly not alone. The informational sections are also helpful. Thank you all.
 
Welcome to VR. Sorry for the curcumstances but glad you found us. I didn't have sympotoms either. My murmur came out of no where as I had not prior history. I'm almost 3 year post-op now and feel great. Best wishes and good luck.
 
Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi there, welcome. I can completely understand what you are feeling right now. Last summer I went through the same thing. At age 42, being told that you have something seriously wrong with your heart, and Open Heart Surgery is in your future, not so far away. Felt devastating. As I learned more about it, it was easier to cope. Don't for once think that you will leave your children and wife, this is one of the things that CAN be fixed with surgery. You will be fine! As a mother of a young child myself, I know the feeling ( and I think about it all the time myself, the possibility of me not being there for my family), but as you educate yourself, you will see that the chances of that are rare.

This forum is wonderful, and it was a blessing to me, hope you will feel better with the support of others who are going through the same thing. There are many members in their 40's with young children too.

Nupur
 
Just saw this post... First and most important is you're not going to be leaving your wife and kids, the success rate for this operation is really really high, so high it's not worth worrying about, 1% or less... So, unless you're going to run off with a French Au Pair stop worrying about losing your family right now.
It's a shock alright, it really is. I went for a general check up with my GP knowing he'd boost my inflated ego with something like, wow, I never saw such a fit and healthy 41 yr old, what's your secret, you're in amazing shape! When infact he said, on listening to my heart "that's interesting?" INTERESTING !!! To cut a long story short, a little while later I was having a new aortic valve fitted ! That was on the 10th of december just gone. What a roller coaster, pain , worry, fear and tears... Now nearly 8 weeks later I can say with some caution, I'm begining to feel strong, alive and ready for life to deal the next hand...
You will worry, you've a mission ahead but you'll be fine, the fear of the unknown and the shock is far far worse than the operation and the mending ...
Good luck.
Justin
 
Leaving someone? The only way you'll leave anyone is if your planning a trip. LOL. Welcome to VR. It is a scary situation but lucky for you you aren't the only one in the boat. Hundreds of thousands of people have some kind of valve surgery every year so you are in good company. I, like you didn't feel bad when I was diagnosed. But in hind sight, looking at pictures of me then and now I look totally different now. Good luck on the second opinnion. You'll find us to be very helpful.
 
Welcome
My brain went to the doom and gloom right off the bat, but my Cardiologist came to me with “You will feel so much better you will be amazed.” And “You will get through this” I did not know I felt bad (just tired from working a good 60 hours per week) As I looked back over the past two years I had been pulling back from activities so I knew I needed the Aortic Valve replaced. That is just what they did Sept 24, 08 and I am back at work and feeling better than just prior to surgery, but I am still wanting more energy (these people here on VR assure me it will come) I think that returning to work a month ago slowed down my recovery energy that had been put full force into just getting healed. Keep a positive attitude, find something to laugh about (we have a laughing pig and I constantly joked about wanting the giggle pig’s valve though for longevity sake I chose the mechanical so I don’t have to face surgery again for this issue).

I would also encourage you to tell anyone and everyone get that energy (especially the negative that you are feeling right now) out there. You will become more comfortable with what is going on with you as you get more data to answer the questions you don’t even know that you have yet. I had family and friends praying for me and visiting me – I only found this web site a week ago or so. Keeping the energy flowing allowed be to have my family and friends (many church people) help carry my emotional baggage through the process. My husband even had me at church 10 days post op – now he had to do lot’s to get me there, and I went home and crashed into bed I had spent all of my energy credits for the day, but I was happy and returning to doing something that I cherished.

Don’t give up // Look up // and if you ever find you are at the end of your rope tie a knot in it and hang on // It may be a bumpy ride at times but there is a back side to the mountain that you face.

Peace
Ann
 
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