Is the boogey man around the corner

[ken taylor]

MY fear and I hope insperation for those in the waiting room. Today is my six week new valve birthday. How did I celebrate ? I walked six miles, not fast 17 minutes per mile and that is my same pace I walked at before the surgery up to 23 miles with a couple of breaks. For the newbys Im a long distance walker I quit walking six months before surgery. Today my walk was just as if I never had surgery. After surgery I was told my valve was not bicusped just damaged probley from rumatic fever when I was 5 years old. When Dr. Grogeric operated he said he also did a small repair on the ascending artery. On day one after surgery I knew this surgery was a sucess I felt so much better than my first bypass surgery 7 years ago. On day four I was walking around the floor and the nurse ask me if I knew my heart was beating fast I ask how fast and she said 118 , Well thats a little fast but I thought heck I just had my AVR four days ago any way at that point they put me on Metroprolol 50mg twice a day and Digoxin 250mcg once a day. I was on those meds for 1 month. I felt slugesh and on my morning walks my heart rate on small hills was 98 now after being off the meds for over a week same small hill 138 beats per minute and now I feel great as if I never had surgery except for one area about the size of a playing card above my right breast all feeling has come back and my scar is healed and it is very narrow about the size of a kite string wide. So every thing is great I just hope this report will take away some of the fear for those that are going to have surgery in the future. I never was in much pain after day three and they took out the drain tubes, and the pain was back pain that went away little by little by walking. The reason I think it has been easier for me is I fourced my surgery months if not one year early and the fact that for a man turning 62 in a month im in good shape. Where is the Boogey man in all this? I read all the post and all the problems some folks have after AVR I keep thinking is it going to happen to me ,things are so good no a fib-- knock on wood so far and my progress is super, so I hope this will give someone comfort and take away some of the fear as Ive said before waiting is hell but the surgery is a BLESSING!

 

[nngbwh]

Great to hear your recovery is going smooth. Keep it up !

 

[ElectLive]

Good post - hope it continues. 6 weeks was very much a back to normal milestone for me too. I definitely don't hear the boogey man anymore (10 months post) but occasionally do hear strange little noises in the night. Never a problem, though, just hyperawareness. A brand new t-shirt is just never as comfortable as an old favorite, no matter how many holes the old one may have had.

 

[Jen]

I am on the same path as you. I am 4 weeks and 2 days out of AVR, and every week I celebrate by walking that many weeks. Tuesday was a 4 mile walk in the am, avg spd was 18.36 ( I bought a garmin forerunner 305 as a gift to myself for surviving and doing so well). I just got put on metoperal last Monday because of some irregular beats, and this should be temporary. My suregon allowed me to start swimming again last week. I was very active with triathlons and running races last year ( I am a back of the pack finisher), but even did a 5k 2 weeks before surgery and at mile 2.5 realized again why I was having it done. I pushed I think for the surgery to get done sonner rather than later, and it paid off. I am back to where I was before (minus the scar discomfort and occasional aches and moodiness). The nurses called me their star pupil. How am I going to give back?? I have a volunteer meeting at the hospital Saturday to hopefully be able to visit OHS patients - kids and aduls at Carolinas Medical Center. There is no training group for cardiac patients in Charlotte (like ironheart racing or cardiac athletes) at least that I am aware of, and it is my mission to change that...

 

[ken taylor]

Jen; Thank you the fact that you are doing that good makes me feel beter. It is my openion that the cardiologist in many cases want to wait for symptoms, maybe it is so they will not have proublems with the insurance. That said symptoms in my non profesonal openion are the reason some folks have a more dificult time with recovery, the more the heart goes south the longer it takes to hopefuly get back to normal, that is why I was not willing to go south very far and told them I had symptoms and that was enough to get clearance for the surgery. P. S. Im moving my date forward for the EL CAMINO SANTIAGO . Hopefuly APRIL next year.