If this is going to be a real poll, we've got to have the no as well as the yes votes, to get a sense of what proportion of respondents actually have related disabilities.
In my case, fortunately, it's probably a no. I seem to, for one reason or another, look at things a lot more literally than I may have before surgery and process language a bit more accurately than most people do (for example, if Obama is giving a really long answer, I can keep up with all the twists and turns of his logic, while others kind of cut out the middle and listen to the last 100 words).
I've probably lost the same kind of 'thing' in our psyche that others reportedly lose when our chests are opened up. I don't want to sound metaphysical -- I don't usually trust such mumbo jumbo -- but there's something that leaves us (psychologically, mentally, I'm not sure where it comes from, but it's part of our general personality) after OHS, and I'm pretty sure mine is also missing.
But, as far as a disability that I can directly blame on OHS or my Aortic valve replacement, I can't think of anything at this instant. (I still get auras, which I used to get before surgery, I get whiteouts that I never got presurgery (micro-emboli?) and I guess enough of them can feel disabling, PATs are less frequent than pre-op but still there.
Perhaps my biggest disability is my inability to find a good employer or good permanent job. (Of course, it's easier for a younger person who doesn't click to get a job -- they'll work for less money, and probably be less expensive to add to an employee health plan. I'm not alleging any kind of blatant discrimination, and I've had some jobs post-surgery for a few years each, but overall, it's been harder to stay at a job, and when on my own, to stay motivated to earn enough for all the expenses. I'm STILL trying to do my life's work)
