mattwisconsin update

[mattwisconsin]

I have been absent from this forum for quite some time now. I am sorry to those who have been wondering what I have been doing. It has been for a few reasons that I fell off of here. First of all, I was eager to get back to my "normal" life and as I did, I was much busier and found less time to spend reading the forum. Second, my father had bypass surgery and had some complications so I spent much of the summer of 2009 helping my mother take care of him and the internet access at my parent's house was limited. Finally and probably the most significant issue, was that I kind of wanted to not deal with the surgery or the recovery. I did not and probably will not recover to the degree that I had hoped. I was in better shape before all of this happened and probably will not recover to that same level ever and it is still a little hard to accept that. So my way of dealing with it was to focus on other things and to stop thinking about the surgery, the endocarditis, and the recovery.

Although still not happy, I am more accepting of my current state. So I thought it was time for me to post an update. Things are getting back to normal somewhat. I spent the fall in Greece doing research, I am currently back at OSU where I am taking a couple classes and TAing one. I think that I will be finishing in a year or two. I have gotten engaged. I plan to return to Greece to excavate this summer. I still find myself getting short of breath whenever I walk too fast uphill and I doubt that this will change. My echoes have stayed consistent now for the last year. So that is what I have been up to and once again I am sorry for my absence. I hope that everyone else, including the friends that I made on here have been well.

 

[Ross]

Welcome back!

Your not the only one that didn't recover to feel better then before. That's one of the pitfalls of this surgery and why I hammer away at people setting themselves up for more down the road. Your body takes major hits each and everytime. While we may be the minority, we certainly can say that it does happen whether we like it or not.

Look on the brightside. Your not disabled, you can still do things, maybe not as well as you used too, but your functional. Some people aren't even that lucky.

 

[nngbwh]

Look on the brightside. Your not disabled, you can still do things, maybe not as well as you used too, but your functional. Some people aren't even that lucky.

Ross is right.. YOU ARE ALIVE.. Welcome back.

 

[Cris N]

Hey Matt - you're right... some of us were wondering what happened to you. Sorry to hear you're not as recovered as you would like to be or as you thought you would be. Perhaps this summer will be better for you and you can make some additional progress. Congratulations on your engagement too!

Watch out for the dust while excavating... that doesn't help your breathing!

 

[mattwisconsin]

Thanks to everyone. On the plus side I am alive, which with the endocarditis and the fact that the first doctor missed it, could have gone a lot worse. Also I am now 32 and if I would have been born 50-60 years earlier I probably would not have made it to a year old so in many ways each day is a bonus.

 

[Ross]

Thanks to everyone. On the plus side I am alive, which with the endocarditis and the fact that the first doctor missed it, could have gone a lot worse. Also I am now 32 and if I would have been born 50-60 years earlier I probably would not have made it to a year old so in many ways each day is a bonus.

I'm in pretty sad shape myself and I can do even less then you. Some days, I just wanna give up. Things are becoming harder and harder to simply shrug off and move on, but until the day there is no breath in my body, I must try.

 

[skeptic49]

Good to see you posting again, Matt. Sorry to read that your recovery has been disappointing. Hopefullly, your physical condition will imporve over time. Thanks for your insights. At least those if us who haven't had surgery yet understand through your story that there are many challenges post surgery.

Best wishes,

Jim

 

[Lynlw]

I am sorry to hear your recovery is not going as well as you hoped. I know a few people, young and old, who've had BE and it can really take its toll on you. At least your new doctors picked it up before even more damage could be done and hopefully you can still have a little improvement. But You are right it is a Blessing you can still do so much that you love. Congradulations on getting engaged. keep in touch from time to time, it is good to hear from you.

 

[mattwisconsin]

Ross

Ross

Ross,

I am sorry to hear that things are going so poorly for you. I do know that the work that you do with this forum is amazing. It really helped me through some tough times and I would assume that is true for many others also. Thank you.

 

[Duffey]

Matt,
I think it's within the realm of possibility that you might continue to make progress with your recovery even this far out from surgery. Congratulations on your engagement and enjoy your summer in Greece.

 

[Ross]

Hey, if you go to Greece, bring back some food for me!

 

[Mileena46]

I know this thread isn't about Ross....and I did want to say HI to Matt....but its true what he said about Ross! I don't know how I would have gotten through the last few months without his help and understanding. I, too am sorry that you aren't up to doing the things you use to do....but maybe thats because God knew how much we all needed you here and if you could travel and sky dive and all that....then we wouldn't have your expert advice! I am certainly not happy that its that way for you but I AM happy you are here!

Mileena

 

[debster913]

Glad to see you back and congrats on the engagement!

I can somewhat empathize with you about post-op recovery. I've had so many issues crop up after my valve repair that sometimes I think I was better off in early 2006 and before, but I also know that if I didn't have surgery, I'd be dead by now. I think for me, I'm just frustrated with everything I've had to deal with (and losing my mom has a lot to do with my frustration as well).

Enjoy Greece (I'm jealous!), and take care of yourself. I hope to see you on VR more, and please feel free to vent any time!

 

[DebbyA]

Matt,

You've had a lot going on this year--congratulations on the engagement!

I'm sorry you're feeling some pessimism about improvement, but agree with Duffey that you may find more improvement than you expect. My recovery was fairly uneventful and I thought I felt better after a year, but the second year was better.

Have a successful and enjoyable summer in Greece.