My date is confirmed

[Charlie]

Washington Regional Medical Center - Walker Heart Institute, Fayetteville, AR. My surgeon is Dr. James Counce. The surgery is to start at 11:00 am on the 20th.

I've concluded that a bovine valve will be my replacement based on my involvement with Motorcycle Adventure riding. I frequent very remote locations and I don't want to have an accident in a remote place and be on blood thinners and bleed out from being cut badly.


Now time will tick slowly now until next Wednesday. But here we go.

 

[Julian]

Very nice! Tissue valve good choice. If I was super active with "extreme" activities I would of made the same choice even at the tender age of 28. Since I'm not "extreme" the mechanical valve is my choice. I truly think your going to get some good mileage on your valve before it starts to give problems. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a tissue valve implanted 14 years ago and look at all the "trouble" he has gotten into lately :tongue2:! I wouldn't be surprised if Arnold goes another 10 years without needing a reop. As I said already, I think you made the right choice and I'm a week behind you. Travel well my friend and I will see you on the other side of the mountain.

 

[Charlie]

Thanks Julian

 

[Lynlw]

July 20th? If so I hope now that you've made your decisions you are able to relax a little and enjoy this weekend with your friends and family. Justin likes to eat really well before his since food is one of his favorite things and he wants to make up for the couple meals he'll miss the day of surgery. He USED to time his last meal for about 11:30 the night before surgery, but figured out, it's better NOT to go into surgery with a big meal the night before, since all the drugs play a number on his GI system. (see there ARE benifits to having so many surgeries you come up with a routine that works best for you, well thats what we decided to tell ourselves were the 'silver lining") So now he eats alot a day earlier, which if you're having surgery on tuesday .if my math is right Sunday sounds like the perfect day for a family bar B Q

Will someone be able to update us before you can get online?

 

[Greg a]

Great advice from Lyn as usual

Godspeed Charlie

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Charlie, having a date gives one a focus and I hope eases some of the normal anxieties that arise when one is in that limbo before knowing when it is to be. I would say that using anti-coagulants is unlikely to make you "bleed out". They just slow clotting. If you are hurt bad enough to bleed to death, anti-coagulants are not going to make much difference.

For other reasons, I chose a bovine pericardial valve. I can say, that so far it is serving me well as I approach my two year mark. We make our choices and we live with them. After surgery, your time should be spent working on recovery not second guessing yourself about decisions already made. If you have not already, I would suggest you consider making cardiac rehab one of the tools you use to help you explore your new body. I found it very helpful and it felt good to be part of a group who shared my experiences. However you plan your recovery, committing yourself to the best recovery possible is a good start. Give yourself time. There are some milestones you cannot fudge. It takes three weeks for the wounds to heal and for some a little longer. It takes about twelve weeks for the sternum to heal. You can do yourself long term harm by pulling the halves of your sternum apart if you do not use those three months wisely; no matter how strong you feel it still takes twelve weeks. By the time your sternum is healed, a lot of the early odd sensations should also be past and you should be ready to begin doing upper body training. Your recovery is your own to manage and can set the stage for a healthier life. I hope all goes well this week.

Larry

 

[epstns]

Hi, Charlie - and MOO to you from another bovine valve recipient! I'll agree with Larry on all counts. One - once you've chosen your valve, for all of your own reasons, it is the one right choice for you. Statistically we here at vr.org feel that the only wrong choice is to choose not to have the surgery. I'll also agree on the value of rehab - no matter what shape you're in before surgery. I started rehab 4 months after surgery. By that point I could perform all of my normal daily activities with nobody realizing that I had just had heart surgery. In the month or so of rehab I have noticed even more improvement, so I feel that for me it is a real value.

Try to stay busy the next few days. Once you actually check in at the hospital, it is all programmed. You go in one door and several days later you come out another. You will feel as weak as a kitten, might be miserable and feel lots of wierd things going on. Most of them are benign. Feel free to come around here and ask about what's happening. As things progress (and things will progress quicker than you think), you will have several "Eureka" days on which you realize just how far you've come. You're one of us and you will do just fine - almost all of us do so.

 

[enkaynj]

Good Luck Charlie. I got mine done last week on July 6th. Went with a bovine tissue valve as well. Here are a few thinhgs to keep in mind.
1) Keep your stomach light when you go in to op. Will also help you pass out quickly.
2) You probably had or will be having a blockage check prior to AVR to see if you need additional work. If you don't then most likely you can get away with a mini-sternoctomy. Goog luck with that
3) When you wake up from surgery you will feel that you got hit by a truck or a sledgehammer. There is no getting around that. But is passes very quickly with the medication they give you. I found chewing on ice-chips to be very comforting the first few days.
4) This may not be your style, but I found that not watching TV or working on a laptop helped me focus on the bare minimal activities I needed to do.
5) My hospital allowed a family member to stay with me so I was very grateful that my wife could stay and call for any help if I was unable to reach for the call-in button.
6) You don't need to pack much clothing at all. You will be wearing a hospital gown all through your stay. Some folks had recommended taking a few pairs of shorts. I took them with me but never got to use them. I was OK at the staff staring at my behind through the gown if they wanted to. I looked so much like a mountain man with all my unshaven facial hair growth so I was pretty sure I was travelling incognito.
7) I normally wear contact lenses but I left them at home and just took my glasses. One less thing to worry about.

All the best. Feel free to post any other questions you may have re. the hospital stay.

 

[Charlie]

Thanks everyone. We are leaving in the morning as I have a number of tests to do and I have three unrelated Dr.'s appointments. We will stay in Fayetteville tomorrow night and need to be at the hospital at 8 am on Wednesday. Here we go.

 

[Bina]

Best wishes to you, Charlie

 

[Scott]

Saying a prayer for you now. I am sure you will be thru this soon.