My journey on the bumpy road

[zztimeout]

Hi all,

Well here goes... I am a 41 yo male fit and born with a bicuspid aorta valve. Last echo showed ascending aorta was dilated to 51mm and time to talk to surgeon. Selected the two best surgeons in this field and the big day was 19th May. Well I woke up after having aorta replacement with valve spareing proformed. 2 days later they found a large clot pushing my heart and lungs to one side.. Went under the knife again and fixed the clot... 3 days later they found a narrowing of one of the coronary arteries was evident and was opened up AGAIN... this time they bypassed the atery by using another atery in my body. After closing me up the ECG went crazy.. Opened me again and all looked good.. Closed me up and same thing happen... Surgeon said whatever happened on the third attempt fixed the problem. They said it was touch and go for a while on the table which is very scary. I woke up two days ago and the echo shows all is good... Should be out of ICU today into a ward and then maybe in 4 days I will be going home.
I am so happy and grateful that I pulled through and my thanks go to all the crew that worked on me....
Thats my story
Cheers
Dave
Brisbane , Australia

 

[bdryer]

Dude, that is insane! Been waiting for your post. You had like what, 4 or was it 5 surgeries in that short time frame. Thats gotta be a record for the most surgeries in what, a two week span on VR.ORG!

Glad you pulled through. I still remember your promise of beers pre surgery, does that still stand? LOL!

Wow, what a war story.

 

[zztimeout]

Dude... U name the place and we will have that beer...

 

[Jkm7]

Oh my goodness......
What you have been through.
So happy to hear you are finally on the mend and hope you have a totally uneventful recovery from here on out.
ALL best wishes.
Let us know how you are doing.

 

[Greg a]

Dave, NOW will you take the smooth road PLEASE!!!!!!

 

[zztimeout]

Mate slowwww is the gooooo
I have been just told that I go to a ward today which means more ICU .. Yaa hooo

 

[nngbwh]

WOW ! Wishing you a bump free road again. Take care and thanks for the update.

 

[Natina13]

zztimeout
Yikes.......what a terrible thing to have to go through ....I am so sorry that happened to you.
Sending positive caring thoughts your way, be safe and stay on the freeway, to a speedy recovery. God Bless !!!!
Renee
Go Team 2011 !!!!

 

[normofthenorth]

And I thought I was frustrated after it took 5 tries to get my pre-OHS arterial line inserted in my forearm!! Yee-yikes!

Glad you made it, and I guess it's a blessing that you weren't "there" for the last 2 or 3 openings.

I hope you now get the smooth recovery you've obviously got coming to you!

(So far, I think the Class of 2010 has had an easier go of it than the 2011s. I think you next few folks have to show these early-birds how to get AROUND the bumps.)

 

[Chris M]

Dave, that is some journey you've been on there! :eek2:

I'm so glad to hear you pulled through but sorry to hear you have been in hospital for so long. I sincerely hope the drama is over now and that you will be able to go home in a few days. Then you can kick back and start healing properly... I hope the next few weeks are really boring and totally uneventful for you!!

Take care.

Your fellow May 2011 classmate,

 

[epstns]

Good grief, Dave! You make my speed bumps seem like mere tar strips. Here's hoping that you don't hit any more potholes in the road back to "normal" (as if any of us would ever admit to being normal).

 

[camgough]

Hey Dave, that sounds pretty nuts! I had the valve-sparing also, and had to be re-opened only once due to a leak in my coronary artery. It was soon after my original surgery and had no clue until a few days later when I came-to. My real battle was after the surgery when my lungs decided to get infected causing acute respitory distress syndrome and kidney failure. During that time my surgeon also described me a "touch and go". Scary stuff to hear even after you are out of the ICU, especially being younger like you.

I am almost 11months postop, slowly getting better, but still not 100%. The cardio exercise still struggles as my HR gets high pretty fast. Likely more caused by the lung damage after surgery, than the surgery itself.

If I were in Australia I would definately be up for a cold beer! The weather is hot here in Canada now and the beer is delicious!

Cam

 

[Jason]

What a rough week! Hope all is well now, and that you have an uneventful recovery from here.

 

[neil]

zz dave count me in on the beers mate

 

[Rosebud54]

Dave, glad to hear you are doing better after all those problems.

Carol

 

[Jeff Edmonton]

Shaking my head now, WOW!

Glad to see you made it Dave! I was looking for your posting also and was worried for you.
Stay positive and get better soon. Fingers crossed, heck toes crossed too...no more bumps.

 

[Greg a]

Dude... U name the place and we will have that beer...

So not just where but what ....Molson's,

Harp

,

Guinness

BOAG'S

FOSTER'S

OH THE AGONY WHAT WILL WE DRINK ?

 

[bdryer]

Greg

We will drink them all by God!

 

[Natina13]

You guys have a beer....I'll take a shot of 1800 gold Tequila/with 2 limes. Cheers !!!

Renee

 

[Allisoninoz]

Tough time!

Tough time!

Hi Dave
Had been looking for your post and only just caught up with what you've been through.
So sorry it's been so tough for you and really, really hope that things go smoothly from now.
Post when you're out of hospital. Keep your chin up. And enjoy the Brisbane weather. I'm in Hobart at the moment and it's bloody cold!!!
Take care, Alli