Hello everybody,
It's been a while since I've last visited this site. While I would check the posts several times a week before surgery and for many months after surgery, I almost forgot about it. And that reflects how I'm doing: Great! With 29y I had an aortic valve repair. After some rough months I started to live a normal life again. I'm probably as fit as before the surgery, do weight-lifting and go running 2-3 times a week. I work long hours now and then and got a promotion at work. When going out with my buddies, I don't think about my heart and how a beer more might influence it anymore, I just enjoy the moment and have fun. I do outdoors sports and am not afraid of falling anymore (and actually do fall once in a while). Most importantly, this experience brought me and my wife even closer together. The big difference to my pre surgery condition is that I'm happier and I enjoy my life much more.
It's rough to go through open heart surgery, I had existential fears, and there were many ups and downs. But keep in mind, in a year or two, many of us are lucky enough to live a normal life again, only because of this life-saving surgery. To all of you, who are in the waiting room, I hope that everything goes smoothly, that you don't have any complications. Stay strong, keep your peace of mind and stay optimistic.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! I was very glad about the support on this site and I'm more than happy to give back.
Tirone
It's been a while since I've last visited this site. While I would check the posts several times a week before surgery and for many months after surgery, I almost forgot about it. And that reflects how I'm doing: Great! With 29y I had an aortic valve repair. After some rough months I started to live a normal life again. I'm probably as fit as before the surgery, do weight-lifting and go running 2-3 times a week. I work long hours now and then and got a promotion at work. When going out with my buddies, I don't think about my heart and how a beer more might influence it anymore, I just enjoy the moment and have fun. I do outdoors sports and am not afraid of falling anymore (and actually do fall once in a while). Most importantly, this experience brought me and my wife even closer together. The big difference to my pre surgery condition is that I'm happier and I enjoy my life much more.
It's rough to go through open heart surgery, I had existential fears, and there were many ups and downs. But keep in mind, in a year or two, many of us are lucky enough to live a normal life again, only because of this life-saving surgery. To all of you, who are in the waiting room, I hope that everything goes smoothly, that you don't have any complications. Stay strong, keep your peace of mind and stay optimistic.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! I was very glad about the support on this site and I'm more than happy to give back.
Tirone
