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K

Kevin M

I happened to notice that the membership is already back up to over 900 again.

This after Hank purged inactive memberships a while back. This place is a veritable bustle of activity since I joined.

This got me curious. My date of joining on my profile says June 10, 2001, but I seem to recall belonging before this. It's a little sketchy because I had some pumpheadedness going on through 2001, but I thought that in June 01, we all had to re-register as members so that we would be able to use the "new forum".

Even back then, I'm thinking VR.com had between 100-200 members, but I can't remember.

Who are the longest term members here? How long has VR.com been around? Signing in seems to be such an integral part of my day, that I sometimes forget the old days and wonder about how this machine got rolling and who was here.

Speak up and let us know if you were a charter member. Some of us are interested to hear more about the history of VR.com.

So far, we know that Hank was here back then. :) Who else?
Kev
 
I joined in December of 2001 and I'm member number 286. I believe the first vBulletin forum started in June 2001.

Hank was the first of course. The rest of the list is as such. 4 of the original 10 have had accounts terminated so the persons listed are a reflection of the order minus those deleted accounts.
Hank 1
Nancy 2
Christina 3
Billy 4
Michelle 5
KristyW 6
Mara 7
srwieland 8
Gerry 9
Gillian (in UK) 10
 
History........

History........

Far as I know this all started as a kinda e-mail thing. Seems when Hank started it, each time someone posted it simply sent an e-mail to everybody else on the list, which must have caused some confusion to say the least.

Then Hank started a real forum which was based on some early technology. There were two sections only...HeartTalk and SmallTalk and they ran side by side. I vividly remember posting on the guestbook at that time...the date was 24th October, 2000 and I couldn't believe it when I got a multitude of replies to my post about Myrtle's death. I cannot remember all the members at that time......you see, even without surgery I suffer from pumpheadedness at times as well but here goes....Hank, Gina, Christina Winkleman, Rain, Janie, DickV, Bob Gleason, Bob Franklin, Lisa, etc. for starters.

I can't remember if Lorraine and some others were there at that time, cause folks were joining in on a daily basis. About six weeks after I joined, the first re-union was held in San Antonio and unfortunately I had work commitments otherwise I would have attended....I think it was on 4th December, 2000. There were no photo facilities on the forum then as I remember getting pictures of the re-union as attachments on an e-mail. Appropriately everyone had 'devils horns' on their heads, so I knew right then that they all behaved like 'devils' when they attended re-unions.....so what's changed? haha.

In June or July of 2001 there was total confusion.....I woke up one Saturday morning and when I signed in, here was this brand new website which totally confused everybody. Hensylee and I were sending e-mails back and forth trying to make some sense of it all and I think I registered about three times before I got the hang of it.

More members continued to join and in October of 2001 I flew to Nashville for the second re-union. There are still pictures of that one on the homepage and it was a wonderful experience to meet the faces behind the names. Friendships were formed there that will last a lifetime...this is a rather special bunch of people.

Seldom a day passes that a mew member doesn't sign up. Some register and never post, some post a few and go away again and some make VR.com a part of their daily lives......that's how it goes. There are people who have been on here 24/7 for a time and then they suddenly disappear without even announcing their departure which leaves the rest of us wondering the worst. Peter Easton was absolutely glued to this site before his surgery and posted a few times afterwards....wonder where he went?

But life goes on and life changes. It's so big now that perhaps it doesn't appear to have the personal touch that it once had but I honestly believe that there are many 'groups' of friends within this one big family circle. It started off as one group when that was at a manageable size - now one would need to be on here full time to keep up with all that's happening and with who's joining and who's leaving. Instead we all seem to have our own circle of friends with our particular interests and sometimes we venture outside that group and make new friends.

It's probably time for a members 'clean-up' again which should weed out the non-participants but I bet that by this time next year it will be back up at 900 or maybe even more.

That's my contribution to the 'history' thread and I await replies from others so that I can refresh my memory on the parts that I have forgotten.....

Cheers,
 
Just a little education on the new board. When viewing the member list, you can go to the very bottom of the page for options. You can select to view by join date, post count, or last visit.

Figured I'd through this in here for those that are curious.
 
Billy, you forgot Zazzy - and Scottie came along shortly after Gillian, and there was Jessica from Sweden who had a heart transplant. I joined in April or May of 2000 and there weren't very many as Billy says - less than 100. The forum was posts in a row (one right after another) and if you wanted an answer, you had to scroll down til you found it. We all got dumped from that site when the new one came along in about June 2001(?) and we had to be put in as new and that's why so many of us appear to have joined at the same time.

I, too, have heard that the ORIGINALS emailed each other back and forth, but I never have heard just how the emails got started and how they found each other to start the emailing, and then how the site was born. Ok, soma y'all, out with it.

If we get anough of the natives to tell a bit of the story, we can piece it together as a whole.
 
You're right Ann.....

You're right Ann.....

...You were there when I joined...my goodness, you were so shy and quiet in those days that I forgot to mention you....please forgive me, how could I have left out a name like 'Hensylee.'

I do remember you and I teaming up against the 'valvers' at one stage in the early days when they were braggin that they had valve surgery and you and I didn't....there have been some weird and wonderful subjects discussed here.

Wonder if Dick will drop in to give us his thoughts and comments on the history of VR.com?

Cheers,
 
If my memory serves me (hehe) I joined shortly before my surgery, june6, 2000. I'm not much of a joiner but I visit the sight everyday and keep up on what's going on and always looking for new info. I remember the e-mails and all the wonderful people that calmed me down before my surgery. I thought I was so alone. They were truly a big help. :)
 
The old days.....

The old days.....

I found this wonderful group of people in about Feb or Mar of 2000. Seems like ages ago when I think of it in terms of my vr family. It's been great to watch the site grow and help so many people.

The ones I remember being here when I joined were Rich, Janie, Gina, Bob G, Hankypoo, Christine Mayhew, Bob F. OH!! And ya all think Ron P is a new member... not so! He was here way back then. And wasn?t 'Robthatshim' here at that time? Not sure. Dick and Lisa joined after I did, but I think Nan and Zazzy were here.

That very first reunion in SAT was on the same weekend we?ve been having it on ever since, Billy. Was old Bob G?s birthday, remember. Oh $#*& !! :eek: Don?t EVER call Mr. G old. He hates that!! :p That?s one of the things that became very clear in some of those conversations we used to have!! Boy, howdy did we ever cover some interesting topics!! Ross would have just killed over!! :eek: lol But ya, know... Hankypoo just let us do our thing... even when the topic got hot... and in the end we still all loved each other. Of course with as many people as there are here now... it does need monitoring. With the growth and monitoring, it has lost a little bit of its intimacy. I kinda miss the old days. But look how many people it's helped. Wow!

I?m thankful that it?s been here to help so many others, who were/are in the same shoes we were in back then. I think it?s wonderful that some of the old members have stuck with us. That?s part of what has kept the ?family? feel to it. And the reunions.... once you?ve went to a reunion.... I think you?ll make every effort to get to every one you can thereafter. It?s so amazing to actually meet these people in person after you've shared so much with them. It really is like meeting family. What an awesome bond we have with each other.

It?s really a place where nobody is a ?new member?. Hopefully anyone who stops in feels at home with us right from the first post.
 
I didn't join this forum until Nov of 2002.
I think I was one of the original people doing the e-mailing thing along with Hank, Rain, Janie, Gina, Bob G and some others.
Some of us met on Cachnet at that time and were talking there.
Then someone(I think it was Gina) told me about the e-mail thing and it was great. It sure was a heck of a lot of e-mails in those days.
Then the new forum started and I left after awhile because we were really busy around here(weddings, babies and all sorts of things plus long hours at work)
Now I'm retired, enjoying my new lease on life and glad to be back with this great group of people.

Rich
 
Rain - when I first came on - on the original site - somebody was fighting with someone else. Seems a member had tried posting as someone else and another member recognized the style of writing and was accusing the new/old person of impersonating a new member. It was nearly a knock-down, drag-out.....Being the 'shy' person that Billy says I am, I just observed and wondered what in the world was going on.

I think Rob came in about the same time I did. He had his surg in 4/2000 and I had bypass in 3/2000. All I knew when I came in was that this was a heart site and I just wanted to know about hearts. Didn't know a thing about valves and turns out I maybe didn't belong and maybe Billy didn't either, so we sort of hooked up and offered to resign! (but they let us stay and here we are, eh Billy?)

Gosh - water over the ..........
 
I joined the old forum list thing, after the email thing. It must have been somewhere between Joe's 2 mitral surgeries in 2000, can't remember when exactly. But I do remember discussing his upcoming mitral redo. I sure did need something like this at that time, and still do.

It's a wonderful resource. So many people with serious and chronic conditions have nowhere to discuss some of the nitty-gritty things we discuss here. Can't tell you how much I've learned over the years.
 
Hey, I was there too.

Hey, I was there too.

I was also part of the group when we were just in e-mail form.
I had been on CCF's HeartForum (medhelp.org) to ask the cardiologist some questions. (This was right after I found out that I had to have OHS.)
Anyhow, Hank sent me an post on the CCF site and asked me to come check out the VR.com e-mail list serve group. I did, and I've been around ever since.

I remember the SAT reunion...wanted to go, but could not. Cindy and I went to the Scottsdale reunion and to the Nashville as well. Worked ganked me out of Chicago last year, but hope to make it this year to see Rain in her home state.

I don't post a bunch but I am always here lurking. lol.

Ben
 
I was there....

I was there....

:D
I remember very well how I was seeking support after I found out I needed OHS. I didn't do the e-mailing as you all remember. I guess that was before my time.
I found a heart surgery forum, and if I remember correctly I think through that forum I found VR.com. The old forum was already there, so I logged on, and the rest is history. I re-registered in June 2001 and have checked the site every day since than. I do not post a whole lot as it is impossible to keep up with the many members we have now.
I have been to several reunions and found it to be very exciting to meet everyone. It really is like meeting your best friends.
I am planning to come to Denver this year and can't wait to meet many of you new VR.com members.
 
Christine I remember you from Dr Rich's site. You and I came in pretty close to the same time. You were looking for some of the same info that I was - when you were in Dr Rich's site.
 
I wasn't part of the email group , but I was on before the new site came up in June, 2001. In fact I logged into the guest book on May 8, 2001, which was two month after my surgery!

I was in AWE of the wonderful site but was afraid to log on! The thought of talking to strangers online scared me! :eek: Yes, I am :eek: about that now. At the time though I wasn't sure if it was a legitimate forum! One never knows. Instead I emailed Rain who had her email address in her personal story and she encouraged me to join! Chose her of course because of the same name! I figured anyone who had the same name as I couldn't be all that bad! :D

I can honstly say I'm glad I joined. After going to my first reunion in Nashvile that fall, I knew I was a lifer! There are occasional tiffs on the site, but isn't that true with any family? ;)

Three years later I couldn't be happier from finding this forum. It's helped me a lot. I too read a lot of the post but don't always have a chance to posts a comment to everything that is going on!

Thank You Hank, Michele, Ross, Granbonny, Ann, Gina, Billy, Rob,Ben, Dave, Janie ......I'm sorry the list would go on and on! :) for making this forum the warm, sensitive, funny at times, informational, supportive site that it is today! You all are my family and friends. As long as I have the means to get to the reunions, I wouldn't miss any of them for the world! See those that can attend, in Denver!
 
'The Good Old Days'

'The Good Old Days'

It was October of 1999 when Hanky found me on webmd.com where I was trying to find answers to questions about post surgery as I was just home from having my aortic valve replaced. I relished every single email received from the list serve Hank created. We formed and cherish those very close bonds that probably won't ever be fully understood by anyone except valvers.

Now, Miss Raingirlfriend had too many margaritas at that first reunion and doesn't even remember the date which was the first weekend in Dec of 2000.

I still remember the two bottles of lovely wine that Nan (what a lady - upstate NY) sent to all of us. She was planning on attending, had her ticket -- and walah...was unable to at the last minute.

We stayed at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio and the river was aglow with over 100,000 Christmas lights..how marvelous that was. We had no set agenda, only to have a good time and that we did... :D I've got the pictures to prove it... :eek: Lisa from Katy (near Houston) drove over on Saturday and was with us on Saturday night for dinner at La Margarita in El Mercado.

Here's just one of those pictures of the valvers who were there:
Left to right: Gina (Memphis then-Chicago now), DickV (Houston), Janie (near San Antonio), Old Man Bob Gleason (Princeton, NJ :D ), Hank (Mesa, AZ), Bob Franklin (Boston) and Miss Rain who hails from beautiful downtown Cortez, CO... :p
 
Oldby

Oldby

That's opposite of a newby..... I thought I was in on the beginning of this shin-dig, but apparently not. I joined in 8/01, or so it says, but I could have sworn it was right after my surgery in 1999. Duh.... pumphead strikes again. I remember so many of you, and remember how much help you were to me. Forgive me, but everytime I thought "I" was sick, I would come here and remember not only was I not alone, but that many of you were way worse off with a better attitude!!

This site has always brightened me, enlightened me and sometimes just flat entertained me! I have been away alot lately, sometimes that means Im feeling better, or so badly that I don't even log on. Would sure like to make one of the reunions, would love to see faces (besides in pictures).

Good to see this line of interest, and to think back on good times.
mindy :eek:
 
Member

Member

I have only been a member for 2 years. Yet, I have 2,447 posts. :eek: :eek: Am I addicted? Yes :p :p :p I have made so many new friends..Some, we e-mail jokes everyday. :p :p Or talk about interests in life, ect. I am 2 years post-op and do not have much to offer..Even on coumadin..Life is Great. :) :) I like to wish people a Happy Birthday..and all new pre- op Members..encourage them that they will be fine....I was looking at the stories of Members who have posted. There are 142 stories..yet, I only recognize 20 over my last 2 years. Wonder how they are doing?..Great I guess..since they never post anymore and must have gone on with their lives. :) :) :) ...Well, no wonder my Hubby and Kids tell me..Granbonny..You are the Mouth of the South. :D :D :D :D Bonnie
 
Wow!

It's so cool to read these stories of the "old days" of what is now known affectionately as "vr.com". IIRC, I joined in October 2002, just after the Nashville reunion and just before my grandmother died. Back then, I wasn't too sure about much of anything, but I'm so glad I signed up and stayed. Being at last year's Chicago reunion was like coming home to family.

But, that, for the most part, has been my exerience with various message board/club gatherings. Once you can put a face and voice to the name on the screen, it brings everying into "sharper focus"...and a better experience :)!

Cort, "Mr Road Trip"/"The Uniter", 30swm w/pig valve & pacemaker
member & newsletter editor, Faith COB = http://www.faithcob.org
"Mr MC"'s Family...& train & models = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Spotting MCs = http://www.chevyasylum.com/mcspotter/main.html
MC's Future = http://www.projectmonte.com/petition/
 
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