Justin1981
Active member
Greetings fellow valvites! First off I’m slightly ashamed of being absent from this forum after a very successful recovery, but at the same time I’m out in the world enjoying all the life and adventure I can find my way into.
Two years ago about this time I was having a lot of trouble sleeping, knowing I was heading into an incredibly intimidating surgery at 6am. Armed with the knowledge and confidence that I gained from the incredibly helpful and patient members of this forum I was rolled into OR 13 of all places knowing what to expect and how the next few days were likely to play out. I was very fortunate to not have any complications and the anticoagulation therapy required by my mechanical valve ended up being a minor annoyance at best.
In the past two years I’ve continued to enjoy my early 30’s. Getting scuba certified, venturing to far away places, participating in 5k obstacles courses, kayaking, blacksmithing, full contact sports, enjoying occasional alcohol, and exercising at a far higher level than I was prior to surgery.
To those of you that face this daunting surgery, I offer a few bits of humble advice. I’ll tell you to trust and take advice to the wonderful community on this forum. Educate yourself, but don’t terrify yourself. Have faith in your providers and technology, but do your own research and feel comfortable with your treatment plan. Lastly, while mechanical valves aren’t for everyone don’t shun away from them for fear of anti coag treatment. On-x (which I have) was recently FDA approved to lower their PT-INR ranges for future and existing patients with this type of valve which shows a very welcomed progression. However, I’ll tell you that I’ve beaten the hell out of myself (after fully healing) and have had minimal signs of bruising and only a handful of short bleeds from cuts.
I understand this luxury will lesson over time, but you gotta play the cards you’re dealt and in my mind it surely beats the certainty of having to go through that surgery multiple times
I look forward to celebrating my Valvesary later today and want to thank you all for your continued support to others like me. I’m also going to try to be more active on this forum moving forward so hopefully I’ll see some of you around!
Justin
Two years ago about this time I was having a lot of trouble sleeping, knowing I was heading into an incredibly intimidating surgery at 6am. Armed with the knowledge and confidence that I gained from the incredibly helpful and patient members of this forum I was rolled into OR 13 of all places knowing what to expect and how the next few days were likely to play out. I was very fortunate to not have any complications and the anticoagulation therapy required by my mechanical valve ended up being a minor annoyance at best.
In the past two years I’ve continued to enjoy my early 30’s. Getting scuba certified, venturing to far away places, participating in 5k obstacles courses, kayaking, blacksmithing, full contact sports, enjoying occasional alcohol, and exercising at a far higher level than I was prior to surgery.
To those of you that face this daunting surgery, I offer a few bits of humble advice. I’ll tell you to trust and take advice to the wonderful community on this forum. Educate yourself, but don’t terrify yourself. Have faith in your providers and technology, but do your own research and feel comfortable with your treatment plan. Lastly, while mechanical valves aren’t for everyone don’t shun away from them for fear of anti coag treatment. On-x (which I have) was recently FDA approved to lower their PT-INR ranges for future and existing patients with this type of valve which shows a very welcomed progression. However, I’ll tell you that I’ve beaten the hell out of myself (after fully healing) and have had minimal signs of bruising and only a handful of short bleeds from cuts.
I understand this luxury will lesson over time, but you gotta play the cards you’re dealt and in my mind it surely beats the certainty of having to go through that surgery multiple times
I look forward to celebrating my Valvesary later today and want to thank you all for your continued support to others like me. I’m also going to try to be more active on this forum moving forward so hopefully I’ll see some of you around!
Justin