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Peej, Great choice. Your attitude will serve you well. We stayed at the ICC and upgraded to the Club Level. That was a great choice, especially for the proximity and ease of access for my wife. She really appreciated the women at the Club, especially Anntonette, who seems to take special care...

Congrats. I'm almost a year and a half in with the same valve you have. Fingers crossed mine gets anywhere near yours. My OEM, a unicuspid, was highly calcified so I likely have a predisposition toward lower tread life. My surgeon gave me 8-12 as the realistic range, sized for a TAVR...

Amazing what a difference three months can make!

Chuck, these are some great tips + motivational chatter. I've probably gained around 5lbs from my lows since surgery in March 2019. But I also definitely notice more padding than I like. I walk 4+ miles almost daily at a very fast pace, including steep hills. My diet is in check - very...

I think almost everybody has the same fear. I woke up very drowsy with the tube still in and they told me to just breathe slowly. I probably dozed off again, until I heard them say something like, "give us a small cough." I looked up at a very bright light and the tube was dangling above me...

According to Dennis' wife on Day One post-surgery, he was doing well.

Bottom line is this: Catch it before your heart is damaged. There is a fine line there. Get several opinions. Etc Etc.

My surgery was a year and a half ago and Dr. S chose an older tissue valve, which I found interesting b/c he was lead investigator (I believe) on the Resilia. I believe lots of factors go into it. I did not question his choice. He said it would probably last 8-12 years (I was highly calcified)...

So tempting, Chuck. But... there's the issue of my wife, who I do believe would say, "Over my dead body." 🤣

Whoa, climbing a mountain? Did I tell you that given your shape this recovery would be mind-blowingly crazy? FWIW, I'm on 25mg of Metoprolol and probably will be forever - just to help keep my BP in check. I seem to tolerate it well. Then again, I've been on bp meds, including beta blockers, for...

My surgery with Dr. Svensson was a year ago March. Everybody has their favorites there (the one who did their surgery!) I flew in from San Diego via LAX pre-Covid. Two trips - the first for the pre-visit and tests. The main event was a month later. The scar is fading. If it wasn't there I...

The reality is there are lots of good surgeons/teams/hospitals around the country. While I'm biased as a CC fan, I've gone back/forth with too many people who have had their surgeries at You Name It and they have done very well. (Chuck C can vouch for that! And Pellicle survived being sliced and...

He’s fantastic. Class of March 2020.

There's nothing salt water won't cure ... as long as those Australian sharks are kept at a fair distance! G'day!

One of the best write-ups on valve surgery, period. Loved your tips, especially the "enjoy the experience...Not everyone gets a dress rehearsal with mortality." Totally counter-intuitive, but what else can you do? 🤷🏼‍♂️ If there is one theme I've seen in all of the forum reading I have done...

Yes, but it was my marginal obtuse 1 artery, not a major one. They used a vein from my leg. And...yes, they. might as well fix it while in there. Sounds like you have a great attitude!!!

You're like Superman. By contrast, with a full sternotomy I was encouraged by CC to wait 8 weeks to drive and was forced by my wife to sit in the back seat with the heart pillow strapped between the seat belt and my chest. I felt foolish but I treated it as having a "driver." Old school is old...

Almost unavoidable. After all, you ARE human.

Great report, Chuck. Glad you're home. Just remember if you push too hard, which are a likely to do given your personality – which I suspect is Type AAA like a few of us here – you may have a setback. Very common. You're doing a great job!

Finally - age on my side! 🥴Glad to see you are your own advocate.