3 days to go

[Racquetshopper]

Scheduled to check in to Duke on Monday (27th) with MV surgery on Tues. Seem to be getting much more anxious and nervous :eek2: So many thoughts and emotions surfacing but trying to stay positive. May sound silly but can't help but wonder if I will be one of those very rare statistics that doesn't make it. Has anyone else felt that before surgery or am I way over the top?
Surgeon pretty sure he'll go in through the right side to hopefully do a repair vs. replacement. That being said I have a question; I will have a 2 and a half drive back home after discharge. For those who have had minimally invasive through the right side, what type of top would be the most comfortable and least binding given where the incision will be? Any suggestions for making the ride as comfortable as possible? Thanks for any tips you have to offer.

 

[MaryG]

Since I'm still in the Waiting Room I'm afraid I can't be of any help in answering your questions.
However, I do know that you will be in good hands there at Duke, so I feel confident you will do just fine. By next weekend this will be all behind you and you will be on your way to recovery.
So, I just want to say that I am sending lots of good thoughts your way and wishing you all the very best. Please let us know how you are doing when you can.

 

[Forrest]

You should be fine. Duke hospital sounds great. You’re prepared and ready. It’s usually just the waiting that makes us nervous, but I imagine you’ve done a thorough job thinking yourself through this and just need to trust it.

I didn’t have any family or friends back before my surgery that had even heard much of valve replacement surgery. I had not even known I had a heart problem 5 months prior to surgery. I was busy recovering from Endocarditis, a disease I never heard of, that I contracted less than 2 months after hearing of my defective valve. So I initially thought of heart surgery like they use to when I was a child, that no one would ever want to have heart or brain surgery, that it must have a high mortality rate. After research, I found that doctors say their patients actually do quite well with heart valve surgery. I tried to focus on the success rate that’s in the high nineties, rather than the rare chances of the worse case scenario. I sympathized with the families whose loved ones didn’t make it. But it came down to I was ready, I prepared my loved ones, the surgeon was very experienced, doing nothing wasn’t an option, the surgery has a very high success rate and I won’t know anything once under anesthesia anyways.

As far as the ride home goes, I had an hour drive home during a stormy November. We prepared in advance by making practice drives a few times, studying alternative routes in case it snowed. I kept my heart pillow over my seatbelt, had a thin pad under my belt. It was more my gal that worried about getting me through unfamiliar streets and down the freeway. But it all worked out, as I bet it does for you. And the odds are in your favor. Best wishes and a smooth recovery!

 

[TomG]

Hello there,
Well seems like you and I are in the same boat, I have servere MVP with servere MR and a class 4 Barlow's Disease and I was told by the cardiologist to have it repaired within the next year so I went to a surgeon whom I was going to tell him like I did my cardiologist that I would like to get it done with six months or so, but what a shcok I got when I went to a consultation with a heart surgeon he said he would have it done by the first or second week of this September so I was in SHOCK big time and I still am and I am alomost at the point of making the decision to have the surgery so you should be very proud that you had made that decision and yes I have thought the same thoughts as you we are do that is normal, but if you don't get it done things will get worse as this does not stay the same or get better on its own. I can not answer the one question you are asking as my surgeon I was told by my cardiologist and surgeon due to the complexity of my Barlows Disease I have to have the full sternotomy. But you will be fine as that is what everyone I have talked to and on here as well as this place is so good as you can relate to the people here as they have the same or similar issues. Be glad you found this place as it does help to talk to others with the same issues!

TomG

 

[Racquetshopper]

Thanks for the responses. Am at Duke getting checked in for pre-op work. @TomG - thanks for the reassurance that my thoughts are normal. When I meet with the surgeon 3 weeks ago he, too, said I needed something done within 6 months. Imagine my surprise when out of my mouth came "when's your first available date." WHAT was I thinking? .
Anyway, I'm here and all systems are go. I'm feeling pretty calm; just want to get it over with, get back home and watch US Open tennis. I am so thankful I came across this site as the people and posts are priceless.

 

[neil]

good luck you soon be watching the tennis

 

[Bina]

Scheduled to check in to Duke on Monday (27th) with MV surgery on Tues. Seem to be getting much more anxious and nervous :eek2: So many thoughts and emotions surfacing but trying to stay positive. May sound silly but can't help but wonder if I will be one of those very rare statistics that doesn't make it. Has anyone else felt that before surgery or am I way over the top?
Surgeon pretty sure he'll go in through the right side to hopefully do a repair vs. replacement. That being said I have a question; I will have a 2 and a half drive back home after discharge. For those who have had minimally invasive through the right side, what type of top would be the most comfortable and least binding given where the incision will be? Any suggestions for making the ride as comfortable as possible? Thanks for any tips you have to offer.

Best wishes with your surgery on Tuesday