How did you do it?

[Kyla]

I gotta tell you, my daughter is going through puberty and you would think that she might be a but self concious about her "line" which is what we have always called her scar. Last summer she wanted a string bikini and I thought, ok...she doesnt have breast yet ...better give in now before she asks for one whe it is really just too much show. So she is thriiled and ready for the pool and I realize that this is the first suit in her 10 years that has had her line showing. So I ask her if she minds if it shows, or if people will ask what the line is from. She looks at me, as usual with this mix of "Mom you are so dense I can't believe your a teacher" and explains: "I dont care if it shows and when people ask about it I just tell them." So simple and matter of fact. It's good to have the confidence of a child!

 

[catwoman]

Kristin:

Your daughter's got a terrific understanding of what's important.

Recently, I saw some beauty contestants in swimsuits and wished we could see some VR veterans on stage.... Maybe one day we will!

 

[Eloise]

You folks are the best!!! The past day or two I've been thinking about what people have shared here and it's so HEALING to know I"m not alone. I'm am looking at my scar as a symbol of what I went through too.I hope in time not to come across as too self absorbed...I'm still so pleased to know in my heart(yeah,pun intended)that I'm not the only one! Duh!

 

[PapaHappyStar]

Here is what I think:

There are some exquisitely beautiful people on this forum, I know this before having seen them. Scars or no scars, young or old they are ardent students of the art of understanding the human condition and thats what makes them beautiful to me.

 

[Glenda]

After having so many surgeries, what's one more scar! I kinda of look like Zoro got a hold of me. LOL. My scars are the reason I'm still alive. The radiation for breast cancer left's it's ugly mark on me too, but I don't care. I'm alive! I'm alive!! My husband, children and grandchildren love me regardless.

 

[Raverlaw]

Now you all have me so proud of my scar that I'm going to have to bust out that 'scar' avatar again

 

[strawberry]

I'm in with the "always been there crowd": big left thoracotomy one since age of 2. I was soooo self conscious in a bathing suit as a child...because people who didn't know about it (that would be everyone including my best friends since I never discussed it) and saw it were always shocked and many were quite vocal about it. I think back then and especially for a child such a scar was much more rare than it is now. As was heart surgery in general. Only in the past few years have I forgotten about it at the beach and I wish I hadn't spent so much energy trying to hide it before. We'll say what I think if and when I get a different zipper. Yikes.

 

[Rain]

Wear it proud.

Wear it proud.

I think most of us have a ?could care less? attitude, than there are of us who worry about it.

I don?t even think about my scar when buying clothes or getting dressed in the morning. No matter where I'm going, or who I'm seeing..... If my scar isn?t welcome, then I?m not welcome. I?ve had it for 4 ½ years and never had anyone say or do anything that made me feel uncomfortable... of course my attitude may make me less sensitive to who?s looking and who isn?t.

 

[scottvant]

Funny how The Scar(tm) is such a big deal before the surgery, and then becomes a complete non-issue after. Although it's probably easier for the guys... The only time it's visible is if I'm wearing a tank top or something and even then only the top inch or so even shows. I went into the ordeal worried that I'd feel horribly disfigured but now, and I see I'm not alone in this, it's like this badge of courage I actually kind of like now. I expected it to be this big horrible ladder-like zipper; but it's actually just a slim pink line; I didn't get any external stitches--just suture glue, so the line is really clean, and for whatever reason, it healed totally flat. If I stop trimming my chest hair for a couple of weeks, you can hardly see it at all...

I ran into a guy I used to date at the gym a few weeks ago and he even said he thought it was sexy. >shrug< Most of the time I'm far more concerned that because I'm not working out nearly as hard as I used to that I'm getting fat--which is far more disconcerting than any of the scars. Besides--I don't mind the big sternotomy scar at all--it's those two obnoxious little chest tube scars below it that I think are ugly...

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Hello Scott,

Long time no hear!

How is your recovery coming along?

Last I recall, you had a bit of a setback with enlargement during the last 6 weeks before your surgery which apparently slowed your recovery.

I often cite your experience along with my own and others who have had 'less than ideal' recoveries as reason for my endorsment for "Early Intervention".

SO, please let us know how your heart is doing now and if it has returned to normal size if you don't mind sharing that information.

'Curious AL'

 

[scottvant]

Hello Scott,

Long time no hear!

How is your recovery coming along?

Last I recall, you had a bit of a setback with enlargement during the last 6 weeks before your surgery which apparently slowed your recovery.

Hey Al. I can't complain. At this point my cardio says we can't be certain if the ventricular enlargement *all* happened in those 6 weeks or so when I was sick; given that my BAV was never diagnosed until then, I never paid any attention to things like blood pressure before, and that BAV's are often at least mildly stenotic, it could be that the damage to the ventricle happened over a lot longer time than that. Though he does admit that being as sick as I was for as long as I let it go certainly didn't help things.

At my last echo, a couple of months ago, which was 18 months after my surgery, he was actually quite pleased. His comment--my LV size is now "...already about halfway back down to where [he] want it..." Until that echo I had been demanding copies of all the other echo findings and interpreting the numbers myself, but I took his optimism at face value and left it at that. (I'm trying to be less of a hypochondriac with all of this, though I do regret not remembering to ask what they calculated my EF at... Next time.) At this point it's "steady as she goes", no change in meds, he only wants to see me now every six months instead of every three, and that for a post open-heart surgery patient I don't have much to complain about. Which is, actually, a different vibe than I got on my first post-op appointment with him where I was so annoyed when he dropped the bombshells on me about the LVH, "decreased heart function," lowered EF, the fact that I was going to need beta-blockers, etc...

My advice to anyone facing the prospect of all of this would still be not to wait one extra minute longer than necessary--why tempt fate, and all that--even if now it seems that the "those last two weeks made all the difference" impression I got on those first couple of cardio visits was maybe an exaggeration...

Scott

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Thanks for the update Scott. Glad to hear you are doing well and that your heart is moving in the desired direction.

I too believe I got to my surgery 'just in time' so I'm firmly in the EARLIER IS BETTER camp. I vote for letting the Surgeon decide on the best time to proceed rather than the cardiologist since so many of the latter like to wait until you are very symptomatic. NOT a good plan IMHO.

Best wishes for your continued recovery.

'AL'