I'm 25, Having a Ross on 4-18-06, Hoping to talk to another 20 something!

JCDavis81 · Mar 31, 2006

Robert,

How's it going man? I'm 24 (will be 25 in may) and had a St. Jude Mechanical installed last november. I also had a ross procedure when I was 16. I'd be happy to talk with you about my experiences...drop me a pm.

Best,
Joe

nia · Apr 1, 2006

Hi Robert,

I turned 24 last month, and was 21 at the time of the surgery (MVR). I got a lot of "you're too young" from the medical staff as well as from other patients on the floor (and their family members), but after a while, I grew to enjoy all the pampering and the attention (and breakfast, lunch, AND dinner in bed!)...

Wishing you a smooth ride through all of this, and feel free to pm me if I could be of any help.

liza · Apr 1, 2006

Hello!

I am 25 as well...I had my mitral valve repair when I was 24. I too, heard all those comments about being too young. It really is an advantage having the surgery so young. You seem to bounce back quicker, afterwards I wondered what the huge fuss was.

If you are symptomatic, life is SO much better "on the other side of the mountain." I hadn't realized how bad I felt until afterwards when my heart worked properly. Life is great now! I'll be at my one year anniversary here soon and my health is better than it's ever been.

Feel free to send a private message if you need someone to talk to more. Goodluck and hopefully you will do well!!

Liza

Gemma · Apr 1, 2006

Hi Robert,

My boyfriend Jim had his aortic valve replaced when he was 26, in Dec 2003. He was the youngest patient on his ward by about 25 years. And all the other people in ICU the day of his op were in their 70s or 80s. So he was kind of a novelty. His surgeon said he probably operated on someone Jim's age once every 6 months. Having said that, the nurse practitioner's 5 year old son also had a bicuspid aortic valve, so it isn't like it's the rarest thing in the world.

Right now he's outside getting his motorbike ready to go out trials riding with some friends. So, there is life after valve replacement! It took him a bit longer than some other "youngsters" to feel 100% after his op but I think that's because he didn't really have symptoms pre-op, so it took a while to figure out that actually he did feel better (that sounds confusing but I hope you get my drift).

If there's anything specific you want to know, just ask - there's always someone with the answer around here somewhere!

Gemma.

Dustin · Apr 1, 2006

volsfan said:
Hi, My name is Robert, I'll be 25 on 4-6-06, and looking at a ross in a few weeks, I world love to know that there is someone my age going throw this other than me. I had a hart cath. yesterday 3-27-06 and everyone, even the nurses made a dig deal about my age. "Your to young to have hart problems!" I hate that saying. What is the right age?!?

Dear Robert,

I guess having heart problems is a profound dissapointment no matter how old you are, period. I'm 31 and "too young" to have any kind of problems as well. Like you, I had this heart cath just recently and next week a CT scan (*sigh*). You see? There are loads of people going through this, anytime, anywhere, and of any age.

Good luck with your Ross and live strong,

volsfan · Apr 22, 2006

The nurses hit a new low!!! When I went for pre-op before my surgery The Woman Gave Me A Beanie Baby!!!! A Beanie Baby!!! I like the jester, but come on a Beanie Baby! No joke, I could not make this up if I tryed.

Robert