Older members-give us a wave and a Hi-The "Keep Acct Alive" Thread!

[hensylee]

Hey, Chris - long time - welcome

 

[ShezaGirlie]

One of the 'Mag 7' here...

OK, Dick -- come out from under that rock!

 

[Dan O'Brien]

Alive and kicking

Alive and kicking

Hank,

I am responding to your pruning efforts, and hope not to be pruned. FYI - I had aortic valve replacement surgery in March 2001. I had a homograft and have not been a regular on the site lately because I feel so great, that it's almost as if I never had heart surgery at all, but for the zipper on my chest. My checkups have been stellar and my job has been quite busy.

This site was a necessary crutch when I was approaching surgery and I had intended to remain more involved. I have highly recommended it to a few people who were referred to me, based on their own newly diagnosed conditions requiring heart surgery. I hope to keep more in contact on this site, and would like to meet everyone at the next reunion, seeing that it is in my hometown of Chicago.

Sorry for falling off the radar here. I will try to keep in touch better to help more people facing heart surgery. This is truly a tremendous site.

Sincerely,
Dan O'Brien

 

[Ross]

Hey Dan, great to see you again. You've been through the routine so if you have time you can help others that face the same feelings you did before surgery or during the wait. All experience is welcome as you know. Look forward to seeing more of you around.

I'll be sending this to the "Older members-Keep Acct Alive" thread shortly.

 

[tlhudson]

Hello To All

Hello To All

Keep me on the list.
May not post too often, but check out the forums at least once a week.
Keep changing those avitars Ross.

 

[Mara]

Hmm, old and in the way

Hmm, old and in the way

Hi All

I have not been on the boards lately to cause trouble.

Just plugging along at work and stuff.
Hope you all are doing well.

Had a satisfying Spring soccer season, our team won the league!
2 years ago I would never have dreamed I'd ever play soccer!

-Mara

 

[Jeff Summers]

Hello to my www.valvereplacement.com friends! I still have not ran into anybody wearing one of the t-shirts--must not be anybody else in Derby KS with one. I'm still come in and surf the sight, but usually don't post that much, too busy at work, and I don't use the computer at home that much since I'm glued to it for 40+ hours a week at work. Please Keep my account alive.

 

[Sunshine susan]

Hi!

Hi!

Hi everyone, I know I don't post a lot, but I'm usually here at least a few times a week to see "what's happening". Have even been on the chat a couple of times. BY the way, has anyone heard how Hensylee (Ann) is doing? Well, later....Susan

 

[Billy]

Pruning time.....

Pruning time.....

Hank.......you wouldn't throw me out, would you. I'll even promise to buy you a drink in Chicago if I get to make the trip.

One request to all those who are intending to stay members of VR.com. - It would be nice if everyone would ensure that their location is included in their profile. To us 'international' members, we quite enjoy looking at the ole atlas to see where y'all hail from.

Just a request....don't want to ask for any 'vital' info like ages or anything like that but where you are from is of great interest.

Cheers.......

 

[pillarpaul]

"If?"

"If?"

Hey Billy,

What do you mean IF I get to make the trip? You have no excuse. Isn't Northern Ireland just north of Chicago? Oh, wait, that's northern Wisconsin. Still, it can't be that far way, can it?

Seriously, though, enjoying reading notes from people I know have been around a lot longer than me. I appreciate the precedent you all set for the rest of us. I also second Billy's plea for the location. I rarely read profiles but I love to see how national and international we are.

Paul

 

[David Y in NI]

Hell no, I wont go

Hell no, I wont go

You wont get rid of me that easy Hank !!

but if you give me a few months I may be able think up a good excuse for not being around here as much as I should.

I'm still working away, seems like harder than ever, hope I'm not getting to be conseentsus, conseeentsus, ah you know what I mean dont ya ?

and when Jayne gives me the chance by turning her back for just a minute, misbehavin for all I'm worth.

thanks for takin the trouble to remind me that I ought to check in here a bit more regularly.

David

 

[RobThatsMe]

Seems to be the place ....

Seems to be the place ....

Hi Everyone.

Still here, going through all the corporate changes, and uncertainties. Hopefully things will settle down in a few weeks.

In the meantime, life goes on, I can't keep it on hold while some corporate politics try their best to keep things in limbo. So, Cristi and I are enjoying the summer, our new boat and life! I am 3+ yrs post op, and feel wonderful. Doctors reports have all been positive too!

I don't go nuts over my INR being a little high or a little low. I sure used to, but hey, it's managable. and few ticks one way or the other is nothing to get overly excited about. Gawd, I sure remember the days when I would panic if it was off. I think the home testing, and being able to react so quickly to adjusting the meds took much of the worry away.

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying your families during the summer months ahead. Cristi and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniv this July 4th. We got married on a holiday so we would always have it off, and <blush> our anniversary is always celebrated with lots of fireworks!! hehehehe


All my best to our family here,

Rob

 

[Bill Hall]

Hi All - I just couldn't resist being part of this list of all-stars. I am around 2 1/2 years post-op and doing fine. Of course, I hit my 50 birthday this month, so I might have a different answer then.
Bill

 

[MarkU]

I'm still lurking around. Been busy with work so haven't had a lot of time to post lately. Have my annual physical with my PCP next Monday and my annual check with my cardiologist on Wednesday.
To tell the truth, since I turned 50 last month I'm more worried about prostate cancer than I am about my AVR.

Mark

 

[hensylee]

Wonder where Greggo is?

 

[Ross]

Greggo was here and posted in another thread and forum.

http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=41336#post41336

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Lot of lurking going on! Come on you all join us more often! We miss your input

 

[Michelle]

I'm here, I'm Here!

I'm here, I'm Here!

See even being married to the boss, doesn't exempt ya from the purging

I too float in and out of here all the time, but rarely post. Doesn't mean I don't love you all bunches though!

This has been fun reading. Thanks Ross for the link to where others have posted.

 

[Ross]

No problem Michelle. I'm trying to keep everyone together, but sometimes rather than post in this thread, they answer a question or whatever elsewhere. Some I've moved in here and where applicable, I've left some alone too.

 

[Jim_Bowker]

Thanks again for such a great site

Thanks again for such a great site

Although I don't get a chance to connect here as often as I'd like (even with the newfound stamina that arrived with my aortic valve replacement surgery in October of 2001), I still drop by from time to time to lurk.

However, before I had my surgery, I found the input of folks in these forums to be exceptionally useful. Folks here helped me start to believe (contrary to my cardiologists expert opinion) that my fatigue and general lack of stamina were actually the result of the 50% regurgitant volume that came with my aortic insufficiency. Folks also stressed thei mportance of pushing my doc and of getting second opinions, and folks had very useful insights into choosing a valve type, selecting a doctor, and just basically getting through the ordeal that is AVR surgery.

I feel so much better since my surgery and I'm thankful every day that I pushed for it and went through with it.

Thanks to all of you who share your experiences here and thanks to those responsible for this site. It's an amazing and irreplaceable resource!