Surgery date, July 19th,2010 Texas Childrens (hitting home now)....

[sherry8484]

Just found out my son (Tyler) surgery date set for July 19,2010. He is asking me a thousand questions. I told him about this great website too. He say's it's hitting home now.. I guess that means he is getting nervous. Any great comments/questions would be greatly appreciated. Texas Childrens in Houston is going to do the surgery. They are going to use a St. Jude Mech. Valve. He will have to be on Coumadin for life. I read all the post on this site and it helps me get through the day. I just need to get him hooked on this site. Me being a mom, I'm nervous for him. My one and only child too. The surgeon said he will look at the ascending aorta while he is in there to see if it needs grafting. Hopefully they fix everything so he won't have to go back in for a while. Well, I just wanted to say hello to all my valvereplacement friends and wish us luck. He will soon be on the other side of the mountain... Hugs to all....

Sherry (mom to Tyler)

 

[Rich]

Welcome Sherry,
You are in the right place for answers and advice.
How old is your son?
I have a St. Jude as well and your son's surgery ironically is on my birthday.
I hope that is a good sign for things to come.
Rich

 

[Mentu]

Sherry & Tyler, welcome to VR. These next weeks will pass quickly and a month from now, Tyler will be walking around beginning his recovery. Send your questions and we will do our best to answer them.

Larry

 

[Luckyguy17]

Sherry/Tyler,

Welcome to the VR forum.

At 18 Tyler, is on the young side for a BAV replacement, but he is not the only only.

Sherry, Tyler may have interest in following Dan's story on You tube, Dan was early 20's and did a good job of taping his process and it would likely be easier for Tyler to relate to, while getting information.

Please advise if you need the link, All the best...Gil

 

[sylviayasgur]

welcome sherry! we look forward to meeting tyler as well, but as you can see, many of us are not the patients here_ my husband is the patient.
this is a wonderful site for support, knowledge, learning and hand-holding. we will be thinking of you and tyler as the date approaches. in the meantime,
please keep coming back. we are here for you.
all the best,
sylvia

 

[Luana]

Hi Sherry and Tyler,
Welcome to both of you. I think you will find a lot of answers to your questions here and a lot of other good information, too. It's common and normal to be nervous; I know I was downright terrified. Had a suspicion I needed a valve replaced and put off going to the doctor for a long time because of fear. I'm glad now it's over and that it was something that could be fixed. There's a lot of great things that can be done medically now, but not all things are fixable, fortunately, this is something that is, and give him an excellent quality of life for the long life he can look forward to.

 

[Missy]

I really feel for you having to go through this. A parent would take all the pain and problems for a child if they could. I will echo the above comments and say that this is an excellent site for learning and support. The hospitals and doctors are so medically advanced now and your son will have some of the best. I have heard excellent things about the Texas Childrens at Houston.
I don't have any knowledge of the problem your son has but others on here are so knowledgable. I just wanted to wish your son and you the very best.

 

[Lynlw]

Hi Sherry. If it helps, Justin had heart surgery at 17 and 19, so we can understand some of what you must be feeling. Texas children is a great hospital. If you are interested, there is a great CHD support group (online and meet in person) "Its My Heart" That ( a heart Mom) started in Houston and now has chapters all over. They are pretty active and last I knew some of the families were teens and young adults. They have events ect, but could proably give you alot of info about having surgery at Texas childrens and all the things it is helpful to know as theparent (where to sleep, eat ect) Here is there main site http://www.itsmyheart.org/

 

[Gnusgal]

Hi! I had my VR done at Texas Children's as well (I was 25 at the time). My surgeon was Dr. Charles Frasier. The hospital is fantastic. They really do a wonderful job of making it a place to get better, rather than a place to be sick. I also have a St. Jude's valve and have been taking coumadin for the last 8 years. If you or Tyler have any questions, ask away! I'd be more than happy to help you out.