The Big day is now Set!!!

[twoboysdad]

Hello all,

Just had my appt with my Sergeon. My appt is set for October 15th for my AVR. I decided that Dr. Moront at the Toledo Hospital, Toledo Ohio was the best for me.

I decided to go with the Stenless Porcine Valve. After all your wonderfull advise and consulting a couple of doctors, we decided that was best for me.

Good news is, My MRI showed the root to be smaller than estimated. Still enlarged at 5.5 CM not 6.5 Still needs and will be replaced.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I will be keeping in touch and viewing other posts. Glad to be a part of this wonderful family!

Jeff

 

[Bryan B]

Congrats Jeff! I remember when I got my date...made it very real.

The wait will be the hardest part, so feel free to ask questions, vent, whatever you need to do to prepare yourself. Personally, I was a basket case at times, but I became strangely calm about it all a couple of days before the surgery...I guess I finally accepted it was really going to happen. Once I woke up I realized that it wasn't nearly as bad as I had envisioned.

Good luck and stay in touch!

 

[sylviayasgur]

great news, jeff!
bryan is right, the wait is the hardest, but we'll be here to keep you company until the day arrives.
knowing is also very comforting; all decisions have been made and now it's all about just doing it.
i remember when joey decided on the ross procedure and the surgeon, he felt so liberated just knowing that this part was behind him and done with.
please keep us up to date on how you are doing.
all the best, sylvia

 

[tobagotwo]

Yes, waiting is the worst part for most of us.

Once you've made all the decisions, there is little more to do than go for the ride. The thought of that will likely get your heart racing a few times. I know my arrhythmias put on a show during the last week that was like the last ten minutes of a good fireworks display.

Some thoughts that seem to have worked for many of us...

Do some of your favorite things these weeks, especially with those boys, and eat at a favorite place. Buy or rent a good recliner, if you don't have one, and set up the recuperation area that you will base from in the weeks following the surgery. There are a number of folks here who have great lists set up of things you may need, so I won't bore you with my half-baked version. I did find that my pajamas were a waste of time, as a second patient gown worn backwards over the first was both unrevealing and very practical. You just slip it off and pop back into the bed, wires and monitors intact.

Besides, you may not feel right in your pajamas, as you can't take a shower for several days, and you become quite ripe and disgusting. It becomes your reason to get ambulatory and releasable, "If I do this, they will let me take a shower."

Treat yourself like a two-year-old if you start to panic - divert your attention to something else. It works better than you might think. It seems we're not really as grown up as we would like to believe, especially when we're scared.

Once you get into the hospital, things seem to move very quickly, so it probably won't be as difficult for you once you're there.

We'll be here for questions and ranting, as required.

Best wishes,

 

[Kelly Luisi]

Twoboysdad - I read all your posts last night and wanted to post but thought I would not make much since at 3am. I am much like you in that I am awaiting OHS on October 6th, I have two boys ages 6 and 9, and my last repair was 19 years ago, at age 15.

The waiting is the hardest part! Either the calendar is frozen in time not moving quickly enough, or it is flying by uncontrolably. I am 15 days away from the big day.... and I go from happy to get it over soon to terrified! It is crazy how your mind can just run off with it's own thoughts at times.

I am talking to my sons as the day draws near, and only giving them as much information as I think they need to have. My youngest son tends to be very emotional at times, and giving him too much info could scare the @*%$ out of him. We do talk about how "Mommy" has not been feeling well, and that I have not been able to do some of the fun stuff we do as a family, because I do not always feel good. My husband and I are trying to turn it into aw positive for the boys, by talking about all the things Mommy will be able to do with them after the operation.

Going through this as an adult is I think more scarey than when I was a child. When you are a kid, your parents tell you what is going to happen and you accept it..... as an adult you question everything!

I know that without this operation my life would end, but with the operation my life will "begin" again. That is what I keep trying to remind myself of, especially when those thought come into my head!

We will soon be over the mountain as they say around here! With it all behind us. Keep your chin up and let us at VR.com be the light that guidesd you over the mountain just ahead of you. This is a scarey journey.... but together we can do anything!

 

[Granbonny]

Hi Jeff

Hi Jeff

We will get you on the VR calendar (top of forum page)Oct. 15th......That is only 23 days..so plan your home for when you come home. That recliner , juices, ect..Let Family know..you will not up to having many visitors the first week. Need to nap, walk in house ect...the boys will be enough for you to deal with Tell your wife to relax too. she needs to be there for you. Bonnie

 

[twoboysdad]

Bob H
You said "There are a number of folks here who have great lists set up of things you may need"
Where can I find these lists? Thanks.

Kelly Luisi,
Thanks for your imput, we will be praying for you too, Stay in touch and let us know how it goes. I know exactly what you meen about being easier to go through this at a younger age. I was 16 when I had my first surgery. I have been saying that it was easier then when all I had to worry about was if i could play football when i recoverd. Now its about my family (wife and kids) and work, paying bills etc.

Iam with you, the days are creeping by and its all that is on mind.

Talk to you all soon
Jeff

 

[Karlynn]

Yes, we all like to quote Tom Petty -the waiting IS the hardest part.

You will do just fine.

 

[Bill Hall]

Jeff - Good luck with the surgery on the 15th. Make sure you stay busy until your day comes. Make sure you have some plans post-surgery, hobbies, etc, nothing strenuous. I felt very good with only aches and pains when I came out of the hospital and then had another four weeks until starting work. That is a lot of time.

 

[KathyH]

So the countdown is on for Jeff & Kelly. Good luck to both of you. I found that keeping busy and staying positive was very helpful during the wait. Of course, reading the threads on this board really helped too.
Kathy H.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Jeff,

You can find a lot of good information in the Pre-Surgery and Post-Surgery Forums.

Before my surgery, 'just to be safe', I prepared a Will, Limited Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, and a Living Will. You need to give a copy of your Living Will to the Hospital upon EACH admission because they do NOT keep them after you are discharged.

I also set up all of my savings and investment accounts as "Transfer on Death" which allows you to specify what percentage goes to each beneficiary and AVOIDS PROBATE, i.e. your beneficiaries get the money / investments immediately after presenting proof of death. Anything in your WILL will go through probate which and take a L O N G T I M E and be open to the public.

Think of this as 'extra insurance' for your family, and not a harbinger of doom.

'AL'

 

[PapaHappyStar]

Hi Kelly & Jeff-- I have a two year old son, and am also looking at an early date with the surgeon. For me, emotionally, the journey is much younger than for you --- I found out recently about my valve problems.

My best wishes to you for a succcessful surgery and the best in life after.

Regards,
Burair

 

[HarryG]

Jeff

Jeff

Now that you have your date, get all your questions answered here!
We are here for you.....we DON'T have all the answers but the majority of us have gone through what you are now starting.... I say getting to the top of and then to down the other side of the mountain is the most critical now....
Remember we are here for YOU............!

 

[twoboysdad]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has posted. I will keep reading and reviewing posts. I can t belive how much this web site has helped lift the world form my shoulders.

Thanks for the well wishes

Jeff

 

[Ross]

......and I bet you thought this would be just another one of those forums huh?

 

[Debrinha GT]

That's exactly how I feel!

That's exactly how I feel!

Hi there Jeff and Kelly, if I were to write a post about my worries regarding my fourth surgery, I would probably write something very similar to what the two of you have written. I had my first operation at the age of ten, then 15, and the last one at 20. I flet different towards each of them, but this time, I have so much information that I think I feel a mixture of the emotions I experienced the other times put together, if you get what I mean. As for my daughter Bruna it's like this: whenever we have to walk and I get a bit breathless, I just tell her so and ask her to slow down. I try to sound as natural as possible on answering her questions, but I don't scare her. On the other hand, I don't promise her that everything will be ok either, but instead of that, I tell her that I've made it through the last three, and that apart from my heart there's nothing else wrong with me so, I should do ok this time too. If you have any questions you'd like to ask me, you can post here or send me a PM or email if you prefer. In a few weeks from now, both of you will be back here posting and helping others. Have faith in God and trust your doctors. Your VR friend,

Débora

 

[twoboysdad]

Getting Nervous

Getting Nervous

Now that the day is set. I find it hard to take my mind off of the surgery. I keep focusing on what I disliked the most from my last surgery. Of couce the unknown going into the pre-op. But the unpleasantness of waking up with all the tubes and that feeling when you just come too. I just can't wait untill I am back home after the surgery and sitting in my recliner.

Sorry just scared. Thanks for all you support.

Jeff

 

[Ross]

Jeff for the most part, many things have changed since your last time around. It may not be as bad as the last.

 

[Gemma]

Hi Jeff,
Like Ross says, I would imagine a lot's changed since last time around so it's probably best not to think about that too much if you can help it.
Several months after Jim's AVR, we were watching something on TV which had a person on a ventilator, and Jim asked if I'd been there in ICU when he was still on the ventilator. My answer? I'd been sitting with him for a good hour before the nurses decided to take him off it!!! Not sure if it was the morphine or the anaesthetic, but something obviously erased his memory of those few hours straight after surgery!
Just wanted to mention it - not sure if it's the same for everybody but thought it was worth mentioning .
Hang in there - there's something like 1100 people here rooting for you .
Gemma.

 

[tobagotwo]

Gemma, I also remember nothing from that time. However, Pat apparently sat with me for quite a while after the surgery, too, while I was on the ventilator. And she claims to have stories...

I think they deliberately worked to wake me up so they could take the breathing tube out. I had feared it greatly before the surgery, but it wasn't bad.

I believe I have read on some people's descriptions that when they woke up, the breathing tube was already gone. I don't know if that means exactly what it sounds like, or if they just don't remember anything from that time, but it sounds pretty good either way.

Best wishes,