Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

[Jason2012]

Tomorrow I get my On-X valve and root. Keep me in your thoughts! See you all on the other side of the mountain. This site's been so helpful for me so far. Looking forward to more friends.

Night!
Jason

 

[ski girl]

Woohoo! Smash it! Let us know how it all went, when you feel up to typing and you're not writing gibberish due to the effects of all the awesome drugs.

Good luck from down under!

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

Good Luck Jason. I am ten weeks post-op today with my new ON-X Valve and root reconstruction. I am doing great! Back to work on Monday! Two weeks early!

 

[Oilman]

Good luck tomorrow Jason, will be sending good thoughts for your surgery and a smooth recovery. Will be looking for your update on the other side.

 

[Heather Anne]

Jason, good luck! Let us know how it goes!!

 

[canon4me]

Good luck, Jason! I'll get to join the ranks of all of you on 6/6/2013. Haven't settled on a valve yet. Wishing you a quick and smooth recovery.

 

[Phil]

Hi Jason,

I get mine (mechanical valve) tomorrow (29 May) as well. Good luck and all the very best.


Phil.

 

[epstns]

Good luck, Jason! I know you'll do just fine.

As a fellow Chicagoan, I'm curious as to where you are having your surgery, which surgeon, etc.

Also, keep in touch after surgery. There are numerous vr members in Chicago, and we try to get together a couple of times a year to visit, catch up on happenings and meet new folks in the area.

 

[escargome]

Jason, wishing you a successful surgery and really smooth recovery. See you on the other side. :biggrin2:

 

[chaconne]

I have the same setup you're going to get. It's performed great for the last 1.5 years. Blessings in your surgery.

 

[Jason2012]

Thank you everyone. I am doing well, this hospital is very nice/organized. The doctor found my root to be in much better condition than expected, so he repaired it + On-X. He knew I wanted to safeguard against aneurysm down the line, so he must have been certain it was good. He also repaired a small hole I had above the aortic valve that they think I was born with. Finally I had a bulge in my septum that he "shaved down". That sounds scary to me as I've never heard of that, but he said it's fixed and that I shouldn't have restrictions going forward. TBH the jury is still out as to whether it was bicuspid or not, I can ask him about this when I see him.

I'll have more info soon and will answer questions then. Wanted people to know that it went well. Thanks for thinking of me!

Thanks for the Messages!!!
Jason

 

[Mom2izzy]

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

Welcome to the other side!

 

[ski girl]

Great to hear! That was an impressively well-written update for someone just out of surgery! Keep up the positivity, it will help heaps with recovery.

 

[njean]

Glad to hear that all went well with you, Jason! Pace yourself and don't try to rush things. Rest, eat, walk and rest some more!

Stay well!

 

[sood]

Wishing you a speedy recovery, welcome to the other side!

 

[epstns]

Jason - It sounds like you're doing really well this soon. Keep up the great work, and we will be here waiting for the longer version of the story when you're up to writing it.

 

[kimcdougc]

Welcome to the other side. I am one week post op today and doing pretty good. Keep up the good work, eat, rest, breath.

 

[Jason2012]

Woohoo! Smash it! Let us know how it all went, when you feel up to typing and you're not writing gibberish due to the effects of all the awesome drugs.

Good luck from down under!

It went wonderful. Still on awesome drugs .

 

[Jason2012]

Good Luck Jason. I am ten weeks post-op today with my new ON-X Valve and root reconstruction. I am doing great! Back to work on Monday! Two weeks early!

I love my little On-X (disclaimer: just got it). For some reason I thought it would sound like metal snapping. It sounds more like two plastic forks barely tapping together. The sound of being healthy, as others have said.

Did work make you rush back? Stay in touch! I'm treating this time as a recovery vacation, heh.

 

[Jason2012]

Good luck tomorrow Jason, will be sending good thoughts for your surgery and a smooth recovery. Will be looking for your update on the other side.

UPDATE from the other side: the water's nice! Today is my birthday, and I got a pretty unbeatable gift today. Two cardiologists were in disagreement about my valve (for anyone following my story). The HMO one who swore it wasn't bicuspid, and another one here at this hospital who felt 85-95% sure that it was. I did have a trans-esophageal echo that the first cardiologist saw, so he had clearer imagery. However, this was the cardiologist that told me I was imagining my symptoms (a deal breaker for me -- you can see my posting history if you are curious). The new cardiologist who thought I had a bicuspid valve just happens to work with the amazing surgeon who did my surgery which fixed a number of previously unknown things (hole in septum that apparently doesn't close at birth for everyone (bonus points fixing that) -- I was incorrect about the hole position my parents reported from surgery updates (they had told me it was above the aortic valve) -- the shaving down of said knuckle tissue that was affecting my flow near the ventricle, and replacing my valve which was stretched from said growth -- AND repairing the root (no tape needed) from ~4.2 to 3.1 cm in this semi-exploratory apparently surgery. I'll be better than ever!

I met with the surgery team today and while having a stretched/leaky valve due to developed knuckle in the septum did wreck my valve, it was NOT bicuspid. So my 1.5-yr-old son doesn't have a 50% chance of having BAV. Pretty nice birthday present! This is a crazy time for my family and I. I had already gone through the acceptance phase of living with this -- thinking it would be forever. It's true when people say to never give up hope. Discoveries occur so rapidly today. If you consider the arguments put forth by The Singularity (book reference: The Singularity is Near) community, there are many reasons to be hopeful. Even if you don't all want to live in The Matrix , technology and healthcare changes come so fast today. Look at the 00s through now versus the 70s/80s/90s.

Hugs.