Kevin's Guestbook

Kevin Woodard  Jeremiah,
Glad to hear you had a successful surgery as well. Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back with you. I did have some symptoms when my MV started to fail the second time but very minor shortness of breath. The failure was picked up on one of my regular annual echo's. We then did a TEE and realized that the valve was leaking pretty bad or as my Cardio friend said " your leak is pretty impressive". My valve was now leaking in two different areas. Yes I had a ring installed and the valve was leaking at or near the repair site but was also leaking in other spots. The doctors and I are quite sure the first repair was necessarily the reason the valve had fail. It was really calcified and just a degenerative valve. The Dr at Duke said as soon as he saw it he instantly knew a second repair was not possible. The valve was a complete mess and discolored looked like a glob of bubble gum. Most repairs last for a very long time even a lifetime. Every repair and valve are different mine was just defective and the first repair did help for awhile but just was not meant to be. Feel free to ask me any additional questions or contact me anytime to chat. I wish you the best in your recovery and going forward. My advice is not to harp on the fact that a repair can fail. It is out of our hands and really nothing we can to prevent another leak or repair failure besides living a healthy lifestyle. Just live in the moment every day and don't look back my friend.

Kevin

  Thank you Kevin for responding to my questions regarding your mitral valve failure and the need for a second surgery.
Very informative.
Thank you also for your encouragement regarding my concerns over my mitral valve repair failing.
Much appreciated.
Wishing you all the best as you go forward in your recovery.
Peace and blessings to you my friend and fellow Heart Warrior!

Kevin Woodard  Bill, Thank you for your well wishes! Good to hear you are doing well. I have full faith in Dr. Glower as I met with 5 years ago but ended up at another facility for whatever reasons. Nice to know you think so highly of him. I will try and reach out after my procedure which is Monday. Take care!

Kevin Woodard  Bill, Thank you for your well wishes! Good to hear you are doing well. I have full faith in Dr. Glower as I met with 5 years ago but ended up at another facility for whatever reasons. Nice to know you think so highly of him. I will try and reach out after my procedure which is Monday. Take care!

Kevin Woodard  Bill Sorry I haven't gotten back in touch with you sooner. My surgery went well and I am the proud owner of a new mechanical valve. Dr. Glower was great and the staff at Duke took great care. I have been so busy since surgery with follow up appointments and INR testing that I haven't really had the time to write back. It has also taken time for me to come to peace with my decision on the mechanical valve that until now was not really emotionally ready to get back on the site. Dr. Chitwood did my repair. The valve was leaking in #2 places this time so not sure Chitwood did anything wrong? It's just the valve had completely failed and not repairable at all. The surgery took almost 8 hours because of all of the scare tissue from the first surgery. So glad I went to Glower!

Kevin Woodard  Bill Sorry I haven't gotten back in touch with you sooner. My surgery went well and I am the proud owner of a new mechanical valve. Dr. Glower was great and the staff at Duke took great care. I have been so busy since surgery with follow up appointments and INR testing that I haven't really had the time to write back. It has also taken time for me to come to peace with my decision on the mechanical valve that until now was not really emotionally ready to get back on the site. Dr. Chitwood did my repair. The valve was leaking in #2 places this time so not sure Chitwood did anything wrong? It's just the valve had completely failed and not repairable at all. The surgery took almost 8 hours because of all of the scare tissue from the first surgery. So glad I went to Glower!

Kevin Woodard  I did read your post a few weeks ago and glad you are doing well. I know you guys have had a long cold winter and are probably ready for some warmer weather. Thanks for your comments and wish you the best on your continued recovery! Take Care!

Kevin Woodard  Jim
Thanks and hope you are doing well. I will try not to over do it. I am still not sure if I will do cardiac rehab? Docs says I am young and might be able to rehab myself. I am going to talk with him again next week. I know you are doing it got any advice?

Kevin Woodard  Laurie,
Sounds like you are doing well. Yes I sleep OK but still wake up a couple of times each night. I am almost completely off pain meds and have been for sometime. I will take one at night every now and then after a long day. I too have cabin fever! I did go to the YMCA to walk yesterday which was nice to get out. I have had lots of friends stop by and that too has helped. I plan on changing my venue tomorrow and head to my dad's beach house for a few days hopefully that will help? Glad to hear you are feeling so good and I wish you a happy healthy Mew Year! 2014 is going to be our year to get back to living life with no cloud over our heads. God bless and keep in touch!

Kevin Woodard  Thanks Jim for your support and advice. Good luck on your continued recovery! Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!