Mona's Guestbook

Hi Mona ,
I was born with a heart murmur .
During covid times i started with symptoms that I initially thought were due to the perimenopause . I became much worse and couldn't get a dr to see me face to face because of all the covid precautions . I had a severely leaking mitral valve and was in heart failure by the time I got emergency open heart surgery .
I got home just before my youngest son ‘s 18th birthday .
Your body will have been changing and struggling with the start of heart failure so it is no wonder that you have had post partum depression .
You will have felt very tired / exhausted due to the insidious heart failure ( it sneaks up on you !) and from the huge life changes of pregnancy and the birth of your son .
Pregnancy and a new baby are big life changes and can be very tiring . These big life changes and a slowly failing heart will be physically and mentally exhausting . You are doing great .
Your cardiac team might assume that your family is complete .
Make it clear to them that although you are feeling unwell now , that once you are feeling recovered and stronger post op that you would like to have another child / children .
If you were given a mechanical heart valve and took warfarin this would be difficult / more complicated to manage with a future pregnancy . My surgeon chose for me , I have a mechanical heart valve ( St.Jude ‘s ) .
Every day with your son is a gift .
This community is wonderful and it makes a big difference to each of us Heart Warriors .
You are doing so well

Hi Mona ,
Welcome

Mona it is early days since you became a mother . Congratulations !

Is your family complete ? If you are hoping to have another child / more children , what about the option of a tissue valve .
A few years later , or when the tissue valve needs replacing , when you have completed your family's ( if you haven ‘t already ) you could ? have a mechanical heart valve or think about the Ross Procedure .
This is what a friend of mine did .
She needed emergency open heart surgery but was wanting to start a family . She has a tissue valve . She now has a beautiful baby daughter .
You are doing really well