Patricia's Guestbook

Hi Patricia, welcome to the group (that nobody wants to be part of)! I had my surgery in 2014-I was 42 and terrified. Looking back, it was not nearly as awful as I had imagined it would be. Open heart surgery used to be a HUGE deal - weeks in the hospital and months of recuperation. Not it seems like for the hospital staff it's pretty routine. I lobbied hard for a TAVR, and my cardio & my surgeon both said I wasn't sick enough for that. But that was 9 years ago and technology has improved even since then.

Don't get me wrong, it  *is*  very scary! I wasn't in a lot of pain after, more of a strong discomfort. My biggest challenge after was getting in & out of bed - I needed assistance for about 4 weeks, although I supposed if there hadn't been anyone to help me I would have gotten it done myself, right?

I found comfort in reading through other's experiences on this forum, and I hope you will, too. Again, welcome, and I'm really glad you found this group!


Meredith

Oak Ridge, TN

Good morning, Patricia! Wanted to welcome you to this site. You’re going to love the information offered here and the help and love given from the members as you travel along your heart journey.~❤️

Your guestbook is already set up! Anyone can leave a note for you either in the Guestbook or the regular patient newsfeed.

I am sorry that you have to go through some type of procedure, whether TAVR or open heart surgery (like I did). Have you gotten a second opinion from a totally different group regarding the possibility of TAVR?