Tammy's Guestbook

Hi Tammy, I was thinking about you and realized that your surgery is coming up in a few days.  I just wanted to reassure you, once again, that Dr. Gerdisch and the team at St. Francis are beyond amazing, you will be in excellent hands during surgery and beyond.  The critical care nurses are saints and went above and beyond for me during my entire stay.  I can't say enough good things about Dr. G and St. Francis.  I'm doing great, have had about dozen cardiac rehab program visits, which have helped greatly.  Best of luck with the surgery and your recovery; I'll be pulling for you!

Hi Tammy, thanks for the kind words and wishes for recovery from my Full Monty surgery with Dr. Gerdisch.  It sounds as if we're in a similar boat.  I was always active, took care of myself, look younger than my years, but on the inside (heart wise) a mess!  I've been using the breath challenger often and got a stationery bike stand, so I can at least get in a little low level cardio.  I've had symptoms for about a full year following my 3rd ablation surgery.  Hopefully Dr. G and his team can put my Humpty Dumpty of a heart back together again, as I have a lot of living I plan on doing for years if not decades.  Please hang in there and I'll keep you posted when possible.  (((Huge Heartfelt Hugs)))

Hang in there Tammy. My mitral valve repair was 1 week ago yesterday. I too had a lot of anxiety that seemed to get worse by the day. 1 week out, I can't say it's fun, but not nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be. It can be quite overwhelming to do your due diligence in order to make the best decision for yourself.

I think the most important thing that you can do is feel comfortable with the surgeon that you choose and trust that they are doing the best thing for you. A part of that is asking questions about anything that you don't understand and being satisfied with the answers that you're getting. 

It has been a daunting journey and will continue to be for a while. I haven't yet shared a lot of my experiences as I'm still getting through some things {read about "pump head") but overall I've been progressing well.  

This is a great community here, and you'll find lots of support and help. 

Don't hesitate in the least to ask questions. 

Gary