Adam Baumgartner - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

680 days ago

Timothy Andre, Kimberly Eisenhut, Susan Lynn and 1 other reacted to this

1 year! Stronger every day.

Klara Čičić Yeah, man! Congrats!

Marie Myers Happy Anniversary Adam!!

Timothy Andre Congratulations on your first year anniversary Adam!

Louise Moore Bravo, Adam! A High Five to you! .... Happy Anniversary!

Pamela Gregory Awesome👍!!!

Rose Madura Adam, Happy Anniversary!!👍

Robert Young Congratulations 🎉🎈🎊

Susan Lynn Happy Anniversary, Adam!

Donna Casaletto Congratulations 👏🎉

Christopher LeMay Awesome, congrats Adam!

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

803 days ago

Timothy Andre, Phyllis Petersen, Patsy Stewart and 1 other reacted to this

Today is 8 months post surgery for me. Recovery isn't linear and not every day is a step forward, but I've felt great the past couple months now. Better and ...Read more

Today is 8 months post surgery for me. Recovery isn't linear and not every day is a step forward, but I've felt great the past couple months now. Better and more capable than I've been the past couple years before surgery. Still wake up with sore chest, back, and shoulder muscles some days, but it goes away once I get moving. Also, somewhat rare I had nerve issues that went unchanged for about 7 months. I started red light therapy (photobiomodulation) about a month ago and it has done wonders. I encourage anyone that has nerve pain or numbness of any kind to look into it. Good luck to those with upcoming surgeries and continued success to those in the early days of recovery.

Ana Brusso Hi Adam, glad you are doing so much better. I get those sore back and shoulder muscles aches but I ta ... Read more

Ana Brusso Hi Adam, glad you are doing so much better. I get those sore back and shoulder muscles aches but I take Tylenol for it and it helps. Keep up the good work and keep posting. God bless you

Timothy Andre Awesome update Adam. Super happy for you

Andrew Dial Great to hear you’re doing well. Keep it up :)

Rose Madura Good to hear Adam. We all have a different story yet it's all the same in many way. Keep up the goo... Read more

Rose Madura Good to hear Adam. We all have a different story yet it's all the same in many way. Keep up the good progress!

Angela Meletiadis Glad to hear you are on the upswing!I appreciate your spirit of patience and perseverance and that se ... Read more

Angela Meletiadis Glad to hear you are on the upswing!I appreciate your spirit of patience and perseverance and that seems to have paid off for you! I'm afraid my nerve issues will continue past three months so I'm trying to prepare myself psychologically, but I will look into red light therapy!! This site is yet again, another source of info and encouragement to me in my journey to a complete recovery. Thank you, Adam!!

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

885 days ago

Daniel Salzer, Klara Čičić, Rose Madura and 2 others reacted to this

Played tennis for the first time post surgery tonight. First real strenuous upper body activity and it went well. And definitely have some endurance, which ...Read more

Played tennis for the first time post surgery tonight. First real strenuous upper body activity and it went well. And definitely have some endurance, which I didn't have before surgery.

Way to go Adam. Glad to hear your good news. Continued good health and God bless you

Klara Čičić Yay! Glad to hear that!

Rose Madura Whoo Hoo! Great news Adam!

glad things are going well.

Marie Myers I remember my first time back playing tennis. It was great being back out on the courts! Enjoy!

Deena Z Good litmus test! WTG

Angela Meletiadis Woo Hoo!! Another post op tennis player!!! Good for you!!!

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

910 days ago

Patsy Stewart, Deena Z, Rose Madura and 3 others reacted to this

Your perception of time slows during difficulties.
What seems like it will last forever will not.
When you look back on even the most harrowing challenges ...Read more

Your perception of time slows during difficulties.
What seems like it will last forever will not.
When you look back on even the most harrowing challenges they tend not to seem so all encompassing.
Just knowing this can help you to keep showing up—and sometimes that's enough.
I read this today and just thought I'd share.

Thank you for sharing this post. It’s so right on. Blessings Adam

Marie Myers That very true! My husband always adds, “This too shall pass”...

Rose Madura Very profound!

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

949 days ago

Andrew Dial, Timothy Andre, Klara Čičić and 1 other reacted to this

Another recovery milestone 3 months out. Never thought I'd be happy to mow the grass, but it felt good to be able to do it again. Probably could have done ...Read more

Another recovery milestone 3 months out. Never thought I'd be happy to mow the grass, but it felt good to be able to do it again. Probably could have done it sooner but why rush. Cardiac rehab continues to go well with steady gains in exercise capacity. My only issues to date (and still ongoing) are nerve damage. I still have numbness in 2 fingers and my thumb and nerve pain on one side of my chest. Both are really just annoyances but hopefully it goes away. Doctor said it could take 6 months.

Timothy Andre Ahh, it's the little things in life. Congrats on 3 months!! Waiting to mow was probably a good thin... Read more

Timothy Andre Ahh, it's the little things in life. Congrats on 3 months!! Waiting to mow was probably a good thing, but oh so rewarding. I'm 34 days post-op and decided to pull some weeds and use the gas blower yesterday. Hindsight is 20/20. I should have waited longer. It was a little too much too soon. I was worn out for 3 hours after that. I'm at the point where I feel well enough to do stuff but my body has different plans. I shall continue to take it easy. Sorry your dealing with the numbness and nerve pain, but it sounds like your staying positive and being hopeful it will eventually fade away. Keep up the good work with recovery.

Rose Madura You guys are doing well and learning to listen to your bodies. Adam, praying your nerve damage goes ... Read more

Rose Madura You guys are doing well and learning to listen to your bodies. Adam, praying your nerve damage goes away like the doctor said. Blessings to you both.

Adam Baumgartner Thanks. Yes, heart surgery does make you appreciate the little things.

Adam Baumgartnerposted a journal

1040 days ago

Phyllis Petersen, Rose Madura, Andrew Dial and 5 others reacted to this

I am home! Really feeling pretty good. Amazing how much I improved the last 48 hours. I know theres still a long way to go but happy where Im at. I appreciate ...Read more

I am home! Really feeling pretty good. Amazing how much I improved the last 48 hours. I know theres still a long way to go but happy where Im at. I appreciate all the info and people here that helped me make the best decisions. I believe that knowledge and confidence that comes with it helps so much in recovery.

Rose Madura So glad yo hear you wre feeling so well! I hope and pray your recovery is uneventful ad that you hav ... Read more

Rose Madura So glad yo hear you wre feeling so well! I hope and pray your recovery is uneventful ad that you have more energy and stamina than ever before! Listen to your body and nap when you need to. Godspeed!

Welcome to recovery and God bless you

Holly Wale Way to go, Adam! Glad to hear your news!

Deena Z Congrats, Adam. Being able to go home makes you so much better, huh. normalizing. You will see hug ... Read more

Deena Z Congrats, Adam. Being able to go home makes you so much better, huh. normalizing. You will see huge improvements over the next two weeks. Exhale! Life is good

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

1041 days ago

Andrew Dial, Holly Wale, Rose Madura and 3 others reacted to this

4 days post op. Everything went really well. Dr Burke was able to repair my aortic valve instead of replacing it. Post op echo looks good. I'm thrilled that ...Read more

4 days post op. Everything went really well. Dr Burke was able to repair my aortic valve instead of replacing it. Post op echo looks good. I'm thrilled that so far results seems as good as I could hope for. Recovery had been a struggle but turned a corner today when we got pain meds dialed in. Oxy really disagrees with me and I felt awful. Now with different med pain is tolerable and I am no longer nauseus or sick. Now just waiting to go home.

Marie Myers That is great news!! Glad you were able to get the repair-what a bonus. Every day will get a little b ... Read more

Marie Myers That is great news!! Glad you were able to get the repair-what a bonus. Every day will get a little better,and you will notice slow, steady improvements. Welcome to the recovery side!

Mike Tirrell Adam, glad you are doing well. Oxy did not agree with me either so I asked for Dilaudid only and tha ... Read more

Mike Tirrell Adam, glad you are doing well. Oxy did not agree with me either so I asked for Dilaudid only and that helped with reducing nausea and the general poor feeling I had while on Oxy.

Deena Z Adam, WTG. A repair. Successful. And almost HOME!!! You did it!

Rose Madura Wonderful news. Hopefully you can switch to Tylenol soon. It does pretty well. Glad you are ok and ... Read more

Rose Madura Wonderful news. Hopefully you can switch to Tylenol soon. It does pretty well. Glad you are ok and got a repair. Congratulations!

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

1059 days ago

Wondering if anyone else here has/had a “forme fruste” (partially fused) bicuspid valve and if valve repair was possible?

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

1106 days ago

Anyone with an aortic aneurysm and regurgitation have a Ross procedure done? Especially, wondering about a “protected” or “reinforced” Ross to prevent ...Read more

Anyone with an aortic aneurysm and regurgitation have a Ross procedure done? Especially, wondering about a “protected” or “reinforced” Ross to prevent dilation.

Adam Baumgartnerposted an update

1110 days ago

1 person reacted to this

Met with surgeon. Nothing unexpected since I knew surgery was almost certain, but now it’s more real when the doctor confirmed surgery is required and will ...Read more

Met with surgeon. Nothing unexpected since I knew surgery was almost certain, but now it’s more real when the doctor confirmed surgery is required and will be within 3 months. Unsure still at this point if the aortic valve can be repaired, but the root needs to be replaced. So option 1 would be a valve sparing root replacement surgery. If the valve needs to be replaced I need to decide between two options, either a Bentall procedure with a mechanical valve or the Ross procedure. At this point I am leaning Ross, but still unsure. Looking for comments from anyone that has had either of these at a younger age (I am 42) or have had to make a similar decision.

Andrew Dial Hey what’s the latest on your decision for surgery? Are you having them use the Dacron sleeve on yo ... Read more

Andrew Dial Hey what’s the latest on your decision for surgery? Are you having them use the Dacron sleeve on your ascending aorta?