Brian's Journal

Dan Baltazor  Meeting your surgeon is a huge mind settler. Once you trust that person, the rest comes easier. Glad your first visit was successful.

Dan Baltazor  It was a rough first couple days at home, returned to the Dr. yesterday and changed up some medication, Oxycodone is not for me. Tramadol worked better, but now I’m taking extra strength Tylenol. Was.super nausiated with insomnia. Today has been my best day since surgery. Went for 2 walks outside.

Rob Sparling  Good news from each of you. Glad to hear both of you have made progress! Dan, tough to be comfy if the pain meds don’t show up for work when you do! Brian, so glad you are at ease after meeting Dr. Gillinov! Being inspired by their accomplishments and knowing their level of expertise and commitment to your success is beyond measure helps, doesn’t it? 👍

  Yes, it is very important to have the utmost confidence in your surgeon. An excellent surgeon only works with the most qualified people and so no doubt have an excellent surgical team assisting them.
Breathe easy Brian, I do believe you're in good hands. Just trust God to bring you through this.
He will.
No worries. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, you and your family, and please eat a piece of sweet potato pie for me! 😊
I'm in the hospital on Thanksgiving but I WON'T complain because praise God I am alive and I have a newly repaired heart!
LOTS to be thankful for.

Brian Havlin  I keep hearing the breathing tube is a bit challenging when you first wake up. What do you guys think? Any advice? Breath through my nose? Will I even remember? Happy Thanksgiving.

  Brian, I think everyone's experience is different.
For me, my breathing tube stayed in for 7 hours after my surgery was completed, only because I was having difficulty breathing on my own. It typically stays in for an average of 4-8 hours after surgery is completed and it will not come out until you are able to breathe stable breaths on your own. Yes, you are aware it is in there and you probably will remember it because you will wake up long before they take it out. It was very uncomfortable for me and because I have a strong gag reflex, I gagged a lot and everytime I did it hurt tremendously. Of course I had the full sternotomy so my chest was also very sore, which added to the pain.
From what I understand you are having a minimally invasive surgery so not quite sure how that will work for you. I found it helped to try to breathe as easy as possible and stay calm despite whatever degree of pain or discomfort you may feel.
The most pain I felt with the breathing tube was when they pulled it out. Oh my goodness!
It really hurt.
I hope your experience is a lot more smooth going for you Brian.
Just sharing my experience, which is probably not typical of the experience of most people.
I wish you the best.
And Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!

Dan Baltazor  Brian, the tube was one of my main concerns before surgery too. I don’t even remember being extubated after my 1st surgery. However, when they had to do a 2nd surgery and they left me intubated overnight turned out different. Try to remember to go to a spot in your mind, try to relax. It was difficult, i can’t downplay it. But we do get through it along with all of our many other challenges.

Rob Sparling  Brian, it wasn’t a pen issue for many of us but for some it was (as Dan mentioned). So it might make sense to cross that bridge when you come to it. Not much you can do about it at that point except make it work! Don’t stress, enjoy where you are as much as you can. The ICU nurses at CC will give you the best care possible. I can validate that one personally. I remember nothing of the tube but recall being incredibly thirsty and dry. See my journal...

  Hi Brian.
Had my mitral valve repaired yesterday. Was very successful surgery.
The nervousness and anxiety is normal but you will be okay. You are in excellent hands with the Cleveland Clinic.
And I believe God will guide the surgical teams hands and bring you through just fine.
Be strong my fellow Heart Warrior! You're gonna be just fine.

Susan Lynn  Brian - Waiting was by far the worse part. You'll be ready to relinquish that worry in exchange for being on the road to recovery. Surgery will feel like a blink in time and it'll be over. Thank heaven for great anesthesiologists! You'll be fine. Best of luck.

  Susan you are so right about surgery feeling like a blink in time.
The last thing I remember was them putting the "gas mask" on me and the next thing I knew I was waking up in icu.

Roxanne Baumgartner  Hi Brian, I live south of Cleveland, and CC’s Dr. Johnston gave me a new aortic valve one week ago today (mini-thoracotomy). I feel fantastic! I understand your anxiety, but you are going to be super fine!

Dan Baltazor  Yep, it’s tough before. Once you have your surgeon and trust what they are going to do and the game plan, it’s easier to let go of some of the anxiety. We’re with you all the way!!!!

Brian Havlin  Man, all of your comments help so much!! I know I'm going to be fine but I can't convince my mind 100% LOL. Just gonna have to walk in there and say put me out. Hoping there are no unexpected problems during surgery. Thank you all for the encouragement. It seriously helps to hear you all say the same thing. I never read books but I read Adam's book in about 3 hours lol.

  Brian the surgeons do this stuff all the time. It's like second nature to them. No worries my friend.

Richard Buckley  As my sister reminded me before my surgery, you will be the only one in the OR who hasn't done this before. You are nervous and anxious because you care, just like an actor before a performance or an athlete before a game. As others in this group tell you, waiting is the hardest. We've all made it past the surgery and so will you. Happy Thanksgiving.

Debbie Moriarty  I love what your sister said, Richard, about how the patient is the only one who won’t be “in the know”!! The others are experts!!!

Rob Sparling  Brian, everything stated above is 100% true. The wall of worry fades away when you realize that doing nothing is worse than doing something. Dig in, hold on, pray and make a positive outcome more likely by being positive. Focus on waking up and plan a few things as goals for th either side. You’ve got this! ❤️💪

Mark Jaycox  Brian, I go in for my pre-op next Tuesday and my surgery is scheduled for a week later. I'll be following you to see how things go. Like you I'm anxious and nervous and just want this over with.

  Hi Brian, welcome to the Heart Warriors family!
I'm fairly new here myself.
Your surgery is scheduled for one week after mine.
I'm set for mitral valve repair surgery on November 19.
I think everyone on this website truly understands being anxious and stressed leading up to surgery.
Please know that you are not alone. I believe you will find comfort, encouragement and many people on here who will pray for you and your family and stand with you through this whole open heart surgery thing.
Also, the Cleveland Clinic is one of the best in the business in doing heart surgeries, so you're okay there.
Before surgery, it's a rollercoaster ride. At least it's been that way for me. Anxiety, stress, confidence, assurance, doubt, fear, calm, peace.
I mean, the different emotions, feelings and thoughts all come with the territory, but you'll get through it.
Also, from all I've read and heard in researching heart surgery and the subsequent recovery, everyones experience is unique to them. Many things factor in to how the recovery experience will go:
Age and health at the time of operation, whether the patient has any other medical problems, pain tolerance level of the patient, the determination to get better after surgery, the wisdom to know when to be active and when to rest, etc.
Just put your hope and trust in God to bring you through this Brian and try not to overthink it or it will drive you up a wall.
Your heart health and quality of life should drastically improve after surgery and as you recover, so you have that to look forward to.

Brian Havlin  Thanks for the feedback Jeremiah. Much appreciated! I will be praying for you and your surgical team for a positive outcome. Let me know how things go for you.

Rob Sparling  Brian, It is normal to be nervous! You’ll get past that. I posted a lot of details to my journal for just such an occasion (i.e., helping anew CC Warrior such as yourself). 👍

Dan Vechiola  Distract your mind Brian as much as you can right up until the day of surgery and then march right in and get it done. Your brain is probably saturated with information right now so put your faith in the hands of your surgeon and the pros at the CC and let go. Once you get to the other side time will fly and you will have the peace of mind you deserve.

Susan Lynn  Brian - I had a mini- thoracotomy mitral valve repair. The waiting was worse than anything else. I didn't have any pain, was released in 3 days, and had a pretty easy recovery. It took me awhile to get my energy and endurance back, but the whole thing was waaaay better than I anticipated! All the best to you!

Don Faust  The better shape your in the faster the recovery, I had a minimally invasive sternotomy, Where they don't split all of the breast bone. I slept in bed propped up for the first week then after that flat on my back . after about four weeks I could sleep on my side. I walked from the first day out and was released on my third day, I walked as much as possible walking is the best medicine. good luck and god bless

Sara Moyce  Hi Brian - I’m up to bat two days after you for my mitral valve repair. I am also fearful of the breathing tube but am taking in all of the wonderful advice here. Best wishes ❤️