Emily Parks - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

Emily Parksposted a photo

6 days ago

Kimberly Eisenhut, Daneen Douglas, Adam Pick and 3 others reacted to this

Adam Pick Welcome to our community Emily!!!

Richard Munson Aww, look at that cute little kitty.

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt Hi Emily!

Emily Parks First I would like to say thank you and God bless you Adam for this website so many things I have fou ... Read more

Emily Parks First I would like to say thank you and God bless you Adam for this website so many things I have found out that I never even knew that had been going on with me . Have been fighting an uphill battle since 2019.

Emily Parks Hi Diane

Emily Parks Hello Richard

Ana Brusso Hello Emily and welcome.

Richard Munson Welcome fellow massachusite. My new word of the day. What is your hospital? Mine was mass general. We ... Read more

Richard Munson Welcome fellow massachusite. My new word of the day. What is your hospital? Mine was mass general. We are lucky we have some great doctors within easy reach. Mine was mitral, yours is different but the fear before surgery affects us all. As you say, have faith in your doctor, your surgeon, and faith in general. After all, a positive attitude counts a lot. Plus you are young. My kids are your age. This is a great site that has some fabulous and very smart folks that comment. I am not one of the smart ones but i attempt to lighten things up on occasion. My shadow has a lot of the same markings as your kitty if you have ever seen him.

Rose Madura Great picture

Pamela Gregory aww!!!

Emily Parksposted a journal

8 days ago

I go into the hospital Thursday June 27th for the first procedure where they going to find out if I need to have any of my arteries replaced, and on Friday ...Read more

I go into the hospital Thursday June 27th for the first procedure where they going to find out if I need to have any of my arteries replaced, and on Friday June 28th is when the valve replacement surgery will begin. I'm just terrified I've gained 50 lb since my open heart surgery in 2021. In early 2022 I started slowing down was not able to catch my breath use my arms as much vision started to become very blurry even with my glasses on and as I slowed down the weight came on me and it scares me that I'm 50 lb heavier going into this again. Well my friends and family encourage me that everything will work well and I will be fine. I've tried to look up the different types of valves for replacement and how they work and how long but you get so many different stories I'm tired of reading different ones.. NOW JUST SCARED!

Grace Mason I'm sorry to hear you are having to undergo a second open heart surgery so soon after your first, Emi ... Read more

Grace Mason I'm sorry to hear you are having to undergo a second open heart surgery so soon after your first, Emily.
The valves they are using today have advanced a lot. Do you know if you will be having a tissue or mechanical valve yet?
There is a lot of information in the search section on this blog to help you prepare questions for your surgeon.
There are many here that understand your fears💕

Anna Ma I’m sorry too Emily! It is overwhelming at first, I was barely 52 when I had my surgery. To process ... Read more

Anna Ma I’m sorry too Emily! It is overwhelming at first, I was barely 52 when I had my surgery. To process all this information at this “young” age can be scary. I felt I was looking into death eye to eye. But once I passed that initial phase, I had peace. Praying for your peace!🙏

Emily Parks Hi Grace not sure which one I'm getting he is going to be bringing in all three and deciding then, my ... Read more

Emily Parks Hi Grace not sure which one I'm getting he is going to be bringing in all three and deciding then, my surgeon has spoken with me and feels as though a tissue valve would be best for me since I am young and would like to move around more with a mechanical valve they would have to put me on coumadin which he feels would be too dangerous at this point if I fell or got some kind of cut that the bleeding Factor would be a big problem.

Emily Parks Hi Anna Ma, This truly the most confusing time being so young and knowing that all this is happening ... Read more

Emily Parks Hi Anna Ma, This truly the most confusing time being so young and knowing that all this is happening I so wish that somebody had known about the valve when I had the first open heart to replace the right main artery, my surgeon tells me this was nothing I did or didn't do this was from birth It's a congenital defect that we never knew about. Thank you for your prayers 🙏🏼 🕊️

Anna Ma Hi Emily, I was born with BAV issue too. I did lots of research too before surgery, it is a difficult ... Read more

Anna Ma Hi Emily, I was born with BAV issue too. I did lots of research too before surgery, it is a difficult decision because of our age. In Europe, they recommend tissue valve after 50, seems they have an earlier cutoff for mechanical valve than in US. I ended up with edward inspire resillia valve that is supposed to last longer. And then I can probably do tavr when it fails after 20 years

Anna Ma Adam did this interview with Dr Roselli and patient Ari on how they made the decision. I basically we ... Read more

Anna Ma Adam did this interview with Dr Roselli and patient Ari on how they made the decision. I basically went through the same evaluation process, I wish I have watched it before my research, it would be much easier deciding!😂 I think for BAV and our age, this is probably the best option if you are not doing Ross. You can also seek multiple opinions and if they agree, that is a good sign. Hope this helps you:https://youtu.be/mbVTFGTOZjY?si=KgFtsuUp_4j4dmB6

Emily Parks I can't thank you enough for that video, as I had already been doing research over the past several ... Read more

Emily Parks I can't thank you enough for that video, as I had already been doing research over the past several days I had come to what I thought was the best one for me. The inspire resilia valve after seeing this video and listening to all that wad said I know that this is the one that will do best for me as it can take me to at least 70. I am very active and was before the end of January when this pulled me down so far that I can't even play with my grandson who's just two years old. I actually feel less stress and anxiety over this as I am going to be talking to my surgical team on Monday before I go into the hospital again thank you so much

Anna Ma I’m so glad you find it helpful!! Make sure you discuss with your surgeon for valve-in-valve operat ... Read more

Anna Ma I’m so glad you find it helpful!! Make sure you discuss with your surgeon for valve-in-valve operation for the future that they will put a large enough size for you. My doctor gave me 25mm. I hope I will never need another ipen heart surgery again!😂