Ethan Sperry - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2520 days ago

Darlene Smith, Adela Morsz and 1 other reacted to this

My date with Cleveland Clinic's OR #72 on February 2 will be surgery #37 (open heart surgery #2) for me. In my 28 years, I have consistently found the hardest ...Read more

My date with Cleveland Clinic's OR #72 on February 2 will be surgery #37 (open heart surgery #2) for me. In my 28 years, I have consistently found the hardest part of surgery is waiting for it to happen. I'd like to believe I'm not terribly bothered by the idea of going under the knife; fortunately, the majority of my surgical experiences have been elective craniofacial procedures. Indeed, what scares me most about surgery is the possibility of neurological impairment, an incredibly unlikely occurrence with most surgeries. However, with on-pump cardiac procedures, brain damage (through stroke or otherwise) is a definite worry. I will never forget the 10 minutes or so I sat alone on the gurney in the cold, white hallway parked next to the doors of OR 72 last January 24 contemplating my neurologic mortality as I faced nearly an hour of cardiopulmonary bypass. But I made it through and I even finished my PhD last August, so I suppose I wasn't too damaged by the experience. Rather, the pre-operative waiting period annoys me primarily because my entire life is on hold. I'm stuck feeling awful, unable to continue on with my life until I can get my heart back in good working order. I've always said that when I become a physician, I will strive to limit my patients' waiting periods. Now that I am nearly done with my medical training, I can say the system often brings us all down. Someday, I will have the energy to try and improve upon it so people like me don't have to put their lives on hold for weeks, even months, at a time. But for now, I must wait. Sorry for preaching to the choir... :-)

Jennifer McInerney Good luck Ethan. I hope you have a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Life on hold is frustratin ... Read more

Jennifer McInerney Good luck Ethan. I hope you have a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Life on hold is frustrating but hopefully worth it in the long run when the heart is finally fixed. You hot this!!!

Jennifer McInerney Typo. I meant you got this!!!

Sounds like this hiccup in the road will mend you and lead you on to do great things. It is not how h ... Read more

Sounds like this hiccup in the road will mend you and lead you on to do great things. It is not how heavy the load is but how you carry it. Will keep you in my prayers.

Carmel Power All the best Ethan.

Hi Everyone here in this forum, I am here to share with you all about how Dr JOHN who was able to cu ... Read more

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Rose Madura My surgery was nearly 7 hours and I did not have any neurological impairment,. For the first few day ... Read more

Rose Madura My surgery was nearly 7 hours and I did not have any neurological impairment,. For the first few days I did have some trouble finding the right words but that went away within a week. Best wishes on your surgery. Keep us posted.

Mark Wilbur Neurological impairment? Something more to worry about! But thanks for adding that you finished you ... Read more

Mark Wilbur Neurological impairment? Something more to worry about! But thanks for adding that you finished your PhD afterward, so that really alleviates my worry! Ethan, you are going to be a wonderful doctor, with great empathy and understanding for your patients!

Darlene Smith That is what we are here for!! To listen to each other when no one else understands! I wish you the ... Read more

Darlene Smith That is what we are here for!! To listen to each other when no one else understands! I wish you the best during your surgery and recovery!

Phyllis Petersen I had some concentration issues and occasional mind blips for several months after, but not on a leve ... Read more

Phyllis Petersen I had some concentration issues and occasional mind blips for several months after, but not on a level that really impaired my life. You probably already know how helpful it is to future healing to stay as positive as you can. I know, I know, it's awful hard when you're facing another surgery. You have a great surgeon and that's more than half the battle.

Bonnie Stone-Hope Hello Ethan,
Sending you good vibes for a nice smooth successful surgery and easy recovery. Soon you ... Read more

Bonnie Stone-Hope Hello Ethan,
Sending you good vibes for a nice smooth successful surgery and easy recovery. Soon you will be posting your post op "tips" to others who are awaiting their procedures.
Post op, not sure if I could finish a PhD, but probably could not have finished one before surgery either so do not feel I have any issues that were not there before:)