Sheila's Journal

Susan Lynn  Love the picture and that handsome boy!! Thinking of you, today! We'll be waiting to welcome you to recovery!! Wishing you all the best!

Timothy Andre  You got this Sheila! May God bless you and protect you. We look forward to your updates during recovery

Amy Berger  I’m 2 weeks post op and amazed at how resilient the human body is and how we heal. Praying for you to have simple, comfortable recovery!

Louise Moore  Hi Sheila, that's a great idea and I cooked a lot of high protein meals to freeze also - great way to use up the pre-surgery nervous energy!  I was really glad I had the time to do that, it made for a happy home arrival :~)

Donna Casaletto  Still organizing closets, drawers, and paperwork!! You would think it’s Xmas with my Amazon packages of storage merchandise 🙈😳😂‼️Can anyone recommend their favorite label maker 😉⁉️

Ricky Stutts  It has been over 4 years since my surgery. Saturday morning, feeling blessed, and a visit to HVS website.
happier about everything. 

Marie Myers  I was 63 at the time of my bicuspid valve surgery and aneurysm resections, and I would say that I was on an emotional roller coaster for a couple weeks. I think that was my body’s reaction to the immensity of the surgery, the relief when it was over, and the healing process. Healing is an emotional as well as physical journey journey , and was a few weeks before I leveled out. I started cardiac rehab at 3 weeks, and that increased my confidence, and started me on the road back to “myself”.  Some people have a rougher time with the surgery, especially if they suffer any delirium post op. That can be a reaction to the anesthetic or the physiological changes that can occur during anesthesia. Do you know someone who had problems with personality changes after surgery? I would say most people do not have any permanent personality changes after big surgeries. Hope that helps!

Pamela Gregory  I definitely had emotional ups and downs before surgery and after for a good 2 months. Before was complete fear, after was a mix of relief, fear, heart-lung machine, etc. After I found myself feeling like what I think PTSD is? Now after 3 months my emotions are a lot more level

Miriam St.Clair  I had an aortic and mitral replacement, tricuspid repair, and aortic repair at the age of 71, almost 5 months ago. I didn't feel quite like myself for several months after surgery, mainly grumpy but I think that was from the terrible fatigue I felt. My PCP had warned me that this might happen, but it would probably all be temporary and she was right. I agree with Marie that most people don't have permanent personality changes but some of us just take a bit longer to normalize due to our individual histories. It's helpful to just accept that the emotional changes are just as much part of the surgery as the physical changes and all will eventually heal.

Rose Madura  I don't think I changed in my personality but feel like I became a new person both physically and emotionally.  I feel like I'm calmer and gentler - more tolerant and I really don't sweat the small stuff.

Greg Lewis  A lot of us had some strange feelings after, BUT if I were you, I would not dwell here. You will  be fine, and it's out of your control. Just know that ya. You will feel a bit strange, but it goes away.

Susan Eckermann  Hi Sheila. I agree with Greg, above. I think we've all had unusual, changing feelings. Everyone is different, but if you concentrate on the positives ( advances in modern medicine, most procedures are done by very skilled surgeons who have done 100s leading up to yours, you have family, friends and/or community to help support your recovery, and faith, to name a few) you will get through this and be stronger on the other side. My surgeon recommended I keep a recovery journal. Just short entries about my daily progress and feelings. This proved to be invaluable to me. At times when I felt I'd made little progress and would never get back to 100% (or even near that) I could review the journal and see how far I'd come. In my view, being mindful that recovery is a process and you will have good days and bad days, and some unusual feelings, is half the battle. You've got this!