Facing Aortic Valve Replacement September 27,  2016  11:49am EST

Hopefully, while I never want to hear that someone is facing an aortic valve replacement surgery, I too, had that surgery in October 2014. I am a very proud owner of a mechanical aortic heart valve! I had been told in October of 2014 that with my "old" valve I had 1-4 years left to live. Very sobering for a 50 year old. Now at 52, I'm living on and enjoying life. Thankfully, I had little time to prepare (a.k.a. worry) before the surgery. The recovery from surgery was not as painful as I feared. Uncomfortable yes, but not necessarily painful. I was told, and I truly believe, there are 3 stages of recovery that you MUST get through to be back to enjoying life and living on! 1) Physical - scars must heal, nerves grow back together (odd little twinges), and muscles need to get strong again 2) Emotional - I went through sudden crying fits for the dumbest reasons and 3) Mental - this is key and a big one to get through. Mental recovery is moving from "heart surgery patient" to "healthy now, let's go"! Right after surgery I suggest button down the front shirts. If you're a woman, finding a bra will be challenging, probably. Check websites for post-surgery accessories. And lastly, be patient with your recovery! I was told it'd be a 1 year recovery time frame. It took about 10 months before I was back to exercising hard. However, I now know 2 other people who've had open heart surgery and their recovery time was much shorter. Good luck with everything and feel free to reach out to me. Leslie

LeslieJ. Thanks for the encouragement. While it isn't a "piece of cake" it doesn't sound all that bad. I had never considered the problem of find a bra. Interesting! I may write you again. Teresa