What a difference a year makes!

One year ago today my heart was stopped and my sternum sawed and spread open for Aortic valve replacement surgery.

Surgery and recovery went as well as I could have hoped but a rough stretch of road nonetheless.

One year later to the day it's just a little bump in the rear view mirror, and I'm livin' the dream!

Got the usual old man aches and pains, but feeling pretty damn good for 62 years old.

Currently camping with my wife and dogs, and life is good!

These pics are a year ago and today, almost down to the hour.

Yes, I have much to be thankful for... Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

 

Glad it didnt take too long to get past it. Looking healthy there now.
I'm younger, early 40s, and just had some testing today. Was told I should have seen a cardiologist 10 years ago. They said maybe could have possibly prevented issues I'm having now if i had started watching out back then. I havent been jogging or touched my weights in over a month. Plus, i missed prime fall camping weather here due to heart health concerns but hopefully I can avoid surgery and ease into some camping in the spring.

 

Get and stay healthy everyone. Congrats on your nice recovery @SD Surfer
Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Yeah nobody really thinks about seeing a cardiologist until "a reason" pops up.

My primary care Dr. heard something and sent me in 2016.
Apparently she has some crazy God given ear for hearing heart murmurs.
That's when the discovered the valve problem and said "Assuming you live a nice long life, this will need to be replaced. Come back in two years."
I was getting a physical in June of '23 with the same primary care doc who found it, and she said "I want you to go back to cardiology."

They said "Okay, it's time"

Wasn't having any symptoms...
I surfed the day before my surgery.

I was exceptionally fortunate in that my wife works in the cardiology department at UCSD, and has close relationships with a bunch of world renowned rock star ❤️ docs, and they treated me as one of their own.

Hope you get your stuff sorted out, you got a lot of livin' left to do!

 

Murmur is what my doc heard that alarmed her to send me for testing. I had went in thinking I just had lingering stomach bug making abdomen tender but turns out I had seriously high BP as underlying issue. We are on a plan for now to get BP controlled, better diet, and keep an eye on a minor leaky valve.

Doc also found nutrient deficiencies which surprised me because I thought I ate ok. Hoping better nutrition and BP meds can get me healed up.
I'm basically a living warning right now to a few close coworkers around my age to quit skipping out on annual check ups.

 

I get it... I have never been very good about check ups, nutrition, etc. until pretty recently, and I was pretty self-destructive until I quit drinking and drugging in '98.

The human body has a pretty amazing power to rebound and heal itself if we give it half a chance.

Been on BP meds for awhile, cholesterol, blah blah blah, but this heart stuff was kinda the first thing that made me think in terms of my own "mortality".
It's weird being the same age as old people!