u/HeartFeetAndHands

In 16 days, I will be going in for a Ross procedure with Dr Burke at the UWMC. He’s an experienced surgeon - 180+ Ross‘s under his belt. Only one perioperative mortality.

He confirmed the plan is Ross - based on my anatomy - with an On-X mechanical as backup.

He did a few surgeries for people right here on this sub. Got all my questions answered, took lab tests, got a chest xray. Smooth sailing.

They’re very reassuring. He told me he was doing a much more complex surgery (porcelin aorta) tomorrow, but “We do hard things here.“ The nurse and PA were great.

Key things to remember for the next 2 weeks: no supplements, no NSAIDs. Easy exercise. Stay calm. Don’t get sick. I guess I’m done licking doorknobs for a while.

This week someone I met here in this forum gave me his powered recliner to use after surgery. I’m super grateful, as they’re expensive. I will definitely be offering it free to someone in the Seattle area after I no longer need it! if you're having OHS in Seattle after July, let me know! They’re expensive, and this is a nice one.

I‘m starting to feel like I’m becoming reconciled with the prospect of this. Still scared. Still worrying about what the future looks like. But at least this way I HAVE a future.