Three hundred and sixty four days ago I spent 10 hours in an operating room with my chest cracked open so that my congenitally defective aortic valve and several inches of aorta connected to my heart could be removed and replaced by Dr. Craig Miller at Stanford University Hospital with an "after market" upgrade. My heart was cooled to 50 degrees F, and if I'm reading the paperwork correctly my body or parts of it anyway were cooled to 70 degrees F! I was on cardiopulmonary bypass for 228 minutes. I now have a mechanical valve ticking away in my chest and I get to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I have an impressive scar down the middle of my chest and a fully healed sternum. But, I'm still here, I'm back to full health, and I've had no complications at all. I am thankful to be here looking back and seeing how well things went. Standing on the other side 365 nights ago was just a little intimidating! Tomorrow will be a much better day than September 18, 2009 was. I'm looking forward to having a celebration dinner with my amazing wife and my incredible parents tomorrow night. Last year I just wasn't up for dinner :-)
Jon
Friday, September 17, 2010
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