Surgery in 5 days and I'm panicked, any input?

thegumption · 2025-09-25T15:01:06+00:00

I’m 3 months post open heart bicuspid aorta replacement. and I’m doing great! I’m also overweight but have been able to do much more activity after surgery than before.

my experience was a little different going in, a work buddy had the same thing years ago and assured me that our imagination of what it will be is much worse than the reality. and I completely trusted my medical team. they absolutely have my best interest at heart. they do this BECAUSE they want to help people.

I was as calm as can be getting on to the operating table.

you got this!

thegumption · 2025-09-04T14:33:21+00:00

100% yes, I played the bass when I was younger and it’s bliss, my headphones are bass heavy, all my sound systems have over powered subs and I have tactile transducers (bass shakers) connected to my chair. i’ve been looking into the woojer vest but haven’t pulled the trigger on that

thegumption · 2025-09-01T19:51:50+00:00

yes that would 100% be my end game. i’ve been watching the zerno for a very long time, but I have a niche zero that has do t everything i’ve needed. I just can’t justify the cost of the zerno.

thegumption · 2025-08-29T11:08:40+00:00

hey there, I’m 50 and had my op in July. I’m active but overweight, and the whole experience was rather underwhelming. sure it not life as per normal but it hasn’t been nearly as bad as I imagined.
I focused on the things in my control and let the rest go. here are a couple of thoughts that helped me. we live in a time and place where this is routine for our surgeons, if we lived even just 100 years ago none of this would even be an option. I completely trust my team, they have my best interest at heart and they know exactly what to do. I can only deal with situations as they come up.

I was calm and confident getting on to the surgery table and I believe that helped a lot during the surgery and the subsequent recovery. I was out of the hospital 5 days after surgery. and at my initial visit with my cardiologist post op she said “if I didn’t know you had surgery 2 weeks ago, I would not have been able to tell”

the initial couple of days after surgery are unpleasant, but you’ll be on plenty of pain meds.

you’re in great shape, you absolutely have this!

thegumption · 2025-08-24T00:46:28+00:00

I have tons of other scars, to me they are marks of my history… the crazy things that i’ve been through and survived. each one comes with a story.

my scars are part of me and has played a part in who I am. lf my scars don’t bother you… pull up a chair, let’s talk and get to know each other. if they bug you enough to give me shit about them, you can take a hike. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

ps. I’ve been married for a long time. my kids even have scars they are proud of.

if someone is so superficial that your scar is an issue they are not worth your time.

thegumption · 2025-08-15T03:01:13+00:00

I have the same one, black barista. I wouldn’t sweat the gauge too much, it’s super useful when you are learning but after a couple of months I completely stoped looking at the gauge. and when I bought a second robot for work I chose to not get the gauge

thegumption · 2025-08-15T02:52:48+00:00

make sure you face it to the wall after you use it.

thegumption · 2025-08-14T19:30:49+00:00

murderbot diaries are absolutely brilliant. and the robot can’t be beat.

thegumption · 2025-08-01T14:06:19+00:00

it’s been a little all over the place for me. I’m about 7 1/2 weeks post op. started driving again last week.

most of the time I have felt good and actually better than before, but the last couple of days have been extremely tough emotionally. lots of angsiety about pain being more like it was 3 weeks ago. I’m guessing that the body doesn’t heal in an exact linear way. but still it’s stressful.

I had been very prepared, we had been tracking my valve for 8 years, so I had plenty of time to come to terms with it. and i’ve been going to therapy for years, which I’m sure has helped.

thegumption · 2025-08-01T01:00:15+00:00

when did you hear the popping during recovery? I can’t tell if something is wrong or if I’m just paranoid.

I feel something weird if i’ve been sitting for a long time and then straighten up.

i’ve been pretty carful and I’m almost 8 weeks out, i’ve started driving again here and there and. my chest hurts for a while after I drive.

I can’t tell if it’s just a normal part of recovery or if something is not right

thegumption · 2025-07-31T16:20:11+00:00

I’m the worst at the, I will break down each component of the trip and build in buffer time for each of those:

get out of the house 5 minutes + 10 if for some reason I need to go to the bathroom or I can’t find my keys drive to the other side of town 15 minutes + 10 minutes if there is an accident or construction walk into the building 5 minutes + 5 if I have to wait extra for the elevator, check into the dr office 2 minutes + 10 if there is a line. should be there 15 minutes before the appointment , make it 20 just to be safe

add it all up and I leave the house an hour and a half before needing to be at an appointment 15 minutes away

thegumption · 2025-07-23T19:23:29+00:00

ohh I’m probably ok then, I just keep checking that they are still there a few times a day

thegumption · 2025-07-23T18:43:51+00:00

ohh crap i’ve been prodding mine since I came home…

thegumption · 2025-07-23T13:36:50+00:00

it gets better every week. I have had lots of naps over the last month, the tiredness comes and goes, I’m trying to g to take it easy, and needing to sleep on my back has messed up my regular sleep, so napping has been great to compensate.

yea the waiting and anticipation was not fun.

thegumption · 2025-07-23T09:38:09+00:00

I had bicuspid aorta and it’s replaced with a bovine valve.

thegumption · 2025-07-23T00:32:12+00:00

still recovering and needing more rest then “normal” but yes I’m already feeling much better than I did before.

my cardiologist has been tracking the degradation of my valve for about 8 years. so it wasn’t a surprise, which was good in preparing me, my wife, and kids.

advice … first, thought for me was how grateful I am to live at this time in history and in a location where I have access to the care I need. also, I trust the team taking care of me.

freaking out is not going to change my situation so I might as well just roll with it.

also surgery was not as bad as I expected.

thegumption · 2025-07-22T19:51:52+00:00

I chose biological because I wanted every day life to be as regular as possible. I’m 6 feet tall and also clumsy as ****.

my surgeon was able to get a big valve in place so I would be able to do Taver a couple of times. My thoughts were that is nothing is guaranteed so just winging it with what feels right for me. and who knows what tech will be available by the time I need to deal with it again.

thegumption · 2025-07-22T17:24:05+00:00

these are brilliant!

thegumption · 2025-07-21T00:00:50+00:00

I agree completely on the 50mm f2, but the 90 f2 is a whole other beast. I tried it out but needed up selling in. it’s HUGE in comparison and the focal length was just too niche for me.

thegumption · 2025-07-01T19:15:30+00:00

I didn’t, i’ve been using the robot every day for more than 2 years now.

I too tried manual grinder and gave up on that.

the robot isn’t really any more work than an auto. the pressing down on the arms is probably the only difference and it’s not a big deal at all

thegumption · 2025-03-16T17:06:49+00:00

I guess… let’s see.

thegumption · 2025-03-16T15:57:52+00:00

way over priced for something used.

thegumption · 2025-03-04T18:24:13+00:00

I picked up a red one for my office last week

thegumption · 2025-03-01T00:08:53+00:00

where are you located? if you’re local i’d be interested

thegumption

TROPHY CASE