skull_leader7

Hi all...

My mom, 58, is having heart valve replacement surgery tomorrow
morning. They are replacing the aortic valve and possibly the mitric
valve as well - they were unable to determine from their pre-operative
tests if the mitric valve replacement would be necessary and won't
know until during the surgery. In any case, she's opted for the
tissue / animal replacement valves rather than the artificial
mechanical valve.

Understandably, she's quite scared about many aspects of this
procedure, especially, I think, what her life is going to be like
afterwards. If there's anyone who can share their experiences as to
what sort of life one can live after this type of procedure, both in
the near term (recovery) and the long term, I would really appreciate
hearing from you.

I'd also like to know, if anyone does know, how undergoing this
procedure might affect one's ability to undergo physical therapy. To
make a long story short, she was in the hospital for about two weeks
with a variety of issues (including a staph infection that the doctors
think probably lead to her heart valve damage), then she was
discharged to a nursing home where she was undergoing some physical
therapy to help her regain her strength. After she was there for two
weeks, the symptoms of her valve damage began to manifest and she's
been back in the hospital for the last two weeks as the doctors
performed a bunch of tests. So, by the time she's recovered enough
from the immediate effects of the surgery to begin physical therapy
again, she'll have been 99% bed-ridden for seven or eight weeks at a
minimum.

Again, I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who can lend me any
information about this.

Thanks!