Surgery Next Week

On August 31st, I had a consultation appointment with a surgeon at Kaiser in Santa Clara and the date has now been set for my Heart Valve Replacement surgery on Friday, September 25th.
The pre-op appointment is on Monday the 21st.

Again, I was born with a Bicuspid Aortic Valve and knew this surgery was something I would need all my life, it was just a matter of when. When is now next week.

So for the heart valve replacement, there are two options. One option is to go with a tissue valve (in this case, it'd be from a cow). The tissue valve currently has a life span of 10-15 years which means another valve replacement surgery in the future would be likely.

The second option is a mechanical valve. The mechanical valve should last for a lifetime but it is required you take Warfarin (blood thinner medication) for the rest of your life as well - to prevent blood clots from occurring.

I have decided I will be going with the mechanical valve option...because I only want to have this surgery once.

Once on the Warfarin medicine - I am to avoid large amounts of Vitamin K which includes the following items:

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Kale
Spinach
Other Leafy Vegetables
Liver
Green Tea

Out of these items, broccoli and spinach are the two I eat the most - but it should be easy to refrain from having large amounts of these items.

I've also been told that when you take Warfarin, that you bruise easier. So don't touch me.

The hospital stay will be somewhere between 5-7 days.
The overall recovery time is expected to be 6-8 weeks.

My last day (for a while) at work is tomorrow.

I'm going to be missing some events due to this operation which sucks... I will miss the A's-Giants game on September 25th that I actually had a ticket for already. I will miss the San Jose Sharks home opener game. I will miss numerous Oktoberfest events.  I'm not sure how much I will be able to do on my birthday either.

Missing those events will suck but I have to remember that this surgery will help me be able to attend many more events in the future.

The last show I performed in was on August 14th in Oakland. One thing my current condition does is make me tired quicker. I also seem to sweat quicker after not much exercise. I can't wait to get back on stage with my restored energy - but I also need to make sure I don't push myself too much and take my time in recovering.