Tonight my wife and I watched Barbara Walter's special on the heart. I sat through most of the program just shaking my head up and down in agreement. If you watched it you know that she not only told her own story of heart valve replacement surgery, but also told the stories of several other famous people from David Letterman to President Clinton. Even though I am just a normal person I felt that I would be at ease with each person featured on the special just because there is an almost instant bond between heart survivors. We all have the scar and in a strange kind of way over time you can become almost proud of your scar. It is your badge to the world that you lived through one of the most invasive surgeries there is. There were several things pointed out on the program that I believe need to be shouted from the mountain top.1. More than one mentioned that after open heart surgery there is no way to describe how much weakness you feel. I remember that in the beginning just getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom was exhausting.
2. Whatever you do don't ignore symptoms. This was something that President Clinton admitted doing and he also admitted that it almost cost him his life.
3. Everyone is different in the way they recover, but I really liked something that David Letterman said. He told Walters that he knew he was recovered when he no longer thought of his surgery. For me that took a long time.
4. More women die from heart disease than men. Everyone women in this country know to get a mammogram but often ignore symptoms of heart disease. I just don't think most women realize that heart disease is a women's disease ever more than it's a man's disease.
5. Tell your story. I am sorry that each one of these people had to undergo such a serious surgery, but I am so thankful that they were all willing to tell their stories. I am always encouraged with I get to tell my story or when I get to hear someone's story. Not surprisingly, Robin Williams was telling jokes about his heart valve replacement surgery just weeks later. It helps to laugh.
To Barbara Walters, I thank you for putting together a special about a topic dear to me. It was excellent and I would love to have copies of it to share with others.
