Video #4 of 4 - Some helpful tips for your Home Recovery - An Open Heart Surgery Series 

I’ve watched your videos both before and after my 5 way bypass surgery and I thought that the third one was most important for my family to watch, thank you so much for all of important and benefiting information. I had m surgery five days ago and am eager to get home to start the healing process following my doctors and you’re advice. I’m 79 and am ready to get on with m life.

I’m just passing week 7 after my 6 graft bypass surgery! I’m back to work full time and just had my 66th birthday! Doctors and nurses are amazing! I really enjoyed your videos relating how I felt during my time in hospital and recovering! Nicely done! 👍

My wife will be having OHS on 8/30/22 and of all the available videos I watched to prepare for this, yours were the best. Very down to earth and first hand that my wife watched this morning and agrees with me. And she is a nurse !! Thanks for your thoroughness and your willingness to share.

I have just had cardiac catheterization. Multiple 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 40% and 30% blockages. My doctor is scheduling Quadruple/Quintuple bypass surgery ASAP. I found this series of videos so helpful. I have shared them with my family as well. We all found them to be so thorough. We do best with as much information as possible so thank you!❤

You put me at much greater ease about aortic valve replacement surgery. Best practical, comprehensive video I've seen in the past 2 months of research. Thank you so much. The Holy Spirit is on you!! God bless you all for making and sharing these videos.

I watched this video and the one before it out of curiosity because a friend of ours had quadruple bypass surgery yesterday (13 June 2023).. Regarding the itching of the incision at the end of the healing process and after that, I have another suggestion for relief as long as it would be permitted !.. I had shingles in 2013 and was given a tip from a nurse who'd had shingles about the fact that the nerves in the surrounding area may itch up to 6 weeks, and it's an itch you can't get to to scratch.. Holding a cold pack as close as possible to the area that itches Kills the itch.. Well, it Worked ! We always keep 3 cold packs in our freezer anyway for rotating when one is needed, and the cold packs work great for Any kind of itching that you can't seem to find relief for, like bug bites, for example, when everything else has failed.. The cold has never failed to "kill" any itch for me.. After about 30 minutes, it usually isn't necessary to continue, and the itch is gone. I hope this is helpful ! 🙂

Excellent set of videos , very helpful for me to undertand as my very dear friend went for Aortic Valve Replacement (Open Heart). Now I can suport him in his recovery.

My husband is finishing his third day out. I wish we had seen your videos before his surgery. Your presentation was terrific and right on point. Thank you.

Dear Jim and the team, you guys are amazing and thanks so much for these series of videos. They are clear, insightful and most importantly empathetic. Wish all of us the best of health!!

I had three grafts on July 28,2023 at the Cleveland Clinic. Your videos have educated me about the emotional highs and lows. Thank you. I have made a wonderful recovery. I am in rehab now and feeling like my pre blockage self. You have performed a highly needed service for this heart patient. THANKS AGAIN. Sincerely Lana D.

My quadruple bypass was emergent. I also had a carotid endarterectomy the night before my bypass and they kept me intubated and in cardiac care until my bypass the next day. All of my friends said I looked amazing when I came home. I experienced zero pain directly after and long after. My team was amazing. I’ll always be grateful.

After heart surgery and getting back home I decided to take a short drive to the local store. I started the car, backed out of the garage and immediately pulled back into the garage. I was totally unsafe and not ready for driving. Take it easy at first even if you think you're up to it, in many cases you are not, at least not yet.

Thank you very much for the walk through! Just turned 68. I had a CABG 5 bypass on 9.30.2019. So 3 years. Please make a video specifically about what the first visit with your cardiologist should include. My first visit the doctor told me nothing. I was dumbfounded! To this day I found out things from my online access of my charts of my doctor visits. Thank You!

I am scheduled for mitral valve repair this coming Tuesday, June 25th, your videos have been very helpful preparing me for it and keeping me calm. Thanks.

Today, September 7th my husband is coming home from open heart surgery. I am so glad I saw this video! To understand what I need to do for my husband! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Is greatly appreciated.

I am scheduled to have mitral valve repair surgery July 20th 2023 and I’m so grateful I found these videos to ease my anxiety of what to expect. I will be sharing with my family. ❤

I had 3 bypass one year ago.. Doing well, don't be afraid to push yourself a little while walking. If you wear out, simple sit down and rest,, walking 🚶‍♀️ isn't gonna hurt your bypass.. Being inactive is hardly good for anyone.. Good luck 👍💓

Thank you for a thoughtful and insightful presentation. My 71 year old husband had a triple bypass on February 28th. He was released from the hospital one week ago and we are now monitoring his care at home. Your video was extremely helpful to me as I care for my husband and try to anticipate his needs. Thank you again!

Thank Sir for the impormation to share to us.My husband last Aug 23,2023 got a open heart surgery and after 15 days at the hospital he have a water on the lungs. We stay at the hospital almost 1 month and 5 days. Now He recovering .God bless

I’m so happy to see this much needed information. I will be having surgery in three weeks. This has taken away a lot of fears.

My husband is having OHS in 2 days. I will be forcing him - gently - to watch these videos. I am trying to get him to watch the waking up from surgery video. This is absolutely priceless information. I know that I would have benefited from these kinds of videos when I went through a hospital stint for my kidney. I was so in the dark about everything and got very little information from staff. Thank you so much again for taking the time to make these. They are an incredibly valuable source.

Thank you for your videos. I had mitral valve surgery 30 years ago and I’m now looking at a redo. Your videos were a good reminder of what to expect.

Thank you so VERY much for all of your videos. Your presentation is perfect for the task of teaching us all of this in a calming and empathetic manner. I bookmarked them all to watch again and to show my husband.

Glad to have found this video series. We, I say we because my better half is just as affected, are three days out from CABGx3 and possible PFO repair. Have very positive outlook as a good friend had this performed 18 months ago and is doing awesome! Thanks Jim!

Jim Davis, don't think i could have found a better spokesperson for these four videos i have just viewed.i am getting ready for Aortic Valve Replacement surgery next month and have been trying to stay as cool as a cucumber on the outside while not so much so on the inside.you, with your calm demeanor and helpful insight have really lessened my stress level. my sincere thanks to you

Thank you. You have given me courage. This video was helpful because I got more from this video than from the hospital and nothing from the two weeks I spent in a nursing home. I had cardiac arterial bypass grafting. I had hiked over 800 miles on the Appalachian Trail and was brought to the hospital with chest cramping below my throat. I was more than 700 miles from my home state and was alone with no family (widower) to help me. I finally got home when a brother came to get me.

Thanks for this I had a triple by - pass 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I feel more at ease now for my next three weeks

Thanks Jim there's some really good info, thank you it really helps to have some good info to ease my mind.

Thank you, Jim. This was the perfect series of videos to watch before my surgery. Thank you and Rick for doing this.

Hi Jim! Well, I had my open heart surgery with the aortic valve replacement. I got a mechanical valve and I am writing this exactly 1 month since I've had the surgery. Thanks again for all of your videos. I cannot tell you how helpful and just to let you know, that everything that you mentioned in the recovery video was exactly right on target. All your videos helped me be more relaxed about everything, and helped me cope. May you be blessed today!

Hi Jim, Excellent videos. I have a heart disease, no surgery yet. So watching your videos is a great help in explaining everything. Hope you are now fully recovered from your surgery. Cheers, Colin

Very helpful. My relative just had the bypass. Praying for his recovery.

So very informative. My husband is having OHS in 2 days. The unknowns and anticipation are the worst. I’ll be sharing this video with him. Thanks!

Thank you for these videos. I have been watching them prior to my bypass surgery which takes place in about 2 weeks, June 15, 2023. I have already had 1 delay because I became ill with a nasty head cold. I'm still recovering. I can't tell how crucial these lessons have been for me. Thank you again.

I agree with many of the comments saying I wish I had watched your series of videos before I had my open-heart surgery. But of course there wasn’t time. I did not have a heart attack, my blockage was found with a CT scan, but the turnaround was still seven days and it was a hard thing to wrap my head around. Thank you for doing this series of videos. Both of the cardiologists I saw were excellent and the hospitals were too but it would’ve been helpful to have had a video telling me what to expect.

Thank you so much for sharing this video and your experience. You said it right. No one understands what we are going through not unless they themself undergone it.

These were great videos! I watched them as well as my fiance.I am SO glad I found out all about this surgery and what it entails.I was prepared and if you're not you will be so afraid when you see all the tubes and iv's. He was prepared too because I didn't want him to be scared when he woke up from the surgery and think he was dying or something bad. All the tubes and iv's are all normal!I Also watched the going home video and I knew to put him in the backseat with the pillow on the way home. He had a mechanical valve and an aortic aneurysm repair.He is doing great and everyone is amazed by his progress at only 2 weeks! His chest doesn't bother him that much,it's the muscular pain in his neck (they say is common and normal) that he has some trouble with.It's getting less everyday now that he is moving more and had some PT. I am so relieved that this is behind us and he is such a trooper and we have the rest of our lives to look forward to! Thanks so much for all these videos and tips.

This is very resourceful... I am on 8 weeks and doing very well... I've listened to the videos more than once... thank you for your support

Dear Jim, and Team, Thank you for making this video. I've gone through open heart surgery twice and I am going soon for the Third. I've been anxious too but after finding this video, I am feeling better. Thank you very much.

Thanks for all the effort that went into this. Just completed CABG3 and these videos were invaluable! Thanks again!

Just finish my Surgery. Thank you very much cos what you say is 99% accurate. And i use them without fear after my surgery. GOD bless you

These videos you make are SO GOOD! Thank you for the marvelous information that you have shared! It is so helpful to understand what a open heart surgery patient has to go through to heal! You do a marvelous job of explaining things!

Mr Davies. 2 months ago I had my planned aorta valve replaced, together with 1 coronary arterie bypass as well. I read your videos maybe 1000 times and all happened just as you explained. Thank you for your wonderful info and tips which I found very helpful. Marianne Watts South Africa

Thank you very much for these videos. I am ten days away from my aortic valve and aortic root replacement surgery. It gives me a lot of comfort knowing how to be as prepared as possible. I am sharing this with my wife and will summarize for my children as they will be on this journey with me. Thank you!!!

This series has been a great comfort. Thank you very much.

Excellent video, thank you so much!

All 4 videos provided excellent information -- your soft-sided delivery was perfect too. I hope this type of info will be provided to me when I go to Pre-Op appointment in a couple days. Thank you!!

Thank you so much! This was very helpful. You have such a kind gentle demeanor that makes all of this easier to process.

Your videos made me feel so much more comfortable and confident about my recovery - surgery in less than a month away. Thank you!

Fully appreciate those contributed this work.

What a wonderful job mr davis does ! He explains so thoroughly .great job Mr Davis !!❤️

Excellent videos, Jim. Thank you very much. I watched these videos not for myself but to help understand what a family member is going through who had valve replacement and a lot of other repairs. It really helps me put into perspective where they are coming from and what kinds of challenges they are facing so I can help support them the best way possible. So you are helping many people who are not patients, as well. It is greatly appreciated.

thank you for the video had my bypass a week ago and going nuts with questions you cleared up a few

Thank you so much! Of all the videos I've watched, this has definitely been one of the best and most informative!

I appreciate this informative series. I had no preparation for quad bypasses on 11/12. A few days after release, I was readmitted with fluid about the lungs. The right is now ok, the left improving. But I feel I’ve gone backwards in recovery. The pain on lying down is so uncomfortable I have slept in a wing chair with an ottoman. 1/17 I see the pulmonologist again and hope for tremendous improvement by then. My faith and the knowledge God has allowed me more time and opportunities to be with family, friends, and soon back at church (cannot drive yet). Yesterday was Christmas and sad not to have been at the Christmas Eve service. But I am eager for what The Lord God has in store for me, for my husband and family in the new year to come!

Follow up: Went to ER July 6 with surgery next AM (someone got bumped). This video may have helped my wife understand what's going on with me more than anything else. Thank you, David

All 4 of these videos were so helpful to me and I will share them with my family! Keep up the good work, thank you and God bless you!

Some bookmarks in this incredibly helpful video: 6:06 support stockings 7:30 overdoing it 10:56 sleeping in a recliner 14:32 breathing exercises 15:03 keeping your sanity!

Thank you so much for such a great series of videos. Excellent pointers from beginning to end. It certainly helps to hear it from a patient's perspective.

Thank you Jim,👍❤️

Thank you so much!!So helpful,made me feel so much better about my surgery!!

Thank you! Very helpful tips! 🙏🏼🕊

Thanks Jim! Next month.. you gave me a good idea to what to expect.

❤Thank you so much! What a wonderful series!❤❤❤❤❤🎉

I love your videos so much, because am preparing for my valves replacement surgery which I was scared off but after watching your video I was so glad I will not dead , but I will be able to take care of my newborn baby ❤❤❤❤❤

Hi Jim, Your presentation is invaluable. Every recovering CABG patient MUST be advised to watch. My experience after surgery very closely matches your narration. I would have been better prepared to recover instead of suffering for 10 long months after surgery. Thanks once again. God Bless.

Thank you for this video, my son 32 is going to be having surgery for this, he was just informed that he has a aortic valve regergitation and it's on the cusp of severe, they caught it early he's lucky, but this surgery is in the near future, we are preparing. Your videos have brought some calm to me on what to expect. I'll be sending these to him so maybe he can be informed and may it bring him some ease. ❤

Thank you for your videos. You taught me some things I didn’t know about. I’ve had multiple surgical procedures, but I’ve never been a CABG patient before. Thank you so much for the tips. I’ll just trust the medical staff now. I don’t need to do too much. 😊

First time watching. I will be having surgery in a month - many helpful tips especially taking the pain med at night. Thank you.

This is so helpful. Thank you very much!

I like very much the simple ways you put toward, what everything you said are true, you are a Goodman.

Thank you very much. This is 100% perfect advice. I just got home from mine and the whole experience is not like anything you’ve been through.

Fantastic series of videos. Thank you. I have not had open chest surgery yet but I fear that it will soon happen. I am due for some tests in the next few days and have had chronic fatigue for months. 15 years ago I had atrial fibrillation and a cardioversion. At the start of that I was in hospital for 4 days wired up to telemetry. I was supposed to be in the pre-op. ward but there was no room so I was put in post op. There is no heaven with angels. The Angels are the nurses and doctors in these places who dedicate their lives to making sure we do not find out if there really is heaven by giving us second chances. They are kind and generous people beyond words and it is obvious that heaven is right there and they are having fun as professionals, giving the gift of life and we sure appreciate it. When the beds are pushed back to the ward after surgery there is so much technology on it that you can't see the patient and the nurses literally run between them doing the post op care and 'obs'. I just wish the Governments of the world, particularly the New Zealand one would reward these Angels properly for the work they do.

I found your videos to be simply amazing. Today is May 14th and my open heart surgery is on May 17th, so the timing could not be more fortuitous. Listening to you has helped me fully understand what to expect and has given me great confidence that recovery is very manageable. I am sharing all the 4 video links with my wife so it helps her understand it all, which I am sure will be very reassuring for her. Thank you for creating this set of videos.

very useful. I sent the link to my family. I will have this surgery soon. I am glad I saw your 4 videos. I live in Quebec and I guess it is about the same advice here. Merci beaucoup Jim

Thank you so much for these video tips! Very helpful. God bless

I am scheduled in one month to have open heart surgery to remove a tumor on my mitral valve. Thanks to your videos I am much less nervous.

Thanks Jim, I enjoyed this video very much. It's been a week since my aortic valve repair and CABG. I've been home 3 days now. My hospital gave me all the same advice, which for me, is kind of overwhelming. It's always good to review as I certainly did not remember everything they told me.

Have to say thank you so much for the video. I had my open heart surgery 3 weeks ago . Energy thing you've said on this video I can relate to. Very made video .amazing heart ambassador, open my eyes to the idea , he'd the same when I first had my operation. Thank you once again Phill from UK 👍👍

Great videos - thanks!

Jim, . You are a wonderful resource. I am a nurse and loved watching your series, will recommend it to anyone going through CABG....I feel that you covered so many valuable points and bringing your expertise to the video. So many patients want to know that the person talking to them about the steps involved have been through it themselves. You are the Heart Guru, many thanks

Thank You Jim,for making the videos. I will be having OHS tomorrow (10/13/2022) to replace my Aortic valve and after watching your videos, I feel more prepared for the procedure.

this was so super comforting and helpful. thank you so much for sharing.

This is interesting, I feel for people that have this level of discomfort, I went home from hospital after 2 weeks and didn't take any pain medication from that day. I felt great, and walked every day about 1km. We live half way up a hill that has a 8-10 degree slope and from 2-4 weeks I walked about 1km at first working my way up to 4km by the 4 week mark. I would walk slowly using my heart rate as my guide, staying at or below 110bpm initially. By 4 weeks doing 4km on this hill took me about 106 minutes, by 5 weeks about 50 minutes, by 6 weeks about 45 minutes and by 8 weeks it 40 minutes. My heart rate would get up to 130bpm by the end but I never felt puffed. BTW, where I live you aren't allowed to drive until after 3 months and your surgeon saying it's OK. Through this whole process of surgery and recovery, the only time I felt any pain was when I had a day trip to hospital to have about 0.5l of fluid drained from beneath my left lung. This felt like I had been stabbed in the back and I almost vomited because of the pain. Also I am a side sleeper, but for the first 3 weeks I slept on back and then moved to sleeping on my side. It was never uncomfortable. I remember talking to a CABG patient when I was in rehab after an earlier stent placement and at 6-8 weeks he was talking about how much he was in pain but for me it was the complete opposite. I find it amazing that there is so much variation in peoples experiences. I guess the only things left to say are that this is a fantastic program and I wish we had something like it in Australia. It's not that I don't think I received good or compassionate care going through my surgery, in fact the opposite is true, even while COVID was messing up the works I received an excellent standard of care, but this program has the benefit of having one person walk you through the whole process probably resulting in a much more consistent experience.

Thank you so much Jim I just celebrated my six month anniversary of my surgery. I had Severe aortic valve replacement surgery by cuspid. I wish I found your videos before I went in. I didn’t find it till after my surgery weeks later it would help me so much. So thank you again you’re doing a great job as an advocate and I recommend you to everybody I know God bless you.

I watch all four of the videos and feel I gained reassurance and knowledge. Thank you. I would love to see such high quality videos on robotic heart surgery, too. Thank you.

I found these videos so helpful when my husband had by pass and valve surgery. Thank you , they really put my mind at rest especially the final one. I would definitely suggest to other people that they should watch them.

4 weeks post triple bypass and I just stumbled on this video. I sure wish I had seen it before I went home. You covered so many things that I wasn’t told about. Just this weekend I had to go without any pain meds as there was a mix up on Friday and when I called Saturday morning I was told to call on Monday, sorry. I start rehab tomorrow and am somewhat nervous whether I’m really ready, especially still having pain and not sleeping well. Glad I saw your video! Thanks for posting it.

Wonderful videos! Your voice is very calming and informative. Thank you so much! 💜🤗💕

Thanks so much! Great information.

Excellent practical advice, and superb delivery.

great advice..Thanks

Thank you so much for this video!! I was very scared before seeing this video. I will be going to have this surgery soon and you made me feel better about having to have it. I will be watching this again before surgery. Thx again ;)

Thank you all for this wonderful set of videos - it has helped me so much to understand the process better and know what I can do to prepare!

Dear Jim Just had my heart valve surgery last week.. this os so helpful

Thank you so much. My husband is so brave me not so much. He gets operated next Tuesday Kuly 18th in God's name.

So informative! Thank you !

Thanks Jim. I am from India & had CABG on 4th February 2023. Really loved your informative videos. Thanks again.

I thank all of you for putting these videos together. I will admit, I had a slight panic attack watching the third one, but I am better now. In all of the surgeries and illnesses I've been diagnosed with I find I can cope better with information. I'm not in control of it, just know what to expect in a better sense than before whether it's good or bad. God is in charge of my life and I do find that knowledge helps me be in even more Awe of Him and His creation than I was before that discovery. Thank y'all, again.

I’m going in for a SAVR in a few weeks and found this information very valuable.