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It was rough. But after that, I was up. I was okay. And I've been

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living a very, very great life ever since. You know, I don't really

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notice that there's anything ever, ever was done with my heart.

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Welcome to open heart surgery with Boots, the

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podcast that gets to the heart of what it's really

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like to go under the knife. I am your host,

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Boots Knighton, here to share the ups,

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downs and everything in between about

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heart surgery from the patient's perspective.

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Before we dive into this operating room of our

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shared experiences, please make sure this

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podcast stays on the healthy side of the

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charts. If you're finding this podcast helpful or

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inspiring, please subscribe and leave a

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review. Your support is the heartbeat

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that keeps the show alive. And

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if you want to be a part of an even closer knit

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community, come on over to our Patreon.

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Join us in the heart chamber. You can

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find

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us@www.patreon.com

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openheart surgery with Boots. There you'll get

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exclusive content, behind the scenes stories, and

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a chance to connect with other heart warriors.

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But for now, let's open up and explore the world

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of heart surgery from the other side of the

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scalpel. Welcome. Joel Oliver.

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Thank you for tuning in with us from Calgary,

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Canada. I tell you, you Canadians, you just keep coming

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into my life. I'm losing track of how many people from Canada I've had

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the honor of interviewing. So thank you for

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coming on. And Joel, you are such a breath of

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fresh air for we heart patients. Your story is

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easy peasy. And all of us heart

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patients, we all have our own stories. And I

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think it's important when we listen to each other's stories

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that it's so easy to compare and to

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maybe even have a little envy that someone has it

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easier. But, you know, we're all on our own

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journeys and we can't even begin to understand

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the power of sharing our stories. And so I

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am so glad that you reached out and I'm honored and I

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know we're all going to be better for hearing your story today. Thank you,

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Boots. Well, just the few minutes that I've gotten to speak to you already, I

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mean, I love what you're doing and you're a shining light here. You're

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a very bright personality. So I appreciate already that you've made me feel, like,

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very good since we started chatting here. So thanks for what you're doing and the

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opportunity to be on here. Yeah, yeah. You're like Mister

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Mitral Valve and you're the only person I've had the

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opportunity of meeting who's had, like, a simple valve

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repair and then when about your day. And

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so, I mean, yes, you've had a bit of. You had a bit of a

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rough road right afterwards, but let's dive in.

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Your mitral valve repair was in 2018,

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but walk us back to, like, what led up to

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that. Sure. Yeah. And I guess it matters in this context. It was actually

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a replacement. So I have a completely not

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natural, titanium mechanical mitral valve

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inside. So, yeah, that's an interesting fact to

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share with new friends when you meet people. So, yeah, I mean,

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these days leading up to now, like, since

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the surgery, things have been pretty good. I have a business, I work

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remotely. So I was quite nervous when the

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whole surgery thing was coming about that would impact my life and I wouldn't be

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able to travel anymore. There's, with this mechanical valve blood

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test required. So a lot of that was running through my head, what's going to

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happen once the surgery takes place? But I am happy to say that since that

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happened in 2018, aside from the bit of recovery time, I've lived quite

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a. Not only a normal life, but a great life. And I'm

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quite fortunate for. So, leading up to things in

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2018, I would say probably seven to ten years

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before that, they had just been watching me. There was a

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couple of instances over that time where I ended up in hospital with some atrial

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fibrillation. So pretty scary. Heart rhythm

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is out of whack. Feels very different. You know, it feels scary, and you

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don't really know what's going on initially. So there's a couple of times

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that happened, and that's what led them to discover that I had a

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leaky mitral valve, essentially, it just wasn't working efficiently. So your heart

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is pumping to try to move the blood around, and it's not working

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efficiently. It's getting tired, essentially. Like, your heart is wearing out.

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So they were keeping an eye on it to see if we would have any

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further developments that would necessitate surgery. And it did end

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up that, I guess it was somewhere around

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2017. They tested me and said, yeah, you've got to get this surgery.

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And obviously, I felt a lot of dread come

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over me at that point because I wasn't actually expecting it. Of course, I knew

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they were monitoring me, but at that point in my life, I felt pretty good.

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It was summertime, I was hiking, I was going to the gym. Didn't really

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have any noticeable issues. Like, you know, your story

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was quite different than mine because you were having some very obvious

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problems. And you're unsure what was going on. I felt pretty

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good. I would get some irregular heartbeats sometimes, but I didn't feel

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that my energy was super low. Although I guess when you're living in that

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situation, you don't necessarily have a reference point, like how good I'm

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supposed to feel. But at that time, I didn't think that that surgery was

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coming. Now, an interesting side note here is my mom.

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This is a genetic thing that I have. She actually had the same issue and

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the same surgery, but she had it much later in life than me. So I

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was 28, she was in her early fifties, meaning that she had the same

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surgery about a year before I did, roughly.

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So I actually got to watch her go through it all. And I kind of

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knew a little what to expect, how it was going to go about the

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medication I had to be on. So I saw that coming. I kind of

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knew what I was in for, although you can't really be fully prepared.

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But, yeah, I got the news. And then about a year later, I went in

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for the surgery and a few months of recovery, a little bit of

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rehab, and I was feeling pretty good. I think 28 year olds are not

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sure it happens, but that's not who they are expecting, typically, to see walk in

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with that issue. So I was. I was fortunate. I bounced back pretty

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quick. And things have been pretty good since then. Just like that?

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Yeah. I mean, you know, you can make it sound

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relatively simple by telling the story and looking back. You

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know, when you're in that situation, it's difficult,

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but now that it's in the past, it's just. Yeah, it was tough, but when

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it's. When you're actually living through it, which is the worst

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of it all, I suppose. It sounds. Time seems to crawl.

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Like, if you want to know how to slow time down, because, like, you hear

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that, right? People say, how do we slow time down? And time

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moves so fast, I'm like, wait for heart surgery. That will

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slow time down. Exactly. Yeah. When

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you're in it, you're pretty miserable. You're not feeling great, but once it's in

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your past, it's hard to really associate with that again. Like, I know it

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happened, but I feel pretty good now, so it's hard to say

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how bad I did feel. But, yeah, you know, some tough times for sure. Anyone

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that goes through that. Yeah. So your surgery was open

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hearted. Yep. And do you remember how many

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days you were in the hospital? Because if you were 28, you were

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probably out in a blip. Yeah, it was no

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more than a week I was out. They let me because there's a.

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At least in the United States, and I would think it'd be the same in

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Canada. As a rule of thumb, for every decade you're

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alive equals one day in the hospital after heart

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surgery. Okay. Yeah. I hadn't heard about that rule, but it wasn't far

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off there. It was probably four to five days when I finally

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got to go home. Certainly was no more than a week. Yeah. I'm just

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wondering, like, with a spring chicken like you, like,

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how quickly they let you out. Cause I was like, you know, at the time,

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I was 42, and I was in

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the hospital for four days after surgery, so it was,

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like, on the dot, and I was doing so well. I could have gotten

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out in three. But they said they were sticking to that rule of

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thumb on purpose because it really does matter

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how, like, it really is a proven

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formula. I was quite

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agitated, I guess, or irritated. My family told me that I

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didn't really realize when I'm in it that I was not being the most friendly.

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I mean, I wasn't yelling or swearing at anyone, but my family came to visit.

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And as you probably know, you're just not in a normal head space. You're

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drugged up. Everything hurts. So that was one of the pieces of feedback

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I got was that I wasn't very polite.

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But, yeah, that was an interesting

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thing to go through as well. Like, one memory I have was when they first

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got me up to walk around, which, as you know, they want to do pretty

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quickly after your surgery, get you moving. And again, it's tough to

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think back to that. I was actually in this situation, but

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I could barely make a few steps down the hallway. And

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it's like, yeah, that actually happened. It almost seems like a dream sometimes,

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but I could barely walk in a lot of pain.

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But, yeah, I was good enough to be sent home after that short period

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of time and spent a lot of time on the couch after that.

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So I had several questions. First of all, do you know the

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name of the genetic condition that caused both

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your mom and you to need a mitral replacement?

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It would be mitral valve prolapse, from my understanding.

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Okay. Okay. And what

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medications are you on now?

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I'm on warfarin, which is a blood thinner and also a

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baby aspirin every day. Now, I think the aspirin part is not

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necessarily for everyone. It's at the doctor's discretion. My mom doesn't take

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it, but she is also on warfarin. So for now,

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hopefully the foreseeable future. That's it. Or maybe even less if we get

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a technological advancement someday where we don't need the

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warfarin, or at least a better version of that. Cause if you know

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about warfarin, it messes with your diet and what you can eat.

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But, yeah, that's all for medication. Okay. And

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I mean, from all the heart patients I've had the honor of talking with

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over the past couple of years, if that's all you're

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on, good for you.

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I think so, too. I know when I first came out of surgery, there is

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a couple others that I was on. One of them is quite,

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quite serious in terms of side effects and people not wanting to

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be on it. So I was happy to get those ones out of my life.

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And, yeah, hoping that it can remain this way.

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So, one of the many reasons why I started this podcast

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was so folks could hear from the patient's perspective

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what you've done for us. Thank you. And I would love to have a

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conversation about the mental, emotional,

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spiritual parts of your journey, because

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I have found that our medical

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industry and I do feel like it's more of an industry at

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times. At least it can feel that way. The medical professionals

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are really great at saving our life and keeping us alive,

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and then that's about it. And then we're kind of

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left to figure out how to bring the rest of our soul

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along. And how

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have you experienced life, engaged

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with life since heart surgery? Like, do you

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feel like things have shifted within you? Do you feel like you're a different

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person? Like, how have you shifted

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mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Mm hmm.

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That's a great question and something that I really admired about your journey,

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because if I understand correctly, and correct me if I'm wrong, you

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kind of. You were so grateful that you ended up going through it because

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of the changes that it imparted on your life, which is really

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admirable. You were really positive and optimistic about the whole

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thing. So, yeah, that definitely crossed my mind before I was going in there, and

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I thought, you know, this could, the odds weren't

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showing this, but this could be my last day of life, could be my last

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day seeing my family. I don't know, like, will I be a changed person

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when I come out of this and be so grateful for every day?

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I don't think that. I don't think I was grateful

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enough. So I wasn't really on the path and the mindset that you

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had, although I would have liked to been. But I know in the years following

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the surgery. I just went through a lot of transformation and self

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improvement as it was. And I am pretty mindful and

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grateful of everything that I have, the fact that the surgery went so well,

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the life that I've built. So it's hard for me

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to attribute a huge shift in my thinking to that.

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Although, like I said, I would have loved to really feel that way like

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you did. And I think it's important to be mindful of that and

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have that mindset, because it is easy to just slip

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back into just the day to day and not really being grateful

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for the life that you've been given. Whether it's because of a heart

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surgery that allowed you to live a healthy life past

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when, you know, perhaps you would have, or if you don't have any health

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issues at all, there's nothing wrong with being grateful. I think it's very important to

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do so. In terms of a big shift, I didn't really

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get what I expected. I thought I would be a little more.

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I thought it would be a bigger shift or I just wake up every day,

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you know, looking at the sky, but it didn't really happen that way.

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But I still am so grateful for everything that I have in life

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and the fact that I'm here and every day that I am able to live

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healthily. So perhaps that did play a role. It just didn't really.

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Maybe I wasn't in tune enough with myself to really

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pick up on where that came from. If that makes sense,

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that could be it. And not to play the age card, but

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it kind of does. Like, I am. Like, I was in my forties by the

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time I heart surgery came around. So I'd already been around the block a few

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times with other challenges, and I'd already spent quite a bit of

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time in therapy for other reasons. And also I

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had been really, um, growing my awareness

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muscle. And you're in your twenties, and I. I mean, I think back

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into my twenties, I probably would have had the exact same answer you just

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gave. So every decade has its

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own level of self reflection and awareness.

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But, yeah, as you age, things do

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hit differently. Not that I'm a whole lot older than you,

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but. Well, I appreciate hearing that because it helps me feel better

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about it. Perhaps because I thought maybe I'm not grateful enough or why

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didn't I have that big shift? So that. That makes it make

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a lot of sense. I'm not here grading you. I'm not going to give you,

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like, a letter grade. And

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I. On your experience, I mean, everyone's

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experience is so personal,

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and I just can't emphasize that enough,

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actually, because you're not the first person who has reflected back to

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me. Like, I'm not saying. You just said, am I doing it wrong? But,

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like, people are worried, am I not this? Am I not

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enough of this, or am I too much of that? And we're all having

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the experience we need to have in any given day

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with any challenge we're given. It's just so unique,

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and I love that you are just like, well, this is just how

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it was. Like, that is fine. It's more than fine. It's

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your real lived experience that is a

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great reminder. Yes. Because everything is uniquely yours. And now

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that I'm saying it out loud and you're talking to me about it, I'm thinking,

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why would you even think, like, it has to be a certain way. Yeah. Please

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don't put that pressure on yourself. Right. Yeah.

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And I've thought about that again. You just look back, and I know that I

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went through it, but it was just like, it was a big deal. But people

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can look in, you can share this story with them, and they would think, wow,

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that's scary. I would never want to have to go through that. What was it

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like? That's. Instead they cut you open. Wow. But when you're going through it,

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you're just going through it. Like, I don't know. I didn't have a choice. It

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just happened. And I got you go through the recovery, and here we

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are. Yeah. It's a different perspective. Having actually gone

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through it, I think, versus what the general public would think who wouldn't have to

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go through. Just like I would think about anyone with any other medical condition.

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Wow. I'm glad I don't have to go through that. But as heart surgery patients,

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we had to go through that one, and we know all about it. It's a

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moment. It is a hard moment, but it is a moment. And

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I was just trying to remember the other day, my

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journey, because it's, you know, been a few years now.

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I cannot remember getting ready to go to the hospital.

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I don't remember packing for it. I don't remember. I barely

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remember the drive. It's like a five hour drive from here.

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Wow. There's just parts that I just don't remember anymore.

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And that's great. There's other parts that are just like it

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happened, but, yeah, it's. The brain

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has an amazing way of organizing our memory and

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tucking things away until either we're ready to deal with it

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or if we're done dealing with it, and we just file that away as, like,

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a done file. Put that in the done pile. Right? Like, we're all

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done with that. We don't need to revisit that memory. Oh, no, we need to

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revisit this. We're going to put this in the still to process pile.

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So. Yeah, I'm surprised. Yeah, that's quite interesting. I would

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have thought perhaps there's some trauma. Maybe there is, but

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traumatic reason that it would stand out, or perhaps it wouldn't stand out,

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and you would forget it for that same reason. I don't know a whole lot

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about the brain, but I know for me there were several key moments that I

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do remember. Some poorly and some, like,

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for in a positive manner. So, yeah, I definitely have a bit of a

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different experience there than you when it comes to that. Anyway.

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Yeah. Well, before we go, I want to

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hear what is some advice

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you would like to give to heart patients listening that

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really served you well. And what do you wish you had

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known going into your surgery? Hmm. Yeah. Well, I

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guess I just assumed and hoped that it was gonna be fine.

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I guess there's no way to actually know it was gonna be fine,

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but, yeah, I mean, my. My best advice, and I don't. I don't

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know, this feels kind of generic or like, it's not that useful,

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but it's the best thing that I could say, is just that.

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Yeah. Except that it is gonna be fine. That's all I could. That's all I

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could do is know that it is gonna be okay and just handle it one

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day at a time. So it seems daunting. It seems scary. You don't

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feel very good for. For weeks and weeks after the fact,

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but just have that hope and that reassurance that it's going to be okay.

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Like, yes, I went through that. As I said, it's hard for me to kind

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of reflect and remember that I was that guy who could barely walk

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a few steps down the hallway, or I had had my family help with my.

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My dog because I couldn't move. I was just lying on the couch, you know,

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letting my scar heal, and I. I'm fine. That was just a moment in

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time. It took, whatever, three, six months, and it was. It was

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rough. But after that, I was up. I was okay. And I've been living a

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very, very great life ever since. You know, I don't really notice that there's

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anything ever, ever was done with my heart, aside from the medication.

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There's a few minor things but I'm just glad to be here and that was

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just a moment in my life. And for anyone else

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that's facing something like that, I certainly hope. I think it will be the same.

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You know, you'll, you'll be fine, you'll get through it and life goes

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on. I could not agree more. I endorse your message.

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I appreciate your approval. It means a lot.

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Well, Joel, thank you so much for your time

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today. And how can listeners find you if they need

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to reach out for more inspiration? Sure, yeah.

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Publicly contact me through my business. That's the great

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we're on Instagram, LinkedIn. However you, however you want to communicate is fine, but

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the easiest thing for me to say is the website

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eastcoaststudio.com dot all the social media there.

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That's all me on there. So you're not going to get my assistant or anything

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00:20:45,110 --> 00:20:48,910
like that. You can communicate right with me and we can chat further about

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whatever I can help with in terms of the heart surgery life.

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Perfect. Well, thanks for your time today, Joel, and I'll have everything

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in the show notes as well. So we wish you well in Calgary

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and keep kicking ass. Thank you boots. I appreciate you as

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well and everything you're doing. Hey heart buddies,

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thank you for sharing a few beats of your day with me today.

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Please be sure to follow or subscribe to this podcast

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wherever you are listening. Also be sure to

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share with a friend who will value what we discussed.

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Additionally, I love your feedback. It is so

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encouraging when I hear from you listeners and it

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helps me continue to put out good content

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that I know you want to hear. So be sure to

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drop me an

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email@bootsheheartchamberpodcast.com.

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again, I am your host bootsnighton and

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thanks for listening. Be sure to tune in next

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Tuesday for another episode on open

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heart Surgery with Boots.