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

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

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

Welcome to open heart surgery with Boots, the

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

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

Boots Knighton, here to share the ups,

downs and everything in between about

heart surgery from the patient's perspective.

Before we dive into this operating room of our

shared experiences, please make sure this

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openheart surgery with Boots. There you'll get

exclusive content, behind the scenes stories, and

a chance to connect with other heart warriors.

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

of heart surgery from the other side of the

scalpel. Welcome. Joel Oliver.

Thank you for tuning in with us from Calgary,

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

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

the honor of interviewing. So thank you for

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

fresh air for we heart patients. Your story is

easy peasy. And all of us heart

patients, we all have our own stories. And I

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

that it's so easy to compare and to

maybe even have a little envy that someone has it

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

journeys and we can't even begin to understand

the power of sharing our stories. And so I

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

repair and then when about your day. And

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

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

Your mitral valve repair was in 2018,

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

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

a replacement. So I have a completely not

natural, titanium mechanical mitral valve

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

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

these days leading up to now, like, since

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

remotely. So I was quite nervous when the

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

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

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

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

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

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

quite fortunate for. So, leading up to things in

2018, I would say probably seven to ten years

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

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

fibrillation. So pretty scary. Heart rhythm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

further developments that would necessitate surgery. And it did end

up that, I guess it was somewhere around

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

And obviously, I felt a lot of dread come

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

surgery about a year before I did, roughly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

relatively simple by telling the story and looking back. You

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

slow time down. Exactly. Yeah. When

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

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

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

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

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

hearted. Yep. And do you remember how many

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

probably out in a blip. Yeah, it was no

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

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

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

alive equals one day in the hospital after heart

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

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

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

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

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

I was 42, and I was in

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

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

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

thumb on purpose because it really does matter

how, like, it really is a proven

formula. I was quite

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

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

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

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

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

I got was that I wasn't very polite.

But, yeah, that was an interesting

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

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

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

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

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

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

but I could barely walk in a lot of pain.

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

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

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

name of the genetic condition that caused both

your mom and you to need a mitral replacement?

It would be mitral valve prolapse, from my understanding.

Okay. Okay. And what

medications are you on now?

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

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

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

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

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

a technological advancement someday where we don't need the

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

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

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

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

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

on, good for you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

was so folks could hear from the patient's perspective

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

conversation about the mental, emotional,

spiritual parts of your journey, because

I have found that our medical

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

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

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

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

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

along. And how

have you experienced life, engaged

with life since heart surgery? Like, do you

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

person? Like, how have you shifted

mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Mm hmm.

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

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

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

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

admirable. You were really positive and optimistic about the whole

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

improvement as it was. And I am pretty mindful and

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

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

to attribute a huge shift in my thinking to that.

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

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

have that mindset, because it is easy to just slip

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

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

surgery that allowed you to live a healthy life past

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

time in therapy for other reasons. And also I

had been really, um, growing my awareness

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

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

gave. So every decade has its

own level of self reflection and awareness.

But, yeah, as you age, things do

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

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

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

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

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

like, a letter grade. And

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

experience is so personal,

and I just can't emphasize that enough,

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

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

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

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

the experience we need to have in any given day

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

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

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

your real lived experience that is a

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I was just trying to remember the other day, my

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

I cannot remember getting ready to go to the hospital.

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

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

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

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

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

has an amazing way of organizing our memory and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

do remember. Some poorly and some, like,

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

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

Yeah. Well, before we go, I want to

hear what is some advice

you would like to give to heart patients listening that

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

just a moment in my life. And for anyone else

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

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

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

I appreciate your approval. It means a lot.

Well, Joel, thank you so much for your time

today. And how can listeners find you if they need

to reach out for more inspiration? Sure, yeah.

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

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

the easiest thing for me to say is the website

eastcoaststudio.com dot all the social media there.

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

like that. You can communicate right with me and we can chat further about

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please be sure to follow or subscribe to this podcast

wherever you are listening. Also be sure to

share with a friend who will value what we discussed.

Additionally, I love your feedback. It is so

encouraging when I hear from you listeners and it

helps me continue to put out good content

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

drop me an

email@bootsheheartchamberpodcast.com.

again, I am your host bootsnighton and

thanks for listening. Be sure to tune in next

Tuesday for another episode on open

heart Surgery with Boots.