Thriving After Surgery: Embracing Life with a New Mitral Valve
#67 Joel Oliver, a heart surgery patient from Calgary, Canada shares his mitral valve replacement with a mechanical valve in 2018. Despite the initial struggles during recovery, Joel has since lived a full and active life. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining hope and patience through the difficult recovery period. Joel also discusses his current medications and how, aside from these, he feels no lasting impact from his surgery.
More about Joel: Joel Oliver is the owner and founder of East Coast Studio, a podcast production company which helps entrepreneurs enjoy the benefits of podcasting, while making the process as smooth as possible.
Since starting as a solo freelancer a decade ago, Joel's knowledge and skills evolved to grow the business to what it is today, notably through a major heart surgery in 2018 where he was forced to let go of the reigns and fully trust the team he had built. After surgery, Joel spent several years as a digital nomad. He remains at the heart of the company, seamlessly balancing the distinctive challenges and freedoms that come with entrepreneurial work.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-ecs/
https://eastcoaststudio.com/
Email Joel: joel@eastcoaststudio.com
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**I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Be sure to check in with your care team about all the next right steps for you and your heart.**
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Transcript
It was rough. But after that, I was up. I was okay. And I've been
Speaker:living a very, very great life ever since. You know, I don't really
Speaker:notice that there's anything ever, ever was done with my heart.
Speaker:Welcome to open heart surgery with Boots, the
Speaker:podcast that gets to the heart of what it's really
Speaker:like to go under the knife. I am your host,
Speaker:Boots Knighton, here to share the ups,
Speaker:downs and everything in between about
Speaker:heart surgery from the patient's perspective.
Speaker:Before we dive into this operating room of our
Speaker:shared experiences, please make sure this
Speaker:podcast stays on the healthy side of the
Speaker:charts. If you're finding this podcast helpful or
Speaker:inspiring, please subscribe and leave a
Speaker:review. Your support is the heartbeat
Speaker:that keeps the show alive. And
Speaker:if you want to be a part of an even closer knit
Speaker:community, come on over to our Patreon.
Speaker:Join us in the heart chamber. You can
Speaker:find
Speaker:us@www.patreon.com
Speaker:openheart surgery with Boots. There you'll get
Speaker:exclusive content, behind the scenes stories, and
Speaker:a chance to connect with other heart warriors.
Speaker:But for now, let's open up and explore the world
Speaker:of heart surgery from the other side of the
Speaker:scalpel. Welcome. Joel Oliver.
Speaker:Thank you for tuning in with us from Calgary,
Speaker:Canada. I tell you, you Canadians, you just keep coming
Speaker:into my life. I'm losing track of how many people from Canada I've had
Speaker:the honor of interviewing. So thank you for
Speaker:coming on. And Joel, you are such a breath of
Speaker:fresh air for we heart patients. Your story is
Speaker:easy peasy. And all of us heart
Speaker:patients, we all have our own stories. And I
Speaker:think it's important when we listen to each other's stories
Speaker:that it's so easy to compare and to
Speaker:maybe even have a little envy that someone has it
Speaker:easier. But, you know, we're all on our own
Speaker:journeys and we can't even begin to understand
Speaker:the power of sharing our stories. And so I
Speaker:am so glad that you reached out and I'm honored and I
Speaker:know we're all going to be better for hearing your story today. Thank you,
Speaker:Boots. Well, just the few minutes that I've gotten to speak to you already, I
Speaker:mean, I love what you're doing and you're a shining light here. You're
Speaker:a very bright personality. So I appreciate already that you've made me feel, like,
Speaker:very good since we started chatting here. So thanks for what you're doing and the
Speaker:opportunity to be on here. Yeah, yeah. You're like Mister
Speaker:Mitral Valve and you're the only person I've had the
Speaker:opportunity of meeting who's had, like, a simple valve
Speaker:repair and then when about your day. And
Speaker:so, I mean, yes, you've had a bit of. You had a bit of a
Speaker:rough road right afterwards, but let's dive in.
Speaker:Your mitral valve repair was in 2018,
Speaker:but walk us back to, like, what led up to
Speaker:that. Sure. Yeah. And I guess it matters in this context. It was actually
Speaker:a replacement. So I have a completely not
Speaker:natural, titanium mechanical mitral valve
Speaker:inside. So, yeah, that's an interesting fact to
Speaker:share with new friends when you meet people. So, yeah, I mean,
Speaker:these days leading up to now, like, since
Speaker:the surgery, things have been pretty good. I have a business, I work
Speaker:remotely. So I was quite nervous when the
Speaker:whole surgery thing was coming about that would impact my life and I wouldn't be
Speaker:able to travel anymore. There's, with this mechanical valve blood
Speaker:test required. So a lot of that was running through my head, what's going to
Speaker:happen once the surgery takes place? But I am happy to say that since that
Speaker:happened in 2018, aside from the bit of recovery time, I've lived quite
Speaker:a. Not only a normal life, but a great life. And I'm
Speaker:quite fortunate for. So, leading up to things in
Speaker:2018, I would say probably seven to ten years
Speaker:before that, they had just been watching me. There was a
Speaker:couple of instances over that time where I ended up in hospital with some atrial
Speaker:fibrillation. So pretty scary. Heart rhythm
Speaker:is out of whack. Feels very different. You know, it feels scary, and you
Speaker:don't really know what's going on initially. So there's a couple of times
Speaker:that happened, and that's what led them to discover that I had a
Speaker:leaky mitral valve, essentially, it just wasn't working efficiently. So your heart
Speaker:is pumping to try to move the blood around, and it's not working
Speaker:efficiently. It's getting tired, essentially. Like, your heart is wearing out.
Speaker:So they were keeping an eye on it to see if we would have any
Speaker:further developments that would necessitate surgery. And it did end
Speaker:up that, I guess it was somewhere around
Speaker:2017. They tested me and said, yeah, you've got to get this surgery.
Speaker:And obviously, I felt a lot of dread come
Speaker:over me at that point because I wasn't actually expecting it. Of course, I knew
Speaker:they were monitoring me, but at that point in my life, I felt pretty good.
Speaker:It was summertime, I was hiking, I was going to the gym. Didn't really
Speaker:have any noticeable issues. Like, you know, your story
Speaker:was quite different than mine because you were having some very obvious
Speaker:problems. And you're unsure what was going on. I felt pretty
Speaker:good. I would get some irregular heartbeats sometimes, but I didn't feel
Speaker:that my energy was super low. Although I guess when you're living in that
Speaker:situation, you don't necessarily have a reference point, like how good I'm
Speaker:supposed to feel. But at that time, I didn't think that that surgery was
Speaker:coming. Now, an interesting side note here is my mom.
Speaker:This is a genetic thing that I have. She actually had the same issue and
Speaker:the same surgery, but she had it much later in life than me. So I
Speaker:was 28, she was in her early fifties, meaning that she had the same
Speaker:surgery about a year before I did, roughly.
Speaker:So I actually got to watch her go through it all. And I kind of
Speaker:knew a little what to expect, how it was going to go about the
Speaker:medication I had to be on. So I saw that coming. I kind of
Speaker:knew what I was in for, although you can't really be fully prepared.
Speaker:But, yeah, I got the news. And then about a year later, I went in
Speaker:for the surgery and a few months of recovery, a little bit of
Speaker:rehab, and I was feeling pretty good. I think 28 year olds are not
Speaker:sure it happens, but that's not who they are expecting, typically, to see walk in
Speaker:with that issue. So I was. I was fortunate. I bounced back pretty
Speaker:quick. And things have been pretty good since then. Just like that?
Speaker:Yeah. I mean, you know, you can make it sound
Speaker:relatively simple by telling the story and looking back. You
Speaker:know, when you're in that situation, it's difficult,
Speaker:but now that it's in the past, it's just. Yeah, it was tough, but when
Speaker:it's. When you're actually living through it, which is the worst
Speaker:of it all, I suppose. It sounds. Time seems to crawl.
Speaker:Like, if you want to know how to slow time down, because, like, you hear
Speaker:that, right? People say, how do we slow time down? And time
Speaker:moves so fast, I'm like, wait for heart surgery. That will
Speaker:slow time down. Exactly. Yeah. When
Speaker:you're in it, you're pretty miserable. You're not feeling great, but once it's in
Speaker:your past, it's hard to really associate with that again. Like, I know it
Speaker:happened, but I feel pretty good now, so it's hard to say
Speaker:how bad I did feel. But, yeah, you know, some tough times for sure. Anyone
Speaker:that goes through that. Yeah. So your surgery was open
Speaker:hearted. Yep. And do you remember how many
Speaker:days you were in the hospital? Because if you were 28, you were
Speaker:probably out in a blip. Yeah, it was no
Speaker:more than a week I was out. They let me because there's a.
Speaker:At least in the United States, and I would think it'd be the same in
Speaker:Canada. As a rule of thumb, for every decade you're
Speaker:alive equals one day in the hospital after heart
Speaker:surgery. Okay. Yeah. I hadn't heard about that rule, but it wasn't far
Speaker:off there. It was probably four to five days when I finally
Speaker:got to go home. Certainly was no more than a week. Yeah. I'm just
Speaker:wondering, like, with a spring chicken like you, like,
Speaker:how quickly they let you out. Cause I was like, you know, at the time,
Speaker:I was 42, and I was in
Speaker:the hospital for four days after surgery, so it was,
Speaker:like, on the dot, and I was doing so well. I could have gotten
Speaker:out in three. But they said they were sticking to that rule of
Speaker:thumb on purpose because it really does matter
Speaker:how, like, it really is a proven
Speaker:formula. I was quite
Speaker:agitated, I guess, or irritated. My family told me that I
Speaker:didn't really realize when I'm in it that I was not being the most friendly.
Speaker:I mean, I wasn't yelling or swearing at anyone, but my family came to visit.
Speaker:And as you probably know, you're just not in a normal head space. You're
Speaker:drugged up. Everything hurts. So that was one of the pieces of feedback
Speaker:I got was that I wasn't very polite.
Speaker:But, yeah, that was an interesting
Speaker:thing to go through as well. Like, one memory I have was when they first
Speaker:got me up to walk around, which, as you know, they want to do pretty
Speaker:quickly after your surgery, get you moving. And again, it's tough to
Speaker:think back to that. I was actually in this situation, but
Speaker:I could barely make a few steps down the hallway. And
Speaker:it's like, yeah, that actually happened. It almost seems like a dream sometimes,
Speaker:but I could barely walk in a lot of pain.
Speaker:But, yeah, I was good enough to be sent home after that short period
Speaker:of time and spent a lot of time on the couch after that.
Speaker:So I had several questions. First of all, do you know the
Speaker:name of the genetic condition that caused both
Speaker:your mom and you to need a mitral replacement?
Speaker:It would be mitral valve prolapse, from my understanding.
Speaker:Okay. Okay. And what
Speaker:medications are you on now?
Speaker:I'm on warfarin, which is a blood thinner and also a
Speaker:baby aspirin every day. Now, I think the aspirin part is not
Speaker:necessarily for everyone. It's at the doctor's discretion. My mom doesn't take
Speaker:it, but she is also on warfarin. So for now,
Speaker:hopefully the foreseeable future. That's it. Or maybe even less if we get
Speaker:a technological advancement someday where we don't need the
Speaker:warfarin, or at least a better version of that. Cause if you know
Speaker:about warfarin, it messes with your diet and what you can eat.
Speaker:But, yeah, that's all for medication. Okay. And
Speaker:I mean, from all the heart patients I've had the honor of talking with
Speaker:over the past couple of years, if that's all you're
Speaker:on, good for you.
Speaker:I think so, too. I know when I first came out of surgery, there is
Speaker:a couple others that I was on. One of them is quite,
Speaker:quite serious in terms of side effects and people not wanting to
Speaker:be on it. So I was happy to get those ones out of my life.
Speaker:And, yeah, hoping that it can remain this way.
Speaker:So, one of the many reasons why I started this podcast
Speaker:was so folks could hear from the patient's perspective
Speaker:what you've done for us. Thank you. And I would love to have a
Speaker:conversation about the mental, emotional,
Speaker:spiritual parts of your journey, because
Speaker:I have found that our medical
Speaker:industry and I do feel like it's more of an industry at
Speaker:times. At least it can feel that way. The medical professionals
Speaker:are really great at saving our life and keeping us alive,
Speaker:and then that's about it. And then we're kind of
Speaker:left to figure out how to bring the rest of our soul
Speaker:along. And how
Speaker:have you experienced life, engaged
Speaker:with life since heart surgery? Like, do you
Speaker:feel like things have shifted within you? Do you feel like you're a different
Speaker:person? Like, how have you shifted
Speaker:mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Mm hmm.
Speaker:That's a great question and something that I really admired about your journey,
Speaker:because if I understand correctly, and correct me if I'm wrong, you
Speaker:kind of. You were so grateful that you ended up going through it because
Speaker:of the changes that it imparted on your life, which is really
Speaker:admirable. You were really positive and optimistic about the whole
Speaker:thing. So, yeah, that definitely crossed my mind before I was going in there, and
Speaker:I thought, you know, this could, the odds weren't
Speaker:showing this, but this could be my last day of life, could be my last
Speaker:day seeing my family. I don't know, like, will I be a changed person
Speaker:when I come out of this and be so grateful for every day?
Speaker:I don't think that. I don't think I was grateful
Speaker:enough. So I wasn't really on the path and the mindset that you
Speaker:had, although I would have liked to been. But I know in the years following
Speaker:the surgery. I just went through a lot of transformation and self
Speaker:improvement as it was. And I am pretty mindful and
Speaker:grateful of everything that I have, the fact that the surgery went so well,
Speaker:the life that I've built. So it's hard for me
Speaker:to attribute a huge shift in my thinking to that.
Speaker:Although, like I said, I would have loved to really feel that way like
Speaker:you did. And I think it's important to be mindful of that and
Speaker:have that mindset, because it is easy to just slip
Speaker:back into just the day to day and not really being grateful
Speaker:for the life that you've been given. Whether it's because of a heart
Speaker:surgery that allowed you to live a healthy life past
Speaker:when, you know, perhaps you would have, or if you don't have any health
Speaker:issues at all, there's nothing wrong with being grateful. I think it's very important to
Speaker:do so. In terms of a big shift, I didn't really
Speaker:get what I expected. I thought I would be a little more.
Speaker:I thought it would be a bigger shift or I just wake up every day,
Speaker:you know, looking at the sky, but it didn't really happen that way.
Speaker:But I still am so grateful for everything that I have in life
Speaker:and the fact that I'm here and every day that I am able to live
Speaker:healthily. So perhaps that did play a role. It just didn't really.
Speaker:Maybe I wasn't in tune enough with myself to really
Speaker:pick up on where that came from. If that makes sense,
Speaker:that could be it. And not to play the age card, but
Speaker:it kind of does. Like, I am. Like, I was in my forties by the
Speaker:time I heart surgery came around. So I'd already been around the block a few
Speaker:times with other challenges, and I'd already spent quite a bit of
Speaker:time in therapy for other reasons. And also I
Speaker:had been really, um, growing my awareness
Speaker:muscle. And you're in your twenties, and I. I mean, I think back
Speaker:into my twenties, I probably would have had the exact same answer you just
Speaker:gave. So every decade has its
Speaker:own level of self reflection and awareness.
Speaker:But, yeah, as you age, things do
Speaker:hit differently. Not that I'm a whole lot older than you,
Speaker:but. Well, I appreciate hearing that because it helps me feel better
Speaker:about it. Perhaps because I thought maybe I'm not grateful enough or why
Speaker:didn't I have that big shift? So that. That makes it make
Speaker:a lot of sense. I'm not here grading you. I'm not going to give you,
Speaker:like, a letter grade. And
Speaker:I. On your experience, I mean, everyone's
Speaker:experience is so personal,
Speaker:and I just can't emphasize that enough,
Speaker:actually, because you're not the first person who has reflected back to
Speaker:me. Like, I'm not saying. You just said, am I doing it wrong? But,
Speaker:like, people are worried, am I not this? Am I not
Speaker:enough of this, or am I too much of that? And we're all having
Speaker:the experience we need to have in any given day
Speaker:with any challenge we're given. It's just so unique,
Speaker:and I love that you are just like, well, this is just how
Speaker:it was. Like, that is fine. It's more than fine. It's
Speaker:your real lived experience that is a
Speaker:great reminder. Yes. Because everything is uniquely yours. And now
Speaker:that I'm saying it out loud and you're talking to me about it, I'm thinking,
Speaker:why would you even think, like, it has to be a certain way. Yeah. Please
Speaker:don't put that pressure on yourself. Right. Yeah.
Speaker:And I've thought about that again. You just look back, and I know that I
Speaker:went through it, but it was just like, it was a big deal. But people
Speaker:can look in, you can share this story with them, and they would think, wow,
Speaker:that's scary. I would never want to have to go through that. What was it
Speaker:like? That's. Instead they cut you open. Wow. But when you're going through it,
Speaker:you're just going through it. Like, I don't know. I didn't have a choice. It
Speaker:just happened. And I got you go through the recovery, and here we
Speaker:are. Yeah. It's a different perspective. Having actually gone
Speaker:through it, I think, versus what the general public would think who wouldn't have to
Speaker:go through. Just like I would think about anyone with any other medical condition.
Speaker:Wow. I'm glad I don't have to go through that. But as heart surgery patients,
Speaker:we had to go through that one, and we know all about it. It's a
Speaker:moment. It is a hard moment, but it is a moment. And
Speaker:I was just trying to remember the other day, my
Speaker:journey, because it's, you know, been a few years now.
Speaker:I cannot remember getting ready to go to the hospital.
Speaker:I don't remember packing for it. I don't remember. I barely
Speaker:remember the drive. It's like a five hour drive from here.
Speaker:Wow. There's just parts that I just don't remember anymore.
Speaker:And that's great. There's other parts that are just like it
Speaker:happened, but, yeah, it's. The brain
Speaker:has an amazing way of organizing our memory and
Speaker:tucking things away until either we're ready to deal with it
Speaker:or if we're done dealing with it, and we just file that away as, like,
Speaker:a done file. Put that in the done pile. Right? Like, we're all
Speaker:done with that. We don't need to revisit that memory. Oh, no, we need to
Speaker:revisit this. We're going to put this in the still to process pile.
Speaker:So. Yeah, I'm surprised. Yeah, that's quite interesting. I would
Speaker:have thought perhaps there's some trauma. Maybe there is, but
Speaker:traumatic reason that it would stand out, or perhaps it wouldn't stand out,
Speaker:and you would forget it for that same reason. I don't know a whole lot
Speaker:about the brain, but I know for me there were several key moments that I
Speaker:do remember. Some poorly and some, like,
Speaker:for in a positive manner. So, yeah, I definitely have a bit of a
Speaker:different experience there than you when it comes to that. Anyway.
Speaker:Yeah. Well, before we go, I want to
Speaker:hear what is some advice
Speaker:you would like to give to heart patients listening that
Speaker:really served you well. And what do you wish you had
Speaker:known going into your surgery? Hmm. Yeah. Well, I
Speaker:guess I just assumed and hoped that it was gonna be fine.
Speaker:I guess there's no way to actually know it was gonna be fine,
Speaker:but, yeah, I mean, my. My best advice, and I don't. I don't
Speaker:know, this feels kind of generic or like, it's not that useful,
Speaker:but it's the best thing that I could say, is just that.
Speaker:Yeah. Except that it is gonna be fine. That's all I could. That's all I
Speaker:could do is know that it is gonna be okay and just handle it one
Speaker:day at a time. So it seems daunting. It seems scary. You don't
Speaker:feel very good for. For weeks and weeks after the fact,
Speaker:but just have that hope and that reassurance that it's going to be okay.
Speaker:Like, yes, I went through that. As I said, it's hard for me to kind
Speaker:of reflect and remember that I was that guy who could barely walk
Speaker:a few steps down the hallway, or I had had my family help with my.
Speaker:My dog because I couldn't move. I was just lying on the couch, you know,
Speaker:letting my scar heal, and I. I'm fine. That was just a moment in
Speaker:time. It took, whatever, three, six months, and it was. It was
Speaker:rough. But after that, I was up. I was okay. And I've been living a
Speaker:very, very great life ever since. You know, I don't really notice that there's
Speaker:anything ever, ever was done with my heart, aside from the medication.
Speaker:There's a few minor things but I'm just glad to be here and that was
Speaker:just a moment in my life. And for anyone else
Speaker:that's facing something like that, I certainly hope. I think it will be the same.
Speaker:You know, you'll, you'll be fine, you'll get through it and life goes
Speaker:on. I could not agree more. I endorse your message.
Speaker:I appreciate your approval. It means a lot.
Speaker:Well, Joel, thank you so much for your time
Speaker:today. And how can listeners find you if they need
Speaker:to reach out for more inspiration? Sure, yeah.
Speaker:Publicly contact me through my business. That's the great
Speaker:we're on Instagram, LinkedIn. However you, however you want to communicate is fine, but
Speaker:the easiest thing for me to say is the website
Speaker:eastcoaststudio.com dot all the social media there.
Speaker:That's all me on there. So you're not going to get my assistant or anything
Speaker:like that. You can communicate right with me and we can chat further about
Speaker:whatever I can help with in terms of the heart surgery life.
Speaker:Perfect. Well, thanks for your time today, Joel, and I'll have everything
Speaker:in the show notes as well. So we wish you well in Calgary
Speaker:and keep kicking ass. Thank you boots. I appreciate you as
Speaker:well and everything you're doing. Hey heart buddies,
Speaker:thank you for sharing a few beats of your day with me today.
Speaker:Please be sure to follow or subscribe to this podcast
Speaker:wherever you are listening. Also be sure to
Speaker:share with a friend who will value what we discussed.
Speaker:Additionally, I love your feedback. It is so
Speaker:encouraging when I hear from you listeners and it
Speaker:helps me continue to put out good content
Speaker:that I know you want to hear. So be sure to
Speaker:drop me an
Speaker:email@bootsheheartchamberpodcast.com.
Speaker:again, I am your host bootsnighton and
Speaker:thanks for listening. Be sure to tune in next
Speaker:Tuesday for another episode on open
Speaker:heart Surgery with Boots.
