Still drowsy from the anesthesia, I gave a thumbs up as to my condition, and listened to them discuss my operation with Dr. Poostizadeh. According to the surgeon, I had the worst calcified aortic valve he had ever seen and was surprised I lived for so long with such a defect. The aortic valve was in such bad condition that he was unable to insert a rod inside the valve opening that was smaller than a pencil.

Based on everything I was hearing, it sounded like I just cheated death. I didn't dispute the calcified valve evidence or its impact on my cardiac system, but to be honest, I expected to feel much worse during the last few years if I was in such dire health. And hence my dilemma: when this began, all I felt was some shortness of breath and the occasional heart palpitation. I never felt run down, low on energy, or experienced any other symptoms that are associated with a critical heart condition. So as you can imagine, talking about how I barely survived seemed a bit surreal.

I suppose some of that will just have to remain a mystery...