“Thirteen tiger teeth in my talisman
St. John The Conqueror and a black cat bone
Been seen walkin’ with the Guardians
Now I’m in the alley and I’m all alone
Can’t run can’t hide from destiny
Knew this day was comin’ nearly all of my life
Been done ain’t the only boy from Tennessee
To carve his name in cypress with a jawbone knife“
– Steve Earle
So you might’ve noticed a change has been made in the title of ye olde blog. Yup, the Doughboy is no more – though he lives on in some digital strata of zeros and ones just waiting to be dug up by some wannabe Indiana Jones with a penchant for photos of various bikes leaning on things. Consider it a prophecy fulfilled as I emerge as the Tin Man. Yup, like the character from the Wizard of Oz I need a heart, well… heart replacement parts at least. Some big changes are just over the horizon for this buckaroo.
It seems a funny thing has happened to me on my journey through late-midlife, not that it was a big surprise. Ever since I was a child I’ve had a minor heart murmur caused by a faulty aortic valve. I was born with it. The scuttlebutt was I’d need to have it replaced some day as aortic stenosis is a progressive disease. One cardiologist even optimistically proclaimed “by the time you need a new valve we’ll be doing the procedure outpatient.” He was almost right.
While earlier in life this fact might have been a little more toward the forefront of my consciousness, as I grew older I grew less concerned with any potential consequences. Though I had always been told to hold back a little when exercising as a youngun, as I transitioned into a college football playing offensive lineman (weighing 280lbs at my peak!) to a dude from California that liked to ride and race bikes (weighing 180lbs in my prime!) this knowledge was pushed back ever deeper into the recesses of my brain. I stopped worrying about it. I was so healthy and active I even stopped seeing a cardiologist on a regular basis as I had done as a child. Doctors shmocktors, ammiright?
The thing about prophecies is that much like rust, they never sleep. They’re always there festering like calcium deposits in the turbulence of a crappy 54 year old aortic valve. Eventually after many years of ignoring the problem, a battery of tests show that you’ve reached the severe stenosis stage. Prophecy fulfilled – time to swap in some fresh aftermarket parts and maybe upgrade a few things. Of course the corollary to this prophecy is that you feel easily winded while out doing the things you love to do, but all things considered I’m lucky: I caught it early before permanent heart muscle damage occurred.
Please do not mistake my apparent glibness for lack of concern on my part as it’s clearly a defense mechanism. While the prognosis is good I still have no firm answers (should know this week finally!) so I vacillate between being completely terrified of open heart surgery and only moderately terrified about it several times each day. My search history contains an inordinate number of queries on “hemodynamics” and “cycling after aortic valve replacement”. Having been in and around the medical device industry as an engineer my entire career I have faith in the technology. Valve replacement is common and good outcomes are commonplace especially for relatively “young and otherwise healthy” patients such as myself, but nothing is ever guaranteed.
So I have little doubt that the this Tin Man will ride again after a stretch of healing and physical therapy in the coming months. In a weird way I’m actually looking forward to the challenge. I’ll make sure and share a long-winded description of my first post-operative ride on the trainer when it happens.
If anyone has any direct experience with athletes and heart valve surgery please share, thank you!
The Tin Man Rides Again 
Thinking about you Tom. Wishing you the best during this rough time. Funny I was recently lamenting the time before social media- Blogs and niche message boards rocked!
Thanks Frank, appreciate the well wishes!