My Journey Back to Open Heart Surgery ~ Carin Andersen
TODAY...IS BIG!
Just in time for #AorticDiseaseAwarenessMonth and as we begin the journey into the emotional side of Aortic Disease, we want to premier a "documentary" created by Carin Andersen, Founder and Board Chair of Aortic Hope and President of Think Aorta US. Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability.
My Journey Back to Open Heart Surgery ~ Carin Andersen
❤️ I knew what open-heart surgery looked like. But knowing what to expect didn't prepare me for how it would feel to face it again.
In January 2015, I experienced an aortic dissection extending from my aortic root to my left iliac artery. That day changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.
It also gave me a purpose.
I never wanted another patient or family to feel as alone, frightened, or desperate for accurate information as I had felt. That experience eventually brought three women together to found Aortic Hope—a community built around education, support, awareness, and, most importantly, hope.
Nearly 10 years later, I found myself facing something I never wanted to face again:
Another open-heart surgery.
This time it was elective. I knew it was coming. I had time to think about it.
And somehow, that brought an entirely different kind of fear.
I was facing a valve replacement, graft replacement, and bypass. By this point, I had spent years immersed in the world of aortic disease. I had helped contribute to a patient guide about the surgical journey. I had interviewed physicians and surgeons from around the country. I had listened to countless patients tell their stories.
I had the information.
And yet, when I became the patient again, I still found myself searching for answers.
Searching for reassurance.
Searching for someone who truly understood what it feels like to wake up every morning knowing that a major surgery is getting closer.
There is a mental and emotional side of elective open-heart surgery that we simply don't talk about enough.
The waiting.
The fear.
The questions.
The “what ifs.”
Trying to continue living your normal life while a date on the calendar quietly gets closer and closer.
So I decided to turn the camera on.
I began documenting this journey—not as the founder of Aortic Hope, not as someone who interviews doctors, and not as someone who supposedly “knows what to expect.”
I documented it as a patient.
There are moments that are emotional. There are moments that are messy. There are moments when I am scared. And there are moments when I don't have the answers.
I wanted it to be raw and honest, because if even one person preparing for surgery watches this and thinks, “Someone else felt this too,” then sharing the most vulnerable parts of this experience will have been worth it.
❤️ Welcome to Part 1: The Journey Before Surgery.
This is the part of open-heart surgery that happens before anyone ever enters the operating room.
Part 2 will be released before the end of the year and will take you into the moments leading up to surgery and the recovery that followed.
They say open-heart surgery isn't for the weak.
I would add this:
No matter how strong you are, how much you know, or how prepared you think you may be—it still takes a village.
This is my village. This is my story. And I hope sharing it helps someone else realize they don't have to walk this road alone.
❤️ Welcome to my journey.
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