Things Don’t Always Go as Planned…
Posted on Aug 25, 2026 by Shari Van Baale
It has been about three months since my heart surgery, so I thought I would give you an update in my Staff Trax this week. Things did not go as planned, but I am slowly feeling more back to normal.
I thought I would be in the hospital three or four days, but I ended up being there for 10 days. Later in the day they put in the mechanical valve and replaced the aortic valve, they discovered that an artery was bleeding and they had to go in and cauterize it. (Which makes me VERY glad that I answered “yes” when they asked if I would accept blood if needed when I checked in for surgery; if I hadn’t said yes, I would have died.)
After those two surgeries, I was connected to a temporary pacemaker. But every time they took me off of the temporary pacemaker, they discovered I had complete heart block, which basically means electrical signals cannot pass between the upper and lower heart chambers. So after waiting five days, it was decided to put in a permanent pacemaker.
The possibility of having a pacemaker was never discussed in my pre-op appointments, but I know it was essential. Because of the complete heart block, my heart could not survive without it.
It has taken a long time to recover, with a lot of pain in places I didn’t expect. With cardiac rehabilitation and A LOT of Tylenol, I feel like I am slowly getting back to normal.
There were days where I was in so much pain that I honestly would have preferred not to have had the surgery. I hope all that is behind me now. I am resuming a normal schedule and regular activities.
Things don’t always go as planned in life. Sometimes you have to adapt, and you might not know the reason why you are suffering so much. But, as I said before, if you trust that God is in control, it will help you get through life’s struggles much more easily.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator