Harper, Glad you are on the mend! Give yourself the time it takes to heal. In October of '84 I had a valve job, and while the symptoms included some brief stabbing pains, I was very lucky in not having much pain from the surgery. I took 3 months off from work. By the time I went back, my girlfriend had me in better shape than I've been in since!You've been through the most painful part, now is the challenge of being patient while you heal! All the best, Brian