I had two valve repairs last November. They were going to replace my tricuspid valve but found it could be repaired. I thought it was going to be way worse than it was. I was in the hospital, at Mayo, for 5 days. My daughter came for two weeks to help and that was a blessing. Lots of family and friends provided meals. My husband took over after our daughter left and within 4-6 weeks I was feeling good. Remember to get up and move. Even if it’s just from one part of your house to another. I received a heart pillow and used it constantly to get up from bed. Hope all goes well.

Be sure to join a heart rehab program and attend regularly. And be patient, especially if you are getting open heart surgery. There is no question that you'll need some help for the first couple of weeks. While you can get around pretty well in 4-6 weeks, it can take six months to a year to fully recover and feel yourself again. Be assured that you will continue to feel better. It's not only the physical insult of the operation, but you need to heal internally (breast bone and heart especially) and replenish your red blood cells. You can believe your docs--there is not much pain, but there is discomfort in the chest area. And we bought a recliner after I was home a few days. There are times when sleeping flat in bed just did not feel good.

You've had your surgery already. I hope it went well.
I had a mitral valve repair in 2019 and was in the hospital for two weeks after, one of those weeks in intensive Care. I had a build up of fluid and had tubes (called pig tails, ugh) inserted in my back to drain the fluid for about five days. The surgery wasn't that painful They told me not to drive for 6 weeks after surgery and not to lift more than 10 lbs. I changed that to 3 lbs for myself since I'm small. I was up walking pretty soon after the surgery, I could feel my heart beating like I never felt before. At home, I managed okay. Friends took me grocery shopping. My heart would race when I climbed stairs for a while. I had no symptoms before surgery so I felt like a spring chicken. After surgery I felt like a raw egg, then soft boiled, then hard boiled. Now I'm pretty much back to my old self.
I wish you the best. Just take it slow and follow the doctor's instructions.