Today Was A Better Day!

Hi Pacemaker club!

I am feeling a bit better today I had another doctors appointment this morning. I am officially 4 weeks away from the surgery day.I have been educating myself on pacemakers all day and night!!! My little sister( shes 8 years old) made me laugh today she asked since I'm going to have my pacemaker forever is it OK that she gives it a name! She feels that's the right thing to do....How cute was that!

5 Comments

better day!

by bluebowtye - 2014-11-12 04:11:05

Hi Tink,

Glad you are having a better day today! Learning you need a PM can be very scary indeed, but it is not the end of your life as you know it. I think it's great that you have so much time to learn about PMs and do some research. Many of us discovered we needed a PM pretty much out of the blue and had no time whatsoever to think about it let alone do any research. I did not have that luxury and did not find this site until after my surgery. I did find that learning as much as I could about pacers and my specific condition (AV block) helped a lot especially with the mental aspect. Being completely fine one day and learning the next I am not fine and I have an electrical problem with my heart and the only fix is a pacemaker is shocking to say the least.

I read that you are a nurse and are dealing with some people who already have them. I think you having one yourself is going to be a great benefit to you helping your patients. No matter how old you are, being told you need a pacer is unsettling and you will be able to reassure them and help calm their fears better than anyone since you will have experienced it yourself.

Many people have named theirs and finding humor in the situation helps a lot. I wish you the best of luck. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. There are lots of really knowledgeable people here and all of have been though it and can totally relate to everything you are going through.

Take care,
~Sheila

Humor and cute

by Theknotguy - 2014-11-12 05:11:54

I feel humor has helped me more than anything else. Hopefully it's something you'll be able to bring to your patients. I would have given anything to have talked with someone who had a PM right after I got mine. If nothing else just letting them know they have the potential for a positive future would be a fantastic help.

If you'll take some information from an old fuddy-duddy, I'll suggest you go to the local library and check out some of the books written by Hugh Downs.

Hugh had done some research as to why some older people lived longer and seemed to have good humor. He discovered several things in common and actually outlined them on one of his television shows. Unfortunately I've been unable to find the episode. However his books also outline what he found.

Some of his findings were: Don't take yourself too seriously, try to find the positive in most things, volunteer for a charity or organization that will outlive yourself, and belief in some kind of religion. There were other items, but you'll have to sort through his books.

For my humor. I volunteer at a local charity that has a wood shop. Volunteer in the wood shop and run all sorts of equipment. We have to trim planks and it was a good job for me to do when I returned after getting my PM.

While the website for my PM has a lot of warnings about running electrical equipment I can ignore almost all of them. For the equipment to be dangerous to my PM, I'd have to be hugging the electrical motor while it was running for it to be dangerous to my PM.

So I wasn't concerned when I picked up a Sawzall saw to trim the planks. Small electrical motor, running more than a foot away from my PM. I completely forgot about the accelerometer in my PM.

The Sawzall saw has a lot of vibration. I was holding it in such a way the vibration went up my arm and started shaking the PM. The accelerometer woke up and kicked my PM into high gear. Wow, what a rush! One of the guys working with me came over and asked if I was OK? "You shoulda seen the look on your face!", he said.

Hmmm. Wonder what name she'll suggest for your PM? "Sparky" comes to mind.

Hope everything continues to go well for you.

Your Little Sister . . .

by NiceNiecey - 2014-11-13 03:11:16

is a smart cookie! There are a lot of people on this site that have named their PMs. As for me, I just call it my friend for life. Perhaps somebody in my highly creative family will come up with something that sounds better.

I will remember you on December 11. My daughter is having her second baby on that day and it will be a good reminder: Pray for Tina too!

And tell your sister that I like the way she thinks!

Nice Niecey

Better Days

by Grateful Heart - 2014-11-16 08:11:03


Good for you! After the initial shock, educating yourself on needing/ having a device is the best thing you can do for you and your family.

Let us know what your little sister names your device. She sounds adorable. :-)

BTW, laughter really is the best medicine.

Grateful Heart

super late but thanks you guys!

by Tink89 - 2014-12-07 05:12:57

Hi everyone I love reading all of you guys comments! They really make my day. Its nice to have such a wonderful support group of people who know what you are going through!

You know you're wired when...

You can feel your fingers and toes again.

Member Quotes

A properly implanted and adjusted pacemaker will not even be noticeable after you get over the surgery.