New device

• by JudyRocks
• 2015-12-21 12:12:25
• Surgery & Recovery
• 1521 views
• 2 comments

Well - I survived the 3 month waiting period imposed by Anthem and received my shiny new Medtronic bi-ventricular ICD Defibrillator/Pacemaker (not sure exactly what to call it - Lol) this past Wednesday 12-16-15. The Medtronic rep assures me it is their newest "Cadillac" device. I'm an "Acura" girl so not sure the Cadillac reference added to my piece of mind.... Very pleased with how my surgery went - virtually no pain from start to finish and done in less than an hour not including recovery. I'm now in the healing stage and 4 days post-op can say the only pain I have is at the surgery site directly over my device. My ice pack is my new best friend & helps almost as much as the Norco the doc sent me home with - started cutting the pain pills in half today to try n start getting off them. My annoying incessant cough has not reappeared since I woke up from surgery.
My surgery was performed at Jasper Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Indiana by an electrocardiologist from St Vincent hospital in Indianapolis and I feel everyone took very good care of me. The worst part was not being able to sit above a 30 angle nor get out of bed until chest X-ray the following morning - talk about a back ache! But it's all good & I'm optimistic looking ahead. Doc says there is a 70% chance that my leaky mitral valve may improve with time. So far no problems with anxiety or PTSD, more a feeling of relief that I have a safety net. I have stitches only inside with glue & steri strips outside, virtually no swelling and no protrusion of the device. I know it's early days yet but so far I'm feeling extremely blessed & grateful for how things are going. Looking forward to peaceful holidays with my family & hopefully a smooth return to my 30 hour/week job as a paralegal for a one attorney firm after the new year!