Stuff I no longer can legally do.

It sure would have been nice if someone made me aware that I would lose my pilots license and my commercial drivers license the day I got the pacemaker / defibrillator implanted. It seems that police officers and firefighters or anyone who may ever drive an emergency vehicle gets revealed of duty as well. They did not even want me working as a shooting range safety officer anymore. How many more things are going to sneak up and slap me upside the head with this dang thing implanted in my chest??

6 Comments

Stuff that you CAN still do....

by Lurch - 2016-03-10 03:03:35

Live.

A stake thru the heart - much worse .

by oldearthworm - 2016-03-10 04:03:30

I am not sure at all if these "take-aways" are "right" , morally or decently or legally ... . Our lawmakers , at times, do NOT seem to have our best interests in mind when legislating .. I think fear has taken over .. ALL of these things should have been discussed BEFORE any implantation .

Agreed

by Good Dog - 2016-03-10 05:03:39

I certainly agree with both of the previous posts. You should have been made aware of those things ahead of the implant. However, if the implant was not an option, then it is almost irrelevant. I say almost, because it still would have been appropriate to be made aware of the restrictions. One big issue with our medical system is that depending upon how much time a doctor is willing to spend with a patient often determines the quality of care. I include stuff like communication under the quality of care category. Some doc.'s have a great bedside manner and others don't. Some spend time to insure that all the bases are covered relative to the impacts on the life of a patient and others don't. I suffered initially and unnecessarily when I received my PM due to the lack of communication by my doctor. I went through a lot of mental anguish that could have been avoided.
However, in your case, you really should now focus on what you can do and try to be positive. Try to find things that you want to do with the new long life you have been given.
Sincerely,

David

I guess it is because.......

by Ricochet - 2016-03-11 04:03:04

Thanks for the comments: I guess I am bumbed-out because, I am only 55, I have never blacked out or passed out. I did not even now I had a heart problem unit October 22 which consisted of low ejection fraction of 35 and no damage to the heart or blockages of any kind. Being a police detective and a part time flight instructor is about all I have ever done and those things are gone. Thanks again folks, maybe in a year they can turn the defibrillator side off, if my ejection fraction comes back up.

Good Luck

by Good Dog - 2016-03-11 06:03:47

I wish you the best. It certainly is a life changing event. Hey, nobody said it was an easy transition. I understand, because I was in my 30's. Perfectly O.K. one day and pacemaker the next. Then the doc released me from the hospital and didn't tell me anything. He just said don't do anything and come back to see me in 2-3 weeks. I had no idea what my prognosis was? I thought that life was over as I had known it!

You will find that life will be good again when you get past the transition.

Sincerely,
David

There's a reason

by Busdriver - 2016-03-11 07:03:01

There's a reason you can't "legally" do certain things due to illnesses or aging. As for flying or driving a commercial vehicle which requires a CDL, do you REALLY want to be behind the steering wheel or in the cockpit of an airplane at 5000 feet when you suffer a heart-related illness or episode? Crashing a truck into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed or nose diving a plane into a crowd should be what you are most concerned about, in my opinion, rather than being upset that you can't do whatever you want to do "legally."

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This is my second Christmas with my pacemaker and I am so happy to be with my family.