An overdue update!

• by tgifbob
• 2007-12-31 01:12:17
• General Posting
• 1211 views
• 1 comments

Hi folks!

Back in August I was scheduled to have a single lead PM installed to deal with a bradycardia/arrhythmia problem that I'd been managing well for about 15 years. I was ready and willing and pretty cool about the whole process -- just anxious to get it done and get on with my life.

Went in for the install and lo and behold, when I woke up, my doc was standing there to tell me that, uh, well, we didn't get it done! Needless to say, I was not thrilled. Seems as if the vein that they intended to use to thread the lead to the heart inexplicably narrowed as it went down into my chest. Nothing dramatic or diseased, just a strange structural thing that I guess I've had since birth.

So a week later I had a CAT scan to find out whether any of the veins on the left or right side would be usable and thankfully, there was a good set on the right side. A week later, we went in again and met with full success.

Other than the fact that I now have a scar on the left as well as one on the right, everything's doing great! I ran one of my real estate open houses about 2 days after I had the surgery and got back on track quickly with my activities, making sure not to raise my arm above my head!!

The reason I wanted to post this, even though it's three months past the actual event, is that I want to reassure anybody who's going in for this that it's not something to get all worked up over. My experience -- even with the aborted first attempt -- was stellar. My doctor and his UCLA team were wonderful and personable. The recovery was simply a non-issue. And now that I don't have to worry about my heart rate going below 60 BPM, they can use even better meds to bring my upper rate down -- I have the best-controlled rate I've had in 15 years.

So I send my best regards out to anybody who is about to go in for this -- it is such a blast to know that these great devices exist and that there are teams of good folks out there who can make it all work beautifully for us. As we enter 2008, let's all give a word of thanks for the good things that we have access to!!

Happy New Year!

TGIFBOB