The Hospital

So I did end up calling that right. I'm writing this from my bed at St. Mary's Hospital. This morning I had my first pacemaker in almost thirty years installed. I'm pretty sore from the operation and I'm getting sleepy from the fact that I didn't sleep much last night as well as having been taking pain medication since early this morning. But through all of that I actually feel pretty great. My heart rate is double what it was last night at this time and that fog in my head that seems to have been with me all the time has lifted. The worries and concerns of the last week are all in the past now. The thing is done. It's time to get back to the living. All my restrictions are related to keeping the wound safe. My heart is back to being fine. I'm hoping start taking short walks again this weekend. I want to get out and take some more pictures with the new lens (as long as I can hold it up).

The hospital was great. Everyone was so helpful, friendly and efficient. All of my friends on Facebook kept track of the day's events and gave love and encouragement all along the way. Thank all of you so much. Finally I am struck with just how amazing my wife is for having gotten me to make the appointment for a physical in the first place and then have it moved up when my dizziness started getting worse. I am as ever grateful for all she brings to my life.

So I'm here for a night and then home in the morning. I'll be sore for a few days but it shouldn't be anything I can't handle. (besides they are sending pills home with me)

Kathy took some pictures from inside treatment room. I'm going to clean them up when I get home and post a little gallery tomorrow. Till then.

The Doctor

So I start the year off on a health kick. As usual I ignore the advise not to start a diet or exercise regime without first consulting a physician. I mean really what is he going to say? Lose some weight. Stop eating so much. Stop eating so much fat, salt and sugar. Exercise more. You are overweight and your blood pressure is high. See, what do I need a doctor for? But the fact is that I'm getting older. I've been overweight for quite a while. I have a history of congenital heart disease and I've got it coming down the pipe from both sides of the family tree. All of that has been true for a while. What was new was the fact that I've gotten married. Kelly had made me promise to go and get checked out and she wasn't letting go of that. Also the dizziness that I've been experiencing on and off for the last few years was beginning to grow more frequent and the onsets were getting more severe.

So last week I trooped off to see Kelly's doctor. After the usual struggle with forms and such they took me in to read my vitals. The blood pressure machine wouldn't give them a reading and I made the comment that I had the same trouble when I bought one or used one at the drug store. There must be some problem reading my arm because they always gave an absurdly low heart rate. There was no way that could be real. They said that the doctor would take it manually in the exam room. So I went to the exam room and after awhile Dr. Selle came in and we did a history. I immediately liked the doctor. No white coat authority, just an intelligent two way conversation. We went through the my childhood history with my pacemakers and some of the things that I've been dealing with in the last couple of years. He congratulated me on losing twelve pounds in the last month and encouraged me to keep it up. He recommended that I read Michael Pollan's Food Rules (Which I did yesterday. Sound advise in a quick read). At the end he took my blood pressure. It was high. Higher than I like and higher than I expected. Still I did expect it to be high. What neither of us like was that he confirmed that my pulse was indeed pretty darn low. Like thirty beats per minute. So he broke out the EKG and that confirmed not only the low heart rate but a return of my childhood heart block. He had his staff make me the next available appointment across the hall at the cardiologist. Dr. Selle would call me that night after he had a chance to consult with the cardiologist and ask me not to drive or exercise until then. Since then I've pretty much been at home. It's like being sick but not feeling sick. It is a foolish feeling. 

So it looks like I'm probably getting a pacemaker again. I had several between the ages of four and twelve but haven't had one since. I could be wrong and they may interpret it another way but I really don't think so. I've spent the last couple of days preparing myself mentally for a procedure next week. And that’s where it stands right now. We’ll see what the next couple of days bring.