Friday, October 15, 2010

A different adventure!!

It was time for me to get my heart monitor implant at the VA Hospital in San Francisco.  I had to arrive one day early to have an EKG, some blood draws and an oral history interview about family heart issues.  (None except for my Uncle Vic years ago.)  Then I was free to walk along the coastal trail and take in the views.

Evening sailboat regatta!

I spent the night in my Vanagon in the RV parking lot the VA provides; listening to the various tones of the fog horns through the night. Nice.

Then we got down to business.
You can just see my head to the left of the technician's waist; I'm giving a thumbs up.


And no, that is not a catheter coming out from between my feet!!  That is warm air being blown in under my covers to help keep me warm; the room is kept quite chilly.

Everything went well.  The implanted heart monitor (about the size of a "thumb drive") has an internal battery that is good for three years.  I can resume swimming in about two weeks.

Note:  I have been having little "events", about every six weeks for over a year now.  A sudden sensation that feels like my heart has come loose in my chest and is flipping/flopping!  It last only about fifteen to twenty seconds but I get dizzy and light headed and have to sit down for about fifteen to twenty minutes for it to pass.  Then I feel fine, but it is rather scary when it happens.  I have had multiple EKGs, a stress test, echo cardiogram, wore a Holter Monitor for 24 hours but never caught an "event" happening.  Wearing this inserted monitor that is good for up to three years will surely catch an event which can then be downloaded and analyzed to determine what is going on.  Quite remarkable.


3 comments:

  1. Hi, Ron:

    Best of luck with your recovery! I've been following your blog for a few years now and my wife and I visit Fort Bragg a couple of times a year.

    BTW, I grew up right down the street from the VA hospital where you stayed for your inplant surgery.

    We lived at 634-43rd Avenue, between Fort Miley and the Park.

    Happy Trails!

    Richard Links
    Berkeley, CA

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  2. Ooooh .... warm air pumped under the blanket -- I like it!

    What? No info about your run in with the airplane propeller?

    PS - Lolli and I have walked right by that RV spot (when I lived in SF). Very sweet.

    Suzanne

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  3. Holy mackeral!!! NEVER A DULL MOMENT
    FOR YOU.....
    YOU'RE SUCH A GOOD GUY!!! YEA...A GOOD GUY.
    SUSAN

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