October 11th, 2007 mel
Tuesday, I went into the hospital to get an upgrade to my defibrillator. I’ve had it since 2005, but it has never gone off. Tuesday, after the upgrade, on Wednesday morning (4:30am), it went off. I had been told over the years, that I’d know when it went off and it would feel like getting kicked in the chest. They were right!!!
Basically it’s a shock to the heart, like when you see a medical program on TV and the medic puts a paddle on either side of the patient’s chest and shouts, “Clear!”. My heart had not stopped, it went into VTach (ventricular tachycardia). VTach is when the heart is beating too fast for the heart to do its job correctly.
I”m back home now and my chest is not only sore from the installation of the new defibrillator, but from the defibrillator going off… at least I know it works.
Posted in medical, whisper | No Comments »
October 6th, 2007 mel
Well it’s been over a month since my last entry. A great deal has happened. The most recent drama was the Friday before last.
I had just gotten off the bus after my dialysis session and went into the store to get the rootbeer soda I had been craving for two hours. As I paid the cashier at the little convenience store (we used to call them ‘candy stores’), I felt a little light headed but no big deal. I walked out, and the next thing I knew, I was luxuriating about the fact that it felt so good to be lying down. Wait… that’s not right… Why am I lying down. Open eyes… The sky. I discover I am lying on the sidewalk. Someone is offering to help me up and saying, “Are you all right?” I had passed out and in the process of my dive, smashed my chin on the concrete (which required eleven stitches) and chipped my front teeth. A bruised knee and scraped eyebrow were the minor injuries.
Anyway, I had the sutures removed today, and will be going to the dentist the week after next.
I’m pretty sure I passed out because I took my heart meds (Coreg) right after dialysis, and I know Coreg drops my blood pressure and I have low blood pressure normally.
Nothing like a little excitement to keep things interesting.
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July 1st, 2007 mel
I saw Michael Moore’s Sicko, today. Another one of those movies that had me either laughing or crying (literally). It’s amazing what we put up with as so called health care, and the path to who’s to blame is clear and straight.
This is a must see movie for anyone who plans on voting in 2008. It’s time the politicians were asked serious, open ended questions… both on the right and left. As the movie says if we can spend trillions for war, then there is money for health care.
Posted in medical, observation, shout | 1 Comment »
June 21st, 2007 mel
Apparently, when my donor (MD) had the stress test done, the technicians are the ones who said he was ok. Turns out that the cardiologist says the hole in his heart is significant, and he will not okay the stress of a transplant until MD gets it repaired. Not only that, but after the repair, he has to stay on blood thinners to reduce the possibility of clots for at least 6 months.
I think I’ll try to get on some other states’ transplant list. It doesn’t look like MD will be a viable solution until at least February. Meanwhile his company has been taken over by another, and his medical insurance will change drastically (as will mine).
Posted in medical, whisper | 2 Comments »
June 15th, 2007 mel
So the doctor says I have nothing to be concerned about, because my defibrillator is not one of the ones causing problems. In fact he claims I didn’t even have to come in. That was good news.
Posted in medical | 1 Comment »
June 13th, 2007 mel
I’ve let more than 2 days slip by again. At least, now, I start to get a nagging complaint in the back of my head when I’m overdue.
The mail I got was from the manufacturer of my defibrillator who says some of their products may use up the battery to fast and yours might be one of them…call your doctor. So I see my doc tomorrow. Sheesh!
Posted in medical, observation | 2 Comments »
June 6th, 2007 mel
My donor had the tests done for his heart yesterday and got the results. His heart is in fine condition which means not only is he okay, but that means things are okay for me too. One last test to go. I’m a little scared to get too excited.
Posted in medical, whisper | 2 Comments »
May 31st, 2007 mel
I had coffee with my donor today. After tortured arguments with myself, I was finally able to tell my donor that if at any point, he got scared or wanted to back out, I wanted him to feel free to tell me. I told him that even if he just had concerns to let me know, and that he could back out at anytime. I was able to tell him that and mean it.
I didn’t want to tell him that, but it’s true. I can handle whatever happens. Hey,… I got two angels watching me.
He has the test to view his heart on Tuesday.
Posted in medical, whisper | 1 Comment »
May 17th, 2007 mel
My kidney donor goes for the cardiac stress test next Monday. Neither of us is worried about it. After that test, a sonogram has to be done. My transplant coordinator seems to be dragging his feet. Seems to me, he could have arranged the tests fairly close to each other.
I’ve expressed to him my wanting to get this done as soon as possible. I do not want to be in the hospital in July, when all the inexperienced doctors are starting.
I think I’ll call my coordinator again, tomorrow.
Posted in medical, shout | 1 Comment »
April 27th, 2007 mel
A few days ago, I mentioned going into another medical hole . What I was talking about, is getting a kidney transplant. I have a friend who is willing to donate a kidney and we both have had a number of medical tests to go through. My friend has about 3 more tests and if all works out, we can proceed. If the test do not work out, it means I will have to stay on dialysis, which I have been on for a year. My biggest fear at the moment is that my friend will not pass all the tests. I dare not even fantasize not being on dialysis.
Posted in medical, whisper | 3 Comments »
