Well, here it is, a new year. I look outside at the snow and I fell the cold. It seems just like last year. Of course, I know there is something different.
It started three days before Christmas. I was feeling sick and I had to visit the porcelain god to throw up into. I never made it, I passed out in front of it. Smashed the bathroom waste basket. Flat. It was made of wire so it didn't take much weight to smash it. I awoke wondering what had happened. I decided it was the medicine I was taking and not eating. I went back to bed and tried to fall back asleep.
A couple of hours (?) later I had the feeling coming on again. Again I didn't make it to the toilet. I collapsed along side of it. My wife heard me making a noise so she witnessed my falling and hitting my head on the cabinet. She said I was out for a few seconds. She called 911. I first refused saying I was okay but as I thought about my falling not once but twice, I told her to have them come.
The EMTs arrived, helped me to the gurney and took me to the hospital ER. My wife cannot drive so she could not follow me but the medical staff said they would keep her informed of my condition. The nurses and the doctor thought, like I, that the passing out was a symptom of my medicine. Their mind changed when a passed out again. While I was on the ER bed. When I awoke, they said that I was non-responsive for 23 seconds. They had to use emergency procedures to get my heart started again. I awoke with my bed surrounded by nurses and doctors, all discussing what had happened. The next 24 hrs was filled with tests of every kind. A heart specialist was called in to assess the results. I was transferred to ICU were I could be watched until a treatment could be decided on.
Finally they reached a decision. The lower half of my heart was stopping which also stopped the blood flow to my brain, which is why I passed out. I literally died for 23 seconds. The cardiologist decided on a pacemaker implant.
Years ago, pacemakers were large, cigarette pack sized devices that were implanted in the shoulder area of the body and had leads connecting the device to the heart. Now the devices are much smaller. It is about the size of a small caliber bullet or a large vitamin capsule, whichever you can imagine. They go through the groin area, through an artery, and place the device directly into the bottom of the heart. You cannot see it and the only wound is the insert point in the groin. It is totally computerized and I am told the battery lasts for about ten years.
So here I am, alive, in a new year, with a new part added to keep me alive. Watch out Skynet, here I come.
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