Newbie

Newbe

by AgentX86 - 2021-04-04 11:48:44

Hi Steph, welcome to the club.  Sorry that you're here.

You are really lucky.  A 30s pause is incredibly serious.  It's half dead and could go either way.  Having this happen while out in the middle of nowhere wouldn't be good.

On the positive side, if you have to have an electrical problem requiring a pacemaker, this is the one to have particularly if this is the only problem. That is, if your heart can still control the amount of oxygen in the blood (i.e. heart rate tracks oxygen demand), you'll do very well with minimal impact on your lifestyle.

Yes, do stick around.  Your story will help the younger folks who come here.  Most of us twice or three (four?) times your age.  It helps the younger people who find themselves in your position to know that they're not alone.

Bienvenue a toi

by Tulp - 2021-04-04 23:28:09

Hello juststeph, ànd welcome to the only club you dont join volontary...

You are young ànd now so lucky to be save (safer) How many leads did you get ‽

I had my defibrillator à month ago. I really had a lot of interesting info here, and I pop in when I can.

I see you are from Ontario. Been to Ottawa with my daughter who lives in Montréal. I get a lot of nfo from canadien cardio sites. (French of course.

I hope you will feel well soon and adjust to your new condition.

Tulp

Thank you!

by juststeph - 2021-04-06 09:59:28

Thanks for the support! To answer a few of your questions, I got 2 leads 'installed.' I dont know the model yet. I'll ask all those questions at my 6 wk follow up appointment. My reason for needing a pacemaker is still a bit unclear. I was diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome for bradycardia and tachycardia. I've been fainting on and off for almost 9 years now, but most recently had fainted over 10 times within a 3 month period. They're now calling these Adam-Stokes Attacks. There are plans for me to eventually meet a EP specialist for young female hearts in Toronto to investigate further. 

Slowdive, I can't imagine how shoking this experience has been for you and your daughter! I was medivaced too, actually. Just that was overwhelming, let alone the news that I needed a pacemaker and then the actual surgery. I pray the best for her and a quick recovery. What a blessing to have a good buffer of time before she goes to school for everything to heal. I hope everythings good to go by then and you don't have any complications along the way!

Model

by AgentX86 - 2021-04-06 16:59:21

Not that it's all that important now but you should have been given a (temporary) card with the model and serial numbers of the pacemaker and leads.  You'll get a permanent, credit card style, card in the mail sometime soon (I got mine in a couple of weeks).  You should keep this with you.  Since she's a child it'll probably dissappear as soon as she gets it, so I'd put it along with your driver's license or credit cards.  It may be a good idea to mark it such that any EMT doesn't think it's yours.