Big Brother Moves In

I have been prescribed a device to probe me on a nightly basis. I plugged it in on my night stand next to the bed. It is attached to a phone line and will scan me every so often and then send the info to my Cardiologist and he will decide if I am alive or not.

Don't know what this thing costs but nobody has billed me yet so I won't worry about it until it comes time to pay the deductible...which I have done in spades!

Attack of the Selective Bugs

I have had a loooooooong absence from blogging here. Been busy and won't apologize. Besides, this will be my update to update everything that needs dating...you know...up.

The bruise has healed on my arm that appeared after the dephib was implanted. My range of motion is almost all the way back in my left arm. I was at the lake over the past weekend and tried to skip stones, but it still kind of hurts to throw.

We had a great time up at Priest Lake with some friends from San Francisco, Bellingham, and other places. We read a lot, drank a lot, laid about, picked huckleberries, and drank a lot.

I had a run in with some bugs. I have never been eaten up this badly before. I have bites on my legs and arms and a few on my neck. I cannot figure out when or where I got them.

I first noticed a problem when I woke up about 3AM on Tuesday morning and my legs were very itchy. I managed to go back to sleep and when I woke up around 7AM, my arms were covered in bites. I went back in a woke up Susan and asked if she had any bites. She didn't.

If there were bed bugs or some sort of multi-legged creature in the bed, why would they go after me and not my wife. It's all very odd.

The welts are starting to recede but I have been itching like crazy since Tuesday. I have tried all kind of salves and preparations. They work for a while but time is the great healer. I wish time would hurry up.

I had several opportunities to ride my bike this week and have pissed away every one of them. I'll try harder next week.

UpDate

I have had a loooooooong absense from blogging here. Been busy and won't apologize. Besides, this will be my update to update everything that needs dating...you know...up.

Turns out there is nuthin' to update

Almost a Bike Ride

I was planning on riding my bike today. There was no reason I should not have other than phatness and laziness...both of which I possess in largely quantitative parcels of hugeness.

Anyay, I didn't ride...I drove...and I did a couple of errand type things. But still, I should have biked it.

Please to put those words on my tombstone.

Follow Up with my Electrician

Today I returned to the Doctor for a follow up. All appears to be well. I still have a big bruise on my arm but the incision has healed nicely.

It turns out that there is a big flat metal thing embedded in my chest. It will pace my heart if it gets out of whack and it will deliver "therapy" if my heart stops. That's DocSpeak for Electrical Shock.

The reason for my limited arm use is that moving my arm can cause the lead into my heart to move around. Once scare tissue has formed around the lead, it will be solidly attached to my heart.

They can read everything that has been going on with my heart since the ICD was implanted. I have had a couple of short irregular heart beats but nothing that required "therapy".

The battery is currently good for nine years.

Soon I will be getting some sort of monitor in the mail. I will attach it to a phone line next to the bed and it will scan me every night. It will only notify the Doctor if it detects a problem.

That's a pretty cool feature but it has me wondering about the Big Brother aspects of all this. Will it be able to sit there and watch me. If so, it's going to get very bored.

Mobility and Not Being Able to Use it

The mobility in my left arm is steadily increasing. Even though I can move it easier, I'm not supposed to. They want it kept immobile as possible to allow the ICD to snuggle into the muscle and tissue into which it is planted.

It is the start of a three day weekend and I'm going to try and be as active as my condition will allow. Traditionally, we go for a canoe ride on the Fourth of July but I am afraid that is out for this year because of the arm.

We will get some biking in and hopefully, that will contribute to my slow but steady weight decline.

Today:215

Time for a Nap

I returned to work today. It was uneventful and all went well. I had a little experience with a racing heart beat but I believe I explained it all in today's entry of the other blog, dedicated to the house, (www.my-life-as-a-house.blogspot.com) so I shall not repeat myself here.

I am surprised by the sudden mobility in my left arm. I am supposed to keep it calm and inactive while the muscles and tissue around the ICD settle in and around the unit. Still, I woke up yesterday with my left arm over my head and no pain from that position. I can say that after a day of work and trying my damnedest to keep it inactive, along with the reminders of every single effing busybody medical expert I work with, I find my shoulder to be rather sore and ready for a night of rest.

I was going to nap when I got home but I decided to wait and just go to bed early. In fact, I could nod off right n..........