As of Tuesday, June 16th, I am the proud new owner of my newest pet alien, Beldar III.  And it almost didn’t happen.

When my pacemaker/defibrillator alarm sounded on Saturday, May 16th, I knew my batteries were dying and a new device was needed.  I waited until Monday to call the office.  They had me come in that day, knowing that the alarm just sounded for some other reason for surely the batteries wouldn’t die in a little over two years.  Well, sure enough, they were on their way out.  The tech told me she was turning off the daily alarm, but would leave on the ‘end of life’ alarm.  Wait…..what???  Then she clarified ‘end of battery life’ alarm.  Ooohhh.  I was scheduled for Friday, June 12th for outpatient surgery in Murfreesboro with my own cardiologist.

My cardiologist, Dr. Kolli, is associated with Vanderbilt, a renowned heart health hospital.  As he was looking at my test results, he determined that my lead to the left side of my heart was the culprit that was draining the battery life and causing me to have my chest cut open every two years, instead of the more normal five to seven years.  He decided to pass me on to Dr. Estrada, a doc who does lead replacements, as well as device replacements.  I talked to him on the phone–as well as a nurse at my former cardiologist office in Atlanta–and they all assured me that left lead replacement was the way to go.  Dr. Estrada said that he would give my current lead a little tug, and if it didn’t come out easily, he would have Dr. Someone Else do a laser extraction.  mmhm, lasering inside of my heart….fun.  I asked him if he could just leave the old one in as a souvenir and he said he would if I was 90, but not at my age.  But now we need to move to June 16th at  Vanderbilt Medical Center in downtown Nashville.  It would also require an overnight stay.

June 16th, I arrived at 10 AM hungry and thirsty as I was told, with surgery to start around noon.  Every doctor I talked to talked more about what all could go wrong, than what would go right!  They prepped me from my neck to my knees.  I was told by one nurse that Dr. Someone Else always does extractions through the artery in the groin.  Then Dr. Someone Else came to see me and said no, he just runs a line there in case the lasering causes a major bleed and they can pump blood in fast.  Oh, that’s better.  He also said a heart surgeon has to be on standby in case they need to ‘crack me open’.  Nice.

So next was the waiting game.  A few hours passed.  Once, I headed out in the hall to go to the bathroom and my nurse asked me if I needed something.  I replied ‘nope, just heading to the cafeteria to get some lasagna or something’.  He laughed, but I think he kept his eye on me.  Finally, Dr. Estrada showed up and told me I may have to go home and reschedule.  Huh?! No heart surgeon was available to be on standby.  We (Kenn, Ginny, and I) discussed it and decided to wait a while longer.  And it paid off.  At 2:50 PM, they rolled me into surgery.  A nurse informed me that I wouldn’t have general anesthesia, that Dr. Someone Else likes to have the patients revive a bit during lasering to let him know if he is pulling too hard on the lead.  Well, this is getting more exciting all the time!

When I woke up in the OR, one of the first questions I asked was about the current time.  7 PM.  It took a little longer than they thought it would, I was told. And the only thing I remember from the operation was realizing my hands were tied down.  Was I trying to help out??  Was I hitting them??? Anyway, yes on the lasering, no on the extra blood needed, and a big fat no on the need for cracking open.

Now, I am at home, recovering from surgical pain, and learning not to use my left arm very much for four weeks.  I am left-handed, by the way.  I am also not supposed to lift anything over ten lbs. for four weeks.  Krystal weighs 13 lbs.  Oh and here’s the kicker….  There are no guarantees that Beldar III will have a longer life than his predecessors.  Yay.  I make my final payment on Beldar, Jr. (may he rest in peace) the end of June.