They got me excited this morning...don't eat anything, your on the schedule for your ICD implant today!! Whoohoo, maybe I could start thinking about home. Reminds me when we heard that word for the first time with Payton. Perhaps I should post a blue bird on my dry erase board :).
Alas, it was a tease. I spent the day navigating visitors, turning other visitors away (especially the ones that I hope to maybe see once I got home that night...sigh. I should have known. One step forward, two steps back.
Still, today wasn't a total wash. My old OB came up for a brief visit and put a bug in my ear about speaking with the surgeons about placing the ICD under my breast muscles rather than up near the collar bone. I was now on a mission to minimize the visibility of my ICD and fight for my right to let my vanity dictate some of my medical decisions...decisions I had very little control over. So this was right up my alley of being a worth cause.
Also, some of the heart literature I had been reading talked about how its well known that men get preferred treatment over men for heart related issues. So this 'new idea' (new to me, not so new I'm sure to others familiar with ICD implants) was going to be me playing my part in paving the path for women to have higher expectations in their treatment.
Alas, when I finally sat down with the resident and asked my question about the placement of the ICD, his response was that it was a slightly higher risk. I balked...I don't need more risks in life. Still, he said its definitely something we can review for my procedure, brushed off the increased risk making me feel like this was a valid and worth request, and as such it will be discussed with the surgeon as an option.
Did I mention there was no ICD surgery that day? Oh yes I did, the Argentine shuffle...
Anyway, the day in the hospital wasn't a total wash. I also met one of the team members from the BC Inherited Arrhythmia Program in regards to the possibility that my condition is caused by ARVC. Despite the fact that the biopsy results are not yet back she wanted to initiate the discussion and get the ball rolling on some of the things since there is such a lag time. If the results show no sign of ARVC she can easily cancel any request without issue but this way we are expediting the process ASAP. I won't delve too much on what we discussed simply because its a lot of information that may have absolutely no bearing on me depending on the biopsy results.
Today I also finally got my signal-average ECG. No surprising results there, rather it simply confirmed what they were already looking at.
As for tomorrow, I have been given a 90% chance that my ICD surgery will take place. I have been given a small chance that this will result in me going home tomorrow...more likely, if the surgery takes place tomorrow, I'll be home on Thursday barring no complications and my ICD isn't a lemon.
PS - I'm still feeling well.
No comments:
Post a Comment