It was in July, 2016 that I noticed that climbing some hills and going up the stairs in out house was requiring a lot of exertion. I thought that I was getting out of shape and that I should do more exercise, but then I began to think that this was requiring too much exertion. This was over the span of a few days. so, I called my cardiologist's office and got a quick appointment. He did an EKG and said that maybe I needed a pacemaker. He wanted me to get further evaluation. He said, "The easiest thing is to drive over to the emergency department. That way you won't need an appointment and I'll call ahead so they will be expecting you." Got lost on the way (I followed the GPS) but finally got there. They were expecting me and couldn't understand how I wasn't passed out because my heart rate was 30 bpm. Yes, I needed a pacemaker and now I have one, battery and all.
I have to say, hearing that I needed a pacemaker was a shock because a pacemaker wasn't even in my thoughts when I went to the doctor's office. Psychologically adjusting to the fact that I have one has also been difficult. However, thoughts about that have dimmed somewhat since I added a radiation oncologist to my medical team a few weeks ago. That story will have to wait for another post.
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