I shouldn't have mixed two types of information into one message.  I think I
told people on the list last August, but you may have been gone.

I went into a local hospital (checked myself into the Emergency Room at 5
AM) with what the nurse called an "interesting-looking" EKG.  I had been
having trouble breathing, and was reaching the point where I could only
sleep an hour or two each night, because the breathing was almost impossible
when I was lying down.  This is congestive heart failure, where fluid
escapes from the heart and surrounds the lungs, creating almost a drowning
feeling.  They give you Lasix, which makes your kidneys work harder in order
to get some fluid out of your body.

After some tests, they said that my ejection fraction was 15 or 20 percent
(normal is 50 to 70 percent).  I had a "left branch bundle block" which is a
nerve condition which causes no communication between the left atrium and
the left ventricle.  Thus, the left ventricle would fire whenever it felt
like, and the heart had to work much harder than it needed to, causing it to
weaken and enlarge.

On day 5 they installed a three-lead pacemaker for "cardiac
resynchronization therapy".  This is the first surgery I had ever had.  I
woke up and said I was dreaming about transmitting somewhere outside the
six-meter band.  The technician, from the Phillipines, was a ham, so he knew
what I was talking about, even if I was a little delirious.

This pacemaker installation is an out-patient procedure, believe it or not,
and they sent me home the next day.  After some adventures with Lasix, I was
able to go back to work on August 13 or so.  My ejection fraction is now
somewhere around 30 or 35 percent, which is sub-normal, but not bad.

So I hope I will be around for a while longer.
73,
Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Phil Scovell
> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 6:54 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Reply to Lloyd and others interested
> 
> ?Lloyd,
> 
> I hadn't heard this about your heart situation.  I'm assuming you are
> still
> able to work and how are things going physically as a result of this
> otherwise?  I'm sure others on the list would like to know, too.
> 
> Phil.
> [log in to unmask]
> WWW.RedWhiteAndBlue.ORG