My old machine

Those of you who read my pacemaker post  get a special treat today.  After my surgery, my nurse came in with a plastic bag and said "I thought you might like to see what we took out of you."

Yup!  That's my old pacemaker.  Presumably there's another one that looks a lot like it back in my body.  Actually, just under the skin up by my collarbone.  At least my heart is still beating and it wouldn't be if they'd forgotten to insert the new miracle machine.

Like a bird on the wire

 30 degrees when I went out to buy a paper this morning.  It appeared the birds were trying to warm up their wings before flying.

This bird has been flying for some time.

Thanksgiving 2010

I probably have more to be thankful for today than on many other days.  Yesterday, I checked into a hospital and spent about 5 hours having my heart pacemaker replaced.  (Actually probably only an hour or two in surgery.)  The old (3-1/2 years) one's battery had gone down far enough to require the new machine.  As one of the nurses told me, they can't recharge them.  That had to do with my telling the nurse about my first pacemaker.  I was in surgery, scrubbed and shaved and hooked up and about ready to go when one of the technicians said "We can't do this!"  Everyone else looked at him in wonder and he said the pacemaker they were about to install in my frame had a very low battery.  Apparently it had been sitting on a shelf somewhere and didn't keep its charge.  That would not have been a good deal for me so they sent me home with instructions to return in a week.

My introduction to pacemakers came after I was visiting my primary care doctor and her nurse couldn't find my pulse!  The doctor ordered an electrocardiogram and, after reading the results, came in and told me I was in atrial fibrillation.  To put it simply, that's an irregular heart beat that can result in strokes and . . . death!

She sent me to a cardiologist who put me through a number of tests before determining that I needed a pacemaker.

People ask if I have a lot more energy since I got it.  No.  Possibly because I have never, to this day, had any symptoms of my heart disease.  Actually, I have less energy these days but I attribute that to getting old(er) and the sedentary life to which I've become accustomed.

At any rate, I found that getting the pacemaker replaced was a piece of cake.  Didn't take long.  All I have is a compression bandage where the doctor sliced and stitched me back up and no pain at all.

Modern medicine continually amazes me.

Fall has fell

If you double click on the photos, you can get a better look at what I have to clean up!

A smoky day

I don't know whether this was a fire caused by nature or a careless camper or a tossed cigarette . . or whether it was what we call in Arizona "a controlled burn".  But it certainly caused a lot of smoke in the area.  By the way, for those who might be concerned, I did take the photo through the windshield of my car but I was stopped at a traffic light.  Don't worry!

Sweet light

Wrigley's day out

Come on, I've posed for your camera but I'm ready now.

Let's go to the Dog Park!

Hey!  The gang's all here!

I tellya . . there is just so much stuff to sniff here.

Wrigley loves to go to the dog park.  Yes he does.