The Wound Appointment...

..was not an experience that lends itself to much humour or matters of interest. The tape over the incision had mostly stayed on, although I had showered each day, and the doctor--the surgeon who placed my 'device'--whipped off the remainder with an obviously well-practiced flick of his wrist. Apart from that, it was more a session of warnings and advice, although he did take my blood pressure (high--white coat syndrome) and listen to my heart and lungs, remarking that as a cardiologist he was obliged to touch the patient. We talked about 'twiddling' the device, and he said 'yes, avoid twiddling: sometimes we get patients who swear they have never fiddled with their pacemakers, but when we x-ray them the things have been turned upside down and the electrical leads are all tangled up: 'but, no, Doctor, I never touch it.'"

Let's have a look at the wound, shall we? What was that I said in an earlier post about narcissism and the urge to show scars.

"Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scar and say--this wound I had on the thirteenth of April" (Shakespeare, Henry V, amended).

And the picture does show the little bulge where the pacemaker is sitting. I must say it looks more like a pack of cards than a matchbox.

What else did we learn (Joan asks a lot of good questions). Exercise: be as energetic as you like as regards your heart rate, but wait at least until a month is up until you start with swimming, tennis, golf, weight-lifting--anything that involves your arm--even cycling up hills because you pull with your arms on the handlebars.

He did advise against going through magnetometers at airports ("I wouldn't do it: show them your card"). I asked if my pacemaker had a "patient notifier" that would play a tune or ring a bell if the device malfunctioned: answer--"No, and you are better off without that feature."

The next step is the Interrogation Appointment in two weeks' time. This does not mean I am going to be water-boarded or have my finger nails pulled out. A technician will talk to the device, and interrogate it--that is, ask it what it has been up to, how's it making out in there in the dark, how much it has had to work to keep the heart rate up, and how much of the battery has been used.

                                         Another view: not a pretty sight, but clean and neat.