It was something my sister Lois said, that led me to contemplate all of the medical machinations, operations, and just plain medical issues I have had over the last 19 years. As an aside, I didn't realize it had been 19 years until I just stopped and did some math.
Up until 1992 my health was pretty robust and I had very few health problems. I had just turned 55 in 1991, which was the year that I finally accepted a job with NEC Technologies which was located in McDonough, Georgia. Just 2 years prior to this I had been working for Data General Corporation in Johnston County, North Carolina, until they closed their plant in 1989.
At any rate I had been working for NEC Technologies for about a year when I went into the hospital for an exploratory cardiac examination, which turned out to be open heart surgery involving 6 bypasses. No I hadn't had a heart attack at that point so the operation was extremely successful and I felt one hell of a lot better as a result.
Now for the rest of the story.
For the next 8 to 9 years my health remained pretty good. But some of the people I had to work with were less then desirable, in fact they were SOB's and gave me a lot of grief. I didn't fully realize just how bad it was on my body, but in fact the stress caused me to wind up with 2 heart attacks at work, the second of which caused a 40% loss of heart function. I was told by my doctors that the next time I got carried out of work on a stretcher I would be dead. Their recommendation was that I should retire as in medically because of my heart.
Well! it turns out that NEC was moving the operation to Mexico anyway and thus closing the plant that I decided that retiring was a good idea. I asked the doctors if they would agree with me applying to Social Security 100% medical disability and they said that they would. So I went into my boss and reported that my doctors said I had to go on 100% medical disability.
I have to give NEC Technologies credit for one thing, their benefits package was excellent. So, I applied for and received both short term and long term disability as a result of my bad heart. The result of this was that I received 2/3rds of my salary until the disability insurance ran its course, by the end of which I was finally approved for 100% disability on Social Security.
During all of the time I was on disability I was still on NEC'S medical insurance as was Claudia and Elizabeth until she reached age 23. During 1999 and 2000, when I started disability, I kept having pain in my lower abdomen which turned out to be a hernia, so in 2000 I had a hernia operation. In about 2002 I was diagnosed with Sudden Death Syndrome and my Doctor suggested we install a combination pacemaker/defibrillator, so that if my heart should stop it would be restarted automatically by the defibrillator, to which I agreed. The pacemaker was a passive type that only started pulsing when my heart beat would falter. I kept having problems with what I thought was the pacemaker, only it turned out that a MRSA infection was introduced, either by the device or by the doctors during the operation when installed.
At any rate, I wound up back in the hospital for 2 weeks in isolation and the infection came real close to killing me. The pacemaker had to be removed, a pick line installed under my upper arm clear into my heart, and then pumped full of a mixture of antibiotics for 24/7 for 2 weeks. In the meantime, the wound was kept open with a vacuum pump to keep vacuuming out the infection, and this was also 24/7. Needless to say, I couldn't have any visitors and Claudia was going out of her mind with worry. It was not a fun time for either of us.I did survive this major medical problem and after several months my cardiac doctor asked it I would be willing to have another pacemaker/defibrillator installed. After discussing it with Claudia I decided we would give it another go.
This one was installed on the other side and everything seemed to go well. I recovered and the pacemaker/defib was working per design. I, however, never really felt as good as I should, I kept running a low grade fever, and I didn't have any energy, I was tired all of the time. Which for me was a major set back. This went on for years until 2009, when the water pipe buried under our concrete floor started leaking, causing our water bill to go from $30.00 per month to over $400.00 per month. The leaking was not obvious because the water traveled underground out to the back yard below the patio. When I finally found out where the water was going, I sank into the mud almost 6 inches.
The broken water pipe was the hot water line which ran from the hot water heater in the garage under the concrete floor into the kitchen, then on into the bathrooms in the middle of the house. Well, this entailed enlisting my friend Bob's help. We had to cut into the walls, cut off and cap the pipe going underground then run a new pipe overhead in the crawl space from the hot water heater in the garage over into the kitchen then over between the wall between the two bathrooms.
Our trouble with water wasn't over yet, only a few months later the water line from the street, ran under the garage and into the kitchen, then under the kitchen to the bathrooms. I was outside digging up the yard when I suddenly collapsed with extreme pain in my chest and a fever spiking over 104 degrees. An ambulance was called and I was off to the hospital. The doctors found I had another MRSA infection, again in my heart, and so the pacemaker/defibrillator had to be removed, another pick line and antibiotic pump and vacuum pump had to be installed for 24/7. This time I was sent home after five days with both pumps being carried on my person. I had to go to a lab every other day, to get a fresh bag of antibiotics installed and my vitals checked. It seems that the MRSA infection was sitting in my heart for several years causing my low level fevers and constant tiredness, until I started doing strenuous work causing the MRSA to erupt beyond my bodies ability to cope.
While I was incapacitated my friend Bob and Claudia had to call in a plumber to fix the water problem, which ended up costing us over $3500.00.
Needless to say I did not allow any more devices to be implanted. I will walk around with sudden death syndrome, if I die, I die.
Following this, my eyesight was going out on me. I got so I couldn't drive at night, and I kept putting brighter and brighter light bulbs in so I could read. Here is a link explaining this medical problem: http://victors-journal.blogspot.com/2006/03/to-see-again.html
In April 2008 I had my hip replaced, here is a link to that medical problem, http://victors-journal.blogspot.com/2008/06/follow-up-on-replacement-hip.html
My bad hip caused me to have to purchase a power chair so that I could get around as I really couldn't walk hardly at all. It was paid for by medicare and my supplemental insurance. In the meantime we had to get a power chair for Claudia and we had to pay for it out of our own pocket for another $3600.00.
In 2009 I had rooster comb shots in my left knee trying to keep from having to go into the hospital to have the knee replaced. The shots did help for about 6 months. I wish it were longer. Now here it is the end of 2012 and I really need the knee replaced. I want the doctor that did my hip to do my knee but have been unable to make an appointment to see him. I will try again after the holidays.
On August 31st of this year(2011) I went into the hospital for another major heart operation, this time to open up the front major anterior artery which has been closed for 10 years. This was an experimental operation and was very successful. I do feel better with the increased blood flow to my heart.
As I may have mentioned before, I am going to cardiac rehab exercise 3 times a week and my strength and stamina have improved considerably. I have also lost a considerable amount of weight, forcing me to have to buy new smaller better fitting clothes. Gee! isn't that a problem to have.
All told over the past 5 years I have had 10 angioplasties, and 20 stents, plus the original 6 bypasses on my heart.
Truth to be told, if it weren't for modern medicine, the skill of the doctors, and God's intervention, I wouldn't be alive today.
God Bless us all. from the gahillbilly.
"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"
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