connecting*the*dots

I haven’t posted in a while and there’s no real reason, but here’s an uplifting update:

My specialist (cardiologist) sent me to a super specialist (another cardiologist) and he finally shed some light on my fainting/strange EKG situation.

It didn’t sound too good.

Ever hear of Reggie Lewis? Lewis played for the Celtics and died on the court after numerous fainting spells AND after his doctor (the head doctor of the NBA) gave him the green light to return to the court. The first thing my new doctor mentioned when I walked in the door was Lewis.

Now, that sounds bad, and it very well could be, but at least I can now take some precautions. One is to make sure i have the right mineral supplements in my diet (I’m getting in touch with a nutritionist this week). The second is to potentially have minor surgery to monitor the activity of my heart. Check out these details:

Five years ago, Medtronic released its first implantable monitor for people with mysterious fainting spells. Though a niche product for the giant maker of pacemakers and defibrillators, it was a breakthrough, giving doctors far more data about effects on a fainting person’s heart. Two product generations later, Medtronic has sold more than 25,000 of the 2-inch-long monitors, which weigh just a few grams. They’re placed in a person’s pectoral muscle, sometimes for just a few days, and track heart activity in a 42-minute loop. When a person recovers from a fainting incident, he or she stops the monitor. A doctor or nurse can then retrieve the data with a special radio receiver, and restart the loop.

My fainting spells have been few and far between, so I may have this implant for a while until the next one, but it sounds like it’s worth it. The last time I passed out… I really think I might have passed over. Coming to was like trying to turn over a car in the middle of winter. Gha gha gha… gha gha gha… gha gha gha… I was either going to “flood” my engine and stay out for good, or come to and get back to the living. It was some fucking scary shit.

Okay, gotta go and contemplate world hunger and terrorist bombings. Eh.