Surgery Update

I will be heading to Duke on Wednesday for my pre-op anesthesia consult and having surgery for my AICD implantation on Thursday, I will know specific times on Monday once the operating room scheduler calls me with all the details. So basically I will have the best of both worlds with an AICD; a pacemaker and defibrillator in one unit. As long as everything goes according to plan I will be discharged from the hospital on Friday. I will not be able to lift for 6 weeks so I will be resting as much as I can so that my recovery will go as smoothly as possible.
An AICD is a device that monitors a person's heart rate. They are generally implanted into heart failure patients. The device is programmed to perform the following tasks: speed up or slow down your heart, depending upon the heart rate. The AICD gives your heart a shock if you start having life threatening arrhythmias or an abnormally high heart rate. Arrhythmias occur when your heart does not beat normally. Some arrhythmias can cause the heart to completely stop beating. The shock given by the AICD can make the heart start beating normally again. An AICD can also make your heart beat faster if your heart is not beating fast enough. The surgery I will be having is called Implanted Cardiac Device Lead Extraction. Years after implantation, some cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator leads (wires) may need removal or replacement by extraction. This is because implanted cardiac devices (pacemakers and or ICD's) can be subject to infection, malfunction, or fracture. Removing implanted leads is potentially risky and offered only at a small number of medical centers -- many fewer than those offering implantation of these systems. Similar to other procedures, volume matters in terms of success and freedom from complications. Duke has among the highest volume of cardiac lead extractions with laser or other technology in the Southeast.

About 95 percent of patients have their leads removed without the need for open-heart surgery. Duke has an interdisciplinary program in lead extraction using the only hybrid operating room in North Carolina offering state-of-the-art x-ray fluoroscopy in a fully equipped open heart operating theater.
I am very confident in my doctors and surgeons and know that I am in the best of hands. As with any surgery, there is always anxiousness and the fear of the unknown but I can honestly say I am ready to have the surgery and have complete faith in God and know that everything will work out for the best. Thank you for all your love, prayers and support. I really appreciate all of you! I will definitely be keeping all of you updated!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Surgery Update

Tomorrow is my surgery consultation with Dr. Kanter. Right now my surgery date for the pacemaker battery replacement and possible defibrillator implantation is February 15th. I will have my pacemaker checked tomorrow to be sure the battery will last until the surgery date. I will keep everyone updated once I know more. Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support!

Learn to appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had!

I am a work in progress.....

Everyone has their own way of dealing with life and the everyday struggles we all encounter. Some people take their frustrations out on a pillow, others scream out loud, for some it is yoga, or working out at the gym. But me, I write. I don't write to see how may "likes" or "comments" I get. I write because it is my way of releasing all of the emotion I have inside of me. I appreciate everyone who reads what I write, but if no one was reading what I wrote I would still write anyway! It is my therapy. You might say, well write in a journal, write it in a letter and tear it up, you don't have to share it with everyone, and that is your opinion. I choose to believe that God has placed me on this earth for a reason, a purpose and that by me sharing, I might help another, and they might help another, as the cycle goes. I am a real, honest, person. Yes, I have my good and bad days just like everyone else, but 99% of the time you are going to get the same Danielle, every time we meet. While I was born with a congenital heart defect that has followed me into my adult life and yes, I have been coined "disabled" and the disease at times is disabling, I will not for one second stop living! Every night when I go to bed I pray. I always pray that God will help me to be more like Jesus, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone I meet! I want to show love, respect, mercy and try to give hope to those I see everyday whether or not I get it in return. Call me crazy, but I love helping other people. I don't do it to get something in return or to hear everyone say "wow, she is so nice". It is in my make-up! I am not ashamed of where I came from, my family, or anything that I have been through. I would live the same life over again if I could. All of this has made me who I am. Who am I, you might ask?? I am Me! God made Me and there is nothing more I could be more grateful for!

Finally an Answer

I spoke with Dr. Kanter at Duke this morning. As it turns out I am not a candidate for the bi-ventricular pacemaker. The amount of desynchronization in my ventricles is only mild so the benefit does not outweigh the risk. A positive is I won't have to have my chest cracked open. I will only need to have my pacemaker battery replaced and a defibrillator implanted. Dr. Kanter will speak to Dr. Greene (my local pediatric cardiologist) next Thursday when he is in town seeing patients at Dr. Greene's office and I should know more than, as far as a date for my pacemaker battery/defibrillator to be replaced. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and love!


H = Have
O = Only
P = Positive
E = Expectations

Attitude is Everything

Just a quick little update. I am still waiting to hear from Duke regarding my surgery being scheduled. I called last week but my doctor was out of town at a conference so I have not heard back yet! Also, on Tuesday I noticed my weight was creeping up, I was having swelling and more shortness of breath than usual. So for the next couple of days I took an extra fluid pill. Well even with taking the extra fluid pill for a few days everything was getting worse and when I weighed on Thursday morning I was up 11 pounds from my normal weight. I called my pediatric cardiologist that morning and being that they are so FABULOUS, they worked me in to see the doctor. The doctor put me on a different fluid pill through the weekend and I can say that as of tonight I am down 10 pounds and feeling much better :-) 


Every struggle in your life has shaped you into the person you are today. Be thankful for the hard times; they can only make you stronger!

Practicing Patience

After having my tests done at Duke on October 20th and waiting a couple of weeks for the results, Dr. Kanter called to let me know that one of the tests was not done correctly so I had to go back last Friday to have the test redone. So now we are just waiting for the results. They let me know at Duke there are only two physicians who can actually read and interpret the test so it could take a little while for the results. But I am hoping we will hear something soon so the surgery can be scheduled. Thank you all for the prayers, love and support. I really appreciate all of you! 


We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. ~ Helen Keller

Testing, Testing 1, 2....

I had my appointment with Dr. Kanter on Thursday and he agreed with Dr. Greene that it is definitely time for my pacemaker battery to be changed out. Kanter thinks I am going to be a great candidate for the Bi-ventricular pacemaker. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/cardiac-resynchronization

I have to go to Duke next Thursday the 20th to have two tests done. I need to have a resting MUGA scan and an echocardiogram. A resting MUGA scan (gated blood pool imaging) uses an ECG machine while imaging my heart. The result of the scans is a movie of my beating heart, which will allow my physician to assess how well it is pumping blood.When I arrive for my appointment, I will receive an injection that will allow the radioactive tracer to "hook" into my blood. About 20 to 30 minutes after this injection, a small vial of blood is withdrawn and allowed to mix with a radioactive tracer. About ten minutes later, my blood, with the radioactive tracer, is injected back into my body. Then, four images of my heart will be taken. 

After the results of the tests are back, Dr. Kanter can schedule the surgery. The surgery will be done at Duke Medical Center. This will be an invasive procedure due to them having to cut my chest open. I will keep everyone updated as we go along! Thanks so much for reading and keeping myself and my family in your prayers!

Hope is necessary in every condition. ~ Samuel Johnson