I was born with a heart murmur diagnosed as a ventricular septual defect. Other than visits every other year to my cardiologist, it was just a note on my medical history. During my senior year of high school, I often felt dizzy and had a seizure prior to my high school graduation, May 1980. My family doctor referred me to a neurologist, who initially diagnosed me as having epilepsy. At 17-years old, after consulting with a cardiologist and undergoing several tests such as an EKG, EEG, it was discovered that my heart rate was only beating at 28bpm. With my first pacemaker implanted under my right arm, this was to increase my base resting heart rate to70bpm and with the accelerometer feature would respond to activity level via motion sensor in order to raise the heart rate.
My family and I thought of my condition as physically limited—almost disabled. I was advised to refrain from running and exerting myself in athletic activities. Seven years later, while at work, I passed out, to discover the battery in my pacemaker ran out. I was unaware of quarterly maintenance interrogations to validate settings and battery voltage. A new battery was implanted, but several months later I developed a bruising below the incision area. It was diagnosed as an infection leading to a week long hospital stay in the Medical University in Charleston, SC. With the infection, all the hardware came out with new leads and battery replacement. The doctors decided to relocate my pacemaker to my upper left chest under the muscle for cosmetic purposes.
In 1994, due to a jobs and insurance change, I became a patient of Dr. Paul G. Colavita at Sanger Clinic in Charlotte, NC. During discussions of my condition, I reported occasional dizzy spells, and after a heart blockage was discovered Dr. Colavita recommended the dual lead pacemaker with leads in the upper and lower heart chambers to synchronize the heart electrical system firing. Dr. Colavita also encouraged me to be as physically active as I wanted to be, and not to see my pacemaker and heart condition as a limitation. Excited by the prospect of being active again, I decided to start running and cycling, and completed my first marathon in January 1996, several 5k and 10k races and the Multiple Sclerosis -150 charity bike ride in 1997.
In 2000 when the next pacemaker battery change occurred, Dr. Colavita recommended a new type of pacemaker that would enable my heart rate to adjust to its new strenuous physical routines. The Guidant (now Boston Scientific) PULSAR MAX II Pacing System with dual sensor technology. With both the accelerometer and minute-ventilation sensors, the pacemaker can adapt the pacing rate to the patient's changing metabolic demand. Minute ventilation responds to changes in respiration and the accelerometer responds to the patient's activity level.
After this newly discovered boundaries of activity level, two years later, December 2001 while running a half marathon, I felt a bit dizzy and wrote it off as a bad racing day, Later I noticed a bulge in my chest at the pacemaker pocket. A blot clot was discovered and Coumadin blood thinner was prescribed. January 2002, the bulge did not go away as it turned out to be a stapf infection which caused a 12-day hospital stay and undergoing 4 surgical procedures. The procedures included cleaning the infected pacemaker pocket leaving an open wound, implanting a temporary pacemaker then removing the existing pacemaker hardware and implanting new pacemaker and leads.
The infected 4” wound closed in two months, continued Coumadin for 1 year, and trained with a sports physical therapist to focus on regaining upper body range of motion and strength and performing deep tissue massages where the scar tissue developed. In addition, I celebrated my 40th birthday and started yoga practice and swimming lessons to improve upper body mobility.
Despite these setbacks, I refuse to see myself as physically limited, and love the thrill of competing again myself. In March 2003, after one year of healing, I completed a half marathon with a PR finish of 1:42 and the award of2nd place in my age group.
I have discovered training with a heart rate monitor to track exercising in the various heart rate zones. As finding while exerting maximum effort levels I can get my heart rate up to as high as 158bpm. By 2005, I have completed various distant triathlons to include two ½ Ironman Triathlons, 5 road marathons, a trail marathon and a 40 mile Trail Ultra Marathon. In July 2006, with an invitation from Boston Scientific to serve on their “Patient Panel for Quality Days” in St. Paul, MN, which entailed meeting some of the top executives, telling my story in an auditorium of 2000 employees, meeting 4 other incredible pacer device patients and a factory tour of the pacer electrical panels. Due to tracking the serial numbers on my pacemaker, on the factory tour I was able to meet some of the team who constructed my very own pacemaker.
As I continued to train swimming, cycling and running, I enjoy training with my husband and many of my Charlotte friends. Then sponsored by Boston Scientific, Doug and I completed Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY July 22nd, 2007, the ultimate physical challenge of a person that could only get a heart rate of 28bpm 27 years ago. An Ironman consist of 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, all in one day beginning at 7am at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, NY.
I had three goals:
1 – To finish
2 – To finish and not go have to be taken to the medical tent
3 – To finish within 14 hours
My finishing time was 13:59:58.
Written 8/21/07
Fall photos of Doug, Charlie and I on the back porch.
