Sept 21, 2012 Thoughts

Whew... where to begin.. Angel Med, Isaac, Doctors, Crisis tracker deployment, Doctors, more issues...
So, I guess I will start with today and go backwards?

Today I will have another download of my angel med...meaning all the information that has been collected up to the download point will be read. On my 7-14 day visit, which is when I would find out if my device was turned "on" or "off", a download was done. My device was randomized "off". :( That is part of the study, some are on and some are off. I was disappointed at first, but when Al, told me its helps more with the study and the future of angel med to be "off". my disappointment flew right out the window.

I had a mini stroke in my eye on Sept. 9th. I thought it was an optical migraine, or painless migraine, as I have had them before. I should have known with every characterisitc different and lasting a couple of hours instead of the normal 20 minutes or so, that something was wrong!

On Friday, my two dear friends, Donna and Christina, made me call an opthamologist and go see the doc. I was left with a black bug/tadpole looking area on my eye which moved when my eye moved. (it was my right eye) Wednesday I had an angiogram done on my eyes and its beginning to point to this "stroke" being a cardiovascular event. So today is a download.. Now if my angel med was on would I have been alerted? Is a stroke something picked up by an angel med  device? Or if its from arteries in my neck does it not appear to the angel med? << my thoughts and questions today

On Wednesday, the 26th, I am having an ultrasound done on the arteries of my neck to see if perhaps there is some plaque that broke off and caused the episode.
 

Welcome Ms Endriss Class!!!

I am looking forward to our skype interview during your 8th period on Friday, Sept. 21! See ya'll then.
HUGS!! Leesa

Some ruby throated hummingbirds just stoooed by for nourishment. I m doing really well!

I did not have a storm named #Isaac in my recovery plans! Lol, such is life along the Gulf Coast.

Wondering, do i change name to myangel-med and life after #Isaac? Sure hope not. Prayers to all. Hurricane #Katrina anniversary was 7 yrs ago, 8-29

Having slight reaction to latex bandage-itchy! We were given cloth tape #justincase so cleansing and rebandage now, still sm amt of drainage

I was hoping to update blog with details and pics today but guess i need a bit more heal time before a lot of typing. #angelmed #info4 HUGS!

Left arm sore 2day after first day tweeting too much 4 #Haiti v/ @viequesbound #info4 prayers2all in #Isaac path. #health #heart #angelmed

Wound chk appt went well, minor drainage but AOK. Need to rest now, HUGS!

Going to doctor for dressing change and 48 hour checkup.

Wound care check at 11 am 2morrow, then should have sling off and be able to type with 2 hands. HuGS!

There r many places around us doing angel-med trials. No cost to u. Pls share info with many! Tu

Slept good last nite. Feeling good today. Having coffee and meds. Lol

On my way home, very sore but its over, all went very well, no problems

On my way to hospital. Procedure at 7 CDT. See ya all later, thanks 4 prayers! Via @viequesbound

Going to have tuna helper, fruit and a beer for dinner. Whooohooo! hubby, youngest daughter, Ashley and Mark here for dinner. Hubby cooking, yes!

This is part of an email I sent out to my family, I want to share it with my new family here who are following along with this journey.

As you all know, I have had and do have coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. I have been on at least 8 different blood pressure meds and am allergic to all of them. Its been a very long/dreary summer with on/off/on meds... (i have had to close my shop in June due to health/energy/finances)
In February, 2012, I had my annual stress test and  it showed some issues. My doctor then did an angiogram which showed all to be ok. In January of 2010 I did a stress test which appeared to be ok, and then went on to have an angiogram with the implant of 5 stents. So with that said, my doctor "personally" invited me to participate in this trial. Angel-Med Heart Guardian Device.

Currently there are 450 people in the USA participating with 40 or so in my area who have the angel-med device. The device is approved in Brazil and my doc feels next year we in the US may get FDA approval as well.

My cardiologist, Dr. Dale Presser, is a doctor participating in my area. He feels with my strange body this is the PERFECT device for me and my heart. I have agreed. LOL

Wednesday morning, 7am, Aug22, I am having this device implanted. Its the size of a pacemaker and has a lead to the heart just as a pacemaker does. The risk of complication is 1%. Hardly any procedure has that low of a risk. It involves a 2" incision, just as a pacemaker. I will have a sling on left arm until my wound check appointment 2 days later. The procedure itself takes about 25-30 mins and I will go home the same day.

For a period of 2 weeks I can not lift anything more than the weight of a gallon of milk, my first thought on that was, "Oh, my neck and back will be happy with that!".

At days 7-14 I will return to doc at which time my device will be "randomized", meaning it will be turned off or on. This is a trial and study so its random as to who gets turned on/off. I then have appointment at 1 month, 2 month and 6 months and at 6 month intervals thereafter. Should I not be turned on during the 7-14 day visit, I would be turned on at the 6 month visit.

As well as vibrations, the device has an audio box, the size of a pager that will verbally tell you to "call the doctor" or "go the the ER". The Angel-Med can predict a heart attack 3-4 hours before it actually happens. One man had his device turned on and 4 hours later it told him to go to the ER. He had HUGE blockage. Whew.. lucky him.

My doctor will be implanting an Angel Med into a family member of his in October. That, the benefits to myself and the world at large enabled me to make a very well thought out decision.
I have set up a blog and will be posting to it through out my journey. I hope you all will follow along.

Ashley will be with me on Wednesday and my Calvin may pop in.. this is NOT his area and I am just fine with that.. I know he supports me always in anything I choose to do. :)

I hear the hospital I am going to, Cypress Pointe Hospital in Hammond, LA is awesome!!

One more thing, can anyone run on over and help me clean my messy room? Don"t want to break my back tripping on all my stuff.. LOL

Had bloodwork done, chest xray and ekg. Hospital staff were awesome! On way home now

Good Morning! I am on my way to pick up some survey papers for the trial and then to Cypress Pointe for some pre-op testing. My friend, Allison, is taking me.. Thank God for friends!

Sunday evening thoughts

As the day gets closer to having my implant, I am feeling excited and anxious at the same time.

The actual procedure is 25-30 minutes under local anesthisia! There will be a 2" incision as the device is exactly the same size as a pacemaker. Should I ever need a pacemaker, the angel-med device would be removed and the pacemaker attached to the same leads that are used for the angel med. Cool!
I will return home the same day with my arm in a sling so as not to move it around too much. At my wound check on day 3, the sling will be taken off. For 2 weeks I will not be able to lift any more than a gallon of milk. <<Was a terrific excuse to go ahead and buy a tablet since my laptop weighs in at over 17lbs.

In case you missed my post, my procedure is Wednesday, Aug 22, 2012. Last August 22, Info4Disasters was launched which happens to be my husbands birthday as well!

I have set up a twitter account for this journey @MyAngelMed. My personal account is @viequesbound and I have 2 business accounts. @Info4disasters and @Info4Alerts.

Thank you for following my journey, Living with an Angel-Med Device. 

My name is Leesa and I am 53 years old. Currently I live with my husband, daughter and granddaughter in Louisiana.

2009 I started to feel "blah", lack of any energy, short of breath. In October I made an appointment with a cardiologist, Dr.Dale Presser. 

In Feb. of 2010 I had 5 stents put in. Since that time I have had 2 other angiograms to check on my stents/heart, both of which showed all to be ok. 

During these couple of years, I have had problems with blood pressure meds and tests showing one thing and angiograms showing another. A prefect candidate for an Angel-Med implant. 

I am looking forward to this new journey in my life...helping myself while at the same time helping others who may have the opportunity to participate in this trial. 

My Angel-Med device will be implanted, Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 7am, CDT, at Cypress Pointe Hospital in Hammond, La. My cardiologist is Dr. Dale Presser. Please join me on this journey. More to come over the weekend.