ZAPPER Update for March 13th

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ZapUpdate

March 13th 2000

Greetings Everyone!

We love to get and publish YOUR strories. The response of our recent articles on young people has been heart warming. If you have a story to share, email me! We have one more of those in the pipeline and will put it on line toward the end of the month. This issue's story comes from one of our loyal "Electric Kangaroos" ph Baum. Not only does Joe not let his ICD slow him down, he's hitting the road on a bicycle to raise money to fight another kind of health problem. We'll have that in a moment.

First, I want to share a note with you from the head of the EP lab where I was diagnosed and became a candidate for membership in our growing club.

Many of you have met Makal, R.N., during the several ZAP•CHATs in which he has taken part. He writes, saying:

I have been offered, and accepted a seat on the Medtronic nurse advisory board concerning education and ICDs. My first meeting will be in April. Here is your chance to hopefully get concerns dealing with patient education heard. Let me know any thoughts you or your readers may have.

You can get in touch with via his email address at Morton-Plant-Mease Hospital in Clearwater: john.makal@... or call him at (727) 298-6036.

I commend Medtronic for having this program and think having taking part is great as he has shown a high level of sensitivity to his patients' feelings as well as medical needs. Next step: Get people on the panel who have these built-in EMS crews! Then, some family members of ICD recipients would provide another valuable perspective.

Now... Here's Joe...

Pedaling for Good Health by Joe Baum

Allow me to tell you a bit about my background. I am 48, married 23 yrs, two kids ages 16 (daughter) and 13 (son). By profession I am a 26 yr. veteran industrial arts teacher teaching high school aged students in Philadelphia, PA. My specialties include mechanical drawing, photography, and computers.

My hobbies include long distance bicycle riding ( I ride for the American Cancer Society annual Bike-A-Thons), hope to do MS rides as well ( my all time dream is to ride cross continent when I retire, I love computers, I build model kits aircrafts (I already have a collection of about 125 built, all displayed in my hobby room, with many, many more to be built), photography (my hobby room is my darkroom), play the trumpet - love music, and am an avid archer (not bowhunter - I shoot paper targets).

Health wise, I had, and still have my share of health problems. In 1971, when I was 19, I was involved in a bad automobile accident. A person jumped a red light. I was brought to the hospital DOA, but was revived. I suffered numerous fractures, and am presently a candidate for total knee and hip replacements. The doctors keep telling me I am too young for total joint replacements. They want me to wait to be at least 55. It is very difficult to do.

In 1982 I had the gall bladder removed. In 1992 I was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma). I went through the usual regiments of treatments to combat the desease, and am currently doing the treatments at home using UVA light traetment. It is the type of UVA radiation eminated from the sun causing skin cancer. So I have to be careful when exposing myself to the outdoors.

On New Years eve, 1998, I felt ill, with sysmptoms of the flu. After 4 days of no improvement, my wife drove me to the ER, and as soon as the vitals were taken, all hell broke lose. She was escorted to a waiting area, and I was deffibrillated 5 times. I was in V-Tach with a heart rate of 250!!!!

My wife tells me while she waited, a female minister came in to comfort her. It was like the world came crushing down on her!!!! But the minister calmed her down quickly informing her about my survival and condition. You can imagine my wife's reaction to the minister's visit. Going on.......I was of course admitted, and a week later had my first ablation attempt. It was not successful, and I ended up with a 2 1/2ft. long blood clot in my left leg, my bad leg, the one that requires the knee and hip replacement. That was an exteremely painful period. Here, too, I was put on the normal regiment of Coumodine and Sotalol. Eventually I overcame that obstacle, and bounced back. That summer my son rode his first bike-a-thon, while it was my second ride for the ACS, on Coumodine and Sotalol, and blood clot. We made it!!!!! Took 6 1/2 hours, but we completed it!!! In November, just before Thnaksgiving, and planning on returning to work, I suffered another setback. Kidney stones. Another painful experience requiring a couple of procedures, and a stent. And within 4 weeks I was back to as normal, and in Januray 1999 I returned to work. I was out for a full year of medical situations. Thank goodness for medical insurance.

Everything went well, until Dec. 6, 1999. I started to feel ill at school, and couldn't wait to get home. At 10:30pm things didn't improve, my wife came up to the bedroom, thought my leg was hurting me, but at 12:30am, I finally conceded I needed for her to get the ambulance. Within 5 minutes they arrived. My heart rate was 210. I was fully conscious and awake when they shocked me, twice. Now, that was painful!!!!! Since that didn't work, I was rushed to the ER where I was defibrillated a third time at 300 joules, fully awake!!!!!! 'Till today I still have phantom shocks. An ICD was implanted on Dec. 8. A second attempt at ablation was done, unsuccessfully. So, I am currently on Plavix and Verapamil, and a daily pill of aspirin. Took me a while to bounce back. This episode was a real trip!!!

So, in a nut shell, you have a history of me. I still ride the bike, but not the streets as I once did. At least not as often. My last ride was to the cardiologist for a check up. I came home and down with pnemonia. Yestarday was my last pill of the antibiotic. I am hoping to get back to riding soon, as soon as weather improves.

Which brings me back to yesterday's request: Since I ride for the ACS, I am also hoping to find rides for the AHA, I would like people to support me. It's not the money that I am raising necessarily, it is the faith and support I get from people who believe in me. For someone with all my problems, to go out and do what I do, I am proud of myself. And I appreciate the support I get, not just from family and friends, but from total strangers, people I have never met. Last year my son and I raised over $850 for the ACS. We joined a team, the Jon Forman Team, and it such a wonderful feeling!!!!

The ride is NOT a race. It is an event. Between 4,000-5,000 people sign up for the ride. It starts at the base of the Ben lin Bridge in Philadelphia, and ends at Mays Landing, NJ. It is a distance of approximately 77 miles. Should you be interested, visit the web site 2000 ACS Bike-A-Thon, or contact me. If you would care to join our list of sponsors, it would be greatly appreciated. I hope to hear from you.

Thanks Joe... To reach him... and support his fund raising efforts, EMail him at Abbshelanu@...

Please stay well everyone.....

Duffey,

Zapper Publisher