A Pacemaker for Dad

A Letter from Chris to Ryan explaining all about his symptoms and diagnosis…

April 14th -- Do you remember when I passed out last summer in Telluride? The past couple of months I have been having similar symptoms quite frequently, although they have never progressed to completely passing out.  So I finally went and saw a Cardiologist about a couple of weeks ago.  My exam was normal but he ordered a bunch of tests that I have been getting done.  Earlier this week, I was wearing a "Holter Monitor", which continuously records my heart.  They monitor it online through a little cell phone I have connected to it and they gave me a call on Wednesday morning asking me if I was having any symptoms.  My cardiologist then called me a bit later after he reviewed the recording and let me know I have a Mobitz type 2 AV block.  This means the electrical conduit from the 2 atria in my heart down to my 2 ventricles occasionally get blocked and my ventricles don't beat like they are supposed to.  I was thinking there was a good chance this would be the result of the studies because this is exactly the diagnosis that Ashlyn received about 10 years ago requiring her to have a pacemaker.

So as you can guess, I get a pacemaker too.  I am going into the hospital this afternoon to have this done.  Pacemakers have been used for a long time and they are very good.  I am actually going to have a newer device placed.  Normal pacemakers get placed underneath the skin in the left upper chest (and are visible since they are quite large) and they are connected to the heart through 2 or 3 leads that go through the veins into different parts of the heart.  My device is called a "Mitra" and it is a leadless device.  It will be placed directly into my heart muscle at the apex (bottom) of my right ventricle.  They put it there by making a hole in the big vein in my right groin and using long wires and catheters to take it up into my heart and secure it in place.  I will have it done at 4:00 today and it should take about an hour or so.  I will spend the night in the hospital for monitoring and then should be released Saturday morning at about 10:00am.  I need to take it easy for a couple of days, but then should be able to resume my normal activities pretty quickly.

I have done similar procedures as this on dozens of patients through the right groin for different reasons (never to insert a pacemaker in the heart though) so I am very familiar with the procedure.  I am happy to have this new device available (it has only been available for a short time) because it should allow me to maintain my normal active lifestyle.

By the time you get this, the procedure will be done and you will have another update from me on how it all went, but I wanted to send you the details before I went in today.

Thoughts and journaling from me…

We have spent the last several days connecting with friends and family to let them know what's going on. All of them are praying for dad, and have been so thoughtful to help out with the kids this weekend.
Last night Chris asked Jon Jackson and Scott Richins if they would come over and give him a blessing. It was a neat experience and you could definitely tell that the spirit had entered when they started the blessing. After they left, we had a family prayer and dad offered it, getting quite emotional as he talked about how blessed we are to have such good friends who hold the priesthood and again getting emotional when he talked about Ryan and our family, how close we are, and what great relationships we have. We are truly blessed.

We went in to the hospital mid day on Friday.  I was with him as the doctors and nurses came in to explain what would be happening, take his blood pressure, and give him his IVs etc. Below is a picture of what the pacemaker looks like that will be going in his heart.

One of the nurses who is older told him that he was pretty handsome, which I thought was funny. And I agree.  Then they took him back to surgery and I went to a room to wait.  It took longer that they thought, which made me worried.  After awhile they told me that everything went well and he was in the recovery room but I couldn’t see him yet – so I waited some more.  Finally they just let me come in and wait with him.  That pic of Chris is pretty accurate.  He just couldn’t keep his eyes off the monitor watching everything his heart was doing.  FINALLY they moved him to a room upstairs to sleep (or try to) overnight.

Dads email to Ryan and thoughts after his surgery…

April 16th -- My surgery went well.  It was under general anesthesia and not conscious sedation like I originally thought.  That means I was completely out with a tube down my throat breathing for me during the surgery.  It took a bit longer than they thought, which made Mom a bit nervous.  It turns out they had a hard time getting the device in a position that they were happy with.  It took them 4 tries.  As a result of this, I have had quite significant chest pain ever since I woke up.  It has slowly improved over the past 2 days when I am laying still, but it flares up when I move.  It is almost certainly caused by pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart) and I started some new drugs to treat it today.  The device emits some steroids to help the heart heal where they put it, but there are no steroids being emitted at the 3 other sites they tried to put it first and where they certainly caused some damage to my heart.  So I am sure that is the cause of the extra pain.

I also had a really rough first night.  They set the pacemaker device to fire every time my heart rate dropped below 60 beats per minute.  The problem is my normal resting heart rate is slightly below that so that first night it was pacing almost continuously as my heart tried to slow down below 60 bpm and the pacer wouldn't let it.  It was very frustrating.  They came in on Saturday morning and reprogrammed the device to a low of 40 beats per minute, so I have felt much better since then and it has hardly been pacing at all.  I slept for a few hours when I got home from the hospital on Saturday and then slept for about 12 hours last night catching up on my lost sleep.  I have dozed a couple times today as well.  It is nice to know the device works and that the settings can be adjusted to make me comfortable but safe.

They put the device through a very large hole in my right groin through the right common femoral vein.  It is a big hole but seems to be healing ok.  Everything else is going well in my recovery.  Just wanted to give you the complete update.  I will be off work the next couple of days to continue my recovery.

April 23rd -- I have been slowly recovering from my surgery.  I have had a couple of complications.  First the bad case of myocarditis/pericarditis that has now almost completely resolved.  Then my leg started hurting me more so I did an ultrasound on Thursday and I have a blood clot that has developed in the big vein they used to place the device.  So now I am on blood thinners for at least 3 months to make sure that clot goes away and doesn't cause other problems.  Frustrating, but it will be ok.  I am moving around better and tolerating work and my normal activities better.  I went back to work on Wednesday and was in a lot of pain by the end of the day.  Thursday and Friday were a little better.  This weekend I was at National Guard and felt better still so I am still recovering slowly but surely.

Well Wishes from friends and family through texts and Instagram:

• Jared Chugg: Dang.  Good to know the episodes are due to something that has a great treatment.  Will be praying for you.  Let us know when you’re through it.
• Brian Breinholt: Praying for you.  All will go well and you’ll be on the links again soon.
• Doug White!  Ahhh!!!!!  bless you.  Good luck.
• Adam and Marilee Christofferson:  Hope all is well!  We are a bit stunned by it all, as I’m sure you guys are too but so grateful Christ went in to get checked!!  We love you and will remember Chris is our prayers.
• Jenny Brinton: Oh boy! I’m sorry to her this. I hope the pain goes away quickly and his heart can function a lot better now.
• Aunt Susan Redford: Our thoughts and prayer are with you for a speedy recovery!
• Chip Cook: Chris – so sorry to hear, but glad the docs figured it out and you’re headed in the right direction!  So glad you caught it.  Get well soon!
• Sarah Walton: Praying he feels better soon, and that he can live a healthy active life!!  Love you guys.
• Katie Budge: Oh man – so sorry to hear this.  Prayers for a speedy recovery!!
• Ashley Burr: Oh my.  I’m so sorry to hear this.  Glad he’s home though and glad you’re being buoyed.  And super glad you both are smart enough to take symptoms like this seriously.
• Leah Russel: So grateful for modern medicine and good doctors.  Hope you are feeling better soon, Chris!  We love and miss you guys!
• Elisa Sangren: Oh wow Lisa!! My heart hurts for him.  I’m so glad you guys found this and are working on getting him to a good place.  Prayers that he starts feeling better and this pacemaker works wonders.  Hope he can take it easy and heal quick!
• Michelle Egbert: Thanks for the update!!
• Ashley Burrup:  Wow!  Prayer for you guys and a speedy recovery.  That is always scary. 
• Jamie Chiara: Yikes that's scary!  Hope he has a quick recovery and glad he’s home getting well!
• Terri Brienholt: Glad he’s home!!! Prayers for us guys!!
• Jared Chugg: So good to hear you’re home.  Have wanted to call or text but don’t want to interrupt much needed rest.
• Hilary Shirley: Oh Lisa, how worrisome.  Prayers for you two and glad they got him taken care of quickly.
• Shelley Johnson: You’re still so cute, even lying in a hospital bed!
• Brittany Peterson: Love and hugs from us in Charlottesville.  Rest and heal Chris!!
• Lori Kolberg: So scary.  So glad you are on the mend.
• Adri Murdock: Oh my goodness!  That is scary! So glad they caught it and he is on the mend!
• Monae Starbuck: I’m so sorry! So glad they figured it out and he was able to get the surgery quickly  Pryaers for you both!  Love you guys.
• Dianne Taylor: That is scary stuff!  Heal fast!
• Ingrid Baron: Wow, praying for a speedy recovery.
• Jill Jacobs: Glad to hear he’s doing ok… our prayers for you Chris!!
• Lanni Beardall: Oh my goodness, so glad they caught it in time, hop for a quick and successful recovery
• Jess Gillespie: Oh my Lisa! Sending prayers and virtual hugs to you and your family!  Hope he feels better soon.
• Saralynn Campbell: Wowza.  So glad you were smart and inspired to get help!  So glad to hear he’s recovering and doing well.  We love you all!
• Valeni Witbeck: So glad he is getting help!  Thanks for sharing.
• Sharee Johnson: Give Chris my love.  He is a special nephew, and I’m grateful for modern technology.
• Brenda Lyman: Thinking of you.  Hope he feels better soon.
• Emily Dastrup: Wow, Lisa.  I’m so glad he’s on this side of the surgery.  He will be in our prayers.
• Heidi Nelson: Oh my.  How scary!!  Hugs and prayers!!
• Wendy Johnson: Prayers and hugs.  Heal quick and well.  Thinking about all of you.
• Jennifer wyeth: So glad he was on top of it!