Dual-Chamber Pacemaker for my son...

Permanent – dual chamber Pacemaker for my young son (21 years)who is/was a professional rugby player...


I don’t know where to start, because I’m still in shock!!

How do you handle the news that your young vibrant son who is extremely strong, handsome, a gentle giant and with a body to die for; must now accept the inevitable and live with a surgical implanted electronic device that regulates his cardiac arrhythmia for the rest of his life ????

How??

His story began in September 2007.
It happened during a provincial rugby game when he encountered breathing problems 20 minutes into the game.
The coach/biokineticist wouldn’t allow him to leave the field, and kept on saying, another 15 minutes, just keep going, you must get game fit!!! (Which he was)


Eventually he left the field on his own accord claiming he sprained his ankle and as he entered the tunnel he lost consciousness.
He was hospitalized in ICU at St. Augustine’s.

According to the Medics at hand at the rugby stadium, they thought it was an Asthma attack.


He saw 3 Pulmonologists, who said it's asthma related. He was on Singulair and Symbicord for a couple of months, but his health didn’t improve.
He was always complaining of fatigue.


Since then he saw 3 cardiologists who said his heart is fine, after ECG’s and heart scans etc. He saw his first cardiologist in 2000 when he was in grade 8
and went for regular check ups after that, as a precautionary measure,
but this entire group failed the grade!! Not one picked up anything!!


He is a super fit athlete with a heart rate of 45 - 49 and with the normal sport enlarged heart. His heart is 100% according to all the cardiologists.


He continued playing rugby but was really battling with fatigue and breathing problems. He couldn’t play the full 80 minutes.
However he was still under contract and his rugby coaches still expected him to train and participate in games; treating him like there’s nothing wrong with him!!
And he tried, oh, how he tried!
For the love of the game; I don’t know where he summoned the strength from!
He did finish the 2007 season.


Needless to say, that since then, he hasn't played any rugby.
However, he kept training in the gym every single day.
That is his normal routine day in and day out.


There are no planned December holidays in his vocabulary.
Training always was and still is his number one priority.
That’s his life style.


According to his last cardiologist report, it is this rigid training regime that kept him alive, when his heart rate dropped so low!
(The same one who didn’t pick up anything on his ECG monitoring, multi stage treadmill tests, etc, etc, etc.)

They see this healthy young athlete and FULL STOP!! He is fine!!


Since February 14, 2008, he suffered from severe sleep apnea
and his whole situation just got worse!!!!

He was literally trying/fighting to stay alive through the night with
a heart rate dropping to 30……………….


Before his diagnoses he was prescribed sedatives and antidepressants, which he threw away. He got so agitated when nobody would listen to him or believed him. The one local physician even advised him to see a psychologist, which really got him angry!!!!!!


After wearing a Holter monitor ECG (It automatically records your heart’s activity for a 24-hour period which provides an extended look at your heart rhythms) -
Which my son insisted on!
Then only, was he diagnosed with SA Node - sick sinus syndrome - Bradycardia and not Asthma!!! They think it’s congenital/or it could have been a flu virus??

"They don't really know"!!!

My son could have died in his sleep!!


And then everything just roller coaster!!
We heard the news the Tuesday evening (2008-04-08) and on Wednesday morning (2008-04-09) he was in ICU and the implant was done on the Thursday (2008-04-10) at St. Augustine’s Hospital.

He is recuperating at home now and being a health/exercise freak/fanatic he is back in the gym, but it’s still uphill at this stage………


Now it’s over and done and we still have all these unanswered questions???

A 21 year old with a permanent pacemaker!

Any advice or input?????