ICD

My dad is having surgery today. He is having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator "installed" in his chest. His heart likes to beat really fast in little bursts (called tachycardia = heart arrhythmia). It feels like skipped beats, but really it's many beats. In most people, this is not a problem, but in someone like my dad whose heart is running on only about 30% of its muscle (the rest of the thing is not working anymore), it can be life-threatening. The ICD is supposed to sense when the heart gets "off" and if it's bad enough, will give it a little jolt of electricity. Evidently it can be so gentle you may not feel it or it could feel like being kicked in the chest by a mule.

Today is one of those days where I deeply regret living 900 miles away from my parents. I miss them very much and wish I could be there to make them smile...and take care of the dogs while my mom stays at the hospital. I think she's more worried about them being home alone all day than she is about my dad.