Jenny-Adjustments

I finally got to see our new house today!!! Two weeks ago it didn't have grass and wasn't painted.  It's amazing what two weeks, sod, and a construction crew can get done!  It's finished and we move in a few weeks.  I am so excited to be moving on in our new life, in our new town.  It's pretty exciting.  Ava's new school is incredible and brand new. We signed her up for school this week and I can walk her to school in the mornings.  I don't know why this sounds like fun but I thought it would be a great time for me to talk to the kids in the morning and afternoon and get in some extra exercise! Looks like we are starting off the school year right.  Our family is doing great and we love our new town.  Miss all our friends from League City and hope to see everyone soon! Glad we had our new house to think about because it's been a pretty boring recovery.

I've spent the past week and a half sitting in my bed watching tv because my pacemaker wasn't set up correctly.  I've watched more tv then I care to admit the past month.  I'm stocked full of Orange is the New Black, (OITNB if you're cool) ,Breaking Bad, and Dexter.   I can't think of any more movies to watch and I'm really really sick of the apartment.  I also really miss our awesome friends and neighbors at our old house.  My friend Brian always helped me rehab from the surgeries and now he's too far away to walk with me!!! Hey Brian!!  I don't know any people at the apartment and it's too quiet around here during the day.

My pacemaker is setup exactly the way it was before but for some reason I needed it changed.  It might be because when we installed the new lead we had to connect it to a different location of my heart. I was going to wait until my 2 week checkup next week but decided that I couldn't wait any longer.  My cousin was kind enough to spend half her day with me going to the pacemaker clinic. Whoo Hoo for amazing cousins! My rate response setting wasn't right and I was suffocating in the car, with a really fast heart rate like I was running full speed with a heart rate of 150 while sitting. Taking a shower is also making me speed up too fast. It's not awesome. The tech said the water hitting my device is making it think I'm working out and speeding up my heart/breathing.  Dang this thing is sensitive! Guess I'll be taking showers backwards.

So we walk in and meet Robert, who looked exactly like Hank from Breaking Bad!  Yep, I'm definitely watched too much tv!  I explain my dilemma of not being able to laugh, sneeze, or walk without panting like a dog.  I should videotape one of these pacemaker adjustment meetings because they are freaking hilarious.  As the device is draped over your shoulder you have about a 3 foot area to move attached to the computer.  So you have to recreate what pisses off your pacemaker in that area!  Every surgery is different and I get new problems.  Last week I couldn't turn left, now laughing is a huge problem. I proceeded to get hooked up the machine and fake sneezed, did my trademark wiggle move, and fake laugh really hard so that "Hank" can see how messed up my settings were.  I thought about barking just to throw him off and see if he laughed but I resisted the urge. It's pretty funny to watch and definitely not how the older pacemaker users conduct their pacemaker tests.

"Hank" understood what I was trying to accomplish and helped me figure out a way to make it happen.  So he made some changes and I felt the pressure taken off my neck immediately so I could breathe.  It's actually pretty miraculous Steffanie and I ran around the building, jaunting through hallways, running through calwalks while I waved one arm in the air, wiggled and fake coughed.  I've lost all sense of modesty and decorum at this point and it's only about getting the settings adjusted.  So I ran around the building for 15 minutes and figure out if the new settings are going to be okay. It's hard to tell immediately and you actually really need to try out new settings for about  week before you really know.

You can tell when you get a really good tech because his first statement to me was, "Wow, you were really active, what happened in July?" So he got it. He knew from the recordings my pacemaker logs that I haven't moved off my butt since July when I ripped the lead.  I feel like the light switch is back on! I'm ready to move.  I haven't been able to get Ava's stuff ready for school or do any normal daily activities.  So I'm so grateful that "Hank" was there and able to adjust my sensitivity chip.  Yep, I'm a robot.  But aren't you glad I have a sensitivity chip? So the next time I make some jerkface comment ask me where my sensitivity chip went!

The day got even better because as we made our way to the elevator to leave a lady in her 60's asked which one of us had a pacemaker.  I said I did and she jumped to high five me, which was strange but great!  She said she "joined the club" in June and I told her I "joined the club" in February.  Pretty great way to end the day, especially since I entered the building having a hard time getting enough air to walk and and hour and a half later we're high fiving in the hallway.

So here's to you getting your high five for the week!! Amazing people are everywhere, so go out and make some new friends.  Call your old ones too.  We all could use some support!

Love this expression on Mason's face, He's like, "Dude, where's my hair?"