What a Pacemaker Did for Me

AS THE doctor bent over and listened to the unborn child’s heartbeat, he knew immediately that something was very wrong. At times it was as low as 48 beats per minute, instead of the usual fetal rate of 120 beats per minute. The doctor promptly called in other physicians to determine the cause of the problem. Before a diagnosis could be made, I was born a month prematurely on September 11, 1944. I indeed had a heartbeat of only 48 to 60 beats per minute. The cause? A ventricular heart block.

A ventricular heart block sounds worse than it is. In my case this means that the atriums beat normally, but the ventricles do not always get the message. This causes my ventricular beat to be much slower, about 30 to 40 beats per minute, while the atriums are 60 to 80 beats per minute. Since the ventricles perform the real pumping action of the heart, I received only half the blood flow of the average person. The doctor believed that I was the first recorded case of this heart problem ever found before birth. My mother was informed that my life expectancy would be short because medical science had no remedy for this problem.

After a very difficult first year I began to stabilize and became stronger. It was necessary during my childhood to limit my physical activities severely. I had to take frequent naps and could not participate in physical education or sports in school. My circle of friends was almost completely made up of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were always understanding and considerate of my special limits, and yet they included me in their activities. The next time we consulted a doctor was when I was in my late teens, but he said that nothing else could be done.

I became resigned to my physical limitations, recognizing that I needed to observe a restricted life-style if I was to stay alive. After I was graduated from high school I found that I could do part-time work, and this helped to pay my expenses in the family. For about a year and a half I was able to “pioneer” every other month, spending at least 75 hours during these months sharing my Christian faith with others. This was a highlight of my early life.

Getting a Pacemaker

In late 1965 my aunt, who is a practical nurse, came in contact with a cardiovascular physician who had a strong interest in an advancing medical treatment called pacemakers. My aunt inquired of this doctor, explaining my particular circumstances. She asked whether a pacemaker would help me. An initial visit was arranged. After some preliminary tests, this unusually considerate doctor said that he was fairly certain the pacemaker would greatly improve my situation.

The doctor explained that the pacemaker is a small battery-powered electronic instrument that usually is completely encased in hard plastic, with a plug-in connection for wires that go to the heart muscle. This reverses the polarity of the heart muscle’s electric charge, causing the muscle to contract, thus pumping the blood. These regular electric impulses to the heart muscle cause a beat each time, resulting in reasonably normal heartbeats.

There are several kinds of pacemakers in use. Earlier kinds were fixed-rate units. These run undeviatingly at a present rate, usually 72 beats per minute. However, the most common kind is a demand unit. When the heart does not pace itself, the unit senses this and takes over. But when the heart does pace itself again, the unit senses this and doesn’t interfere.

The doctor said that he would like me to come to the hospital for some special tests, which included a heart catheterization. This final test involved making small incisions in my arms and inserting tubes through my veins all the way through to my heart. All the while I was awake and aware of what was happening!

At one time I had four catheters, two in each arm, inserted at the same time. Thus the doctors were able to examine the walls and chambers of my heart for holes or deformities. They were even able to insert the wires from a pacemaker right into the heart muscle and test to see if the pacemaker would correct my problem. The results showed that the pacemaker would override my heart block and bring my heartbeat up to the normal rate preset in the pacemaker. The doctors found no other deformities in my heart.

A month later, January 23, 1966, was the date set for the implanting of the pacemaker into my body. An incision was made in my abdomen, and the replaceable pacemaker unit was implanted. The reason for the placement in the abdomen area was that at the time I weighed only 95 pounds (43 kilograms) and that was the fattest part of my body! Another incision was made between my middle ribs. This was needed in order to attach the wires from the pacemaker to the heart. The wires were actually sewn to the ventricular heart tissue to make a good contact for the pacemaker’s electrical impulses.

Beginning of a New Life

I quickly recovered and was able to leave the hospital in 10 days. My friends and family noticed how beet red I was because of the extra amount of blood now rushing through my blood vessels. After convalescing for six weeks, I went back to work only to find that my job had been eliminated during my absence. After a short while I was able to find other employment, and none too soon, for now I began to develop new goals and attitudes.

The first thing that I did was to start changing my attitude from “No, I can’t do that,” to “Yes, I think I can.” Oh, yes, I still had limitations, but I began to learn new boundaries, especially in the area of physical activities. I could now work full time. Eventually I moved into my own apartment, and for the first time in my life I thought about marriage.

I had met my wife-to-be the night before the first implant surgery. She still talks about how she thought this young man had some tall tale to tell, but later found out that it was all quite true. I started working very hard to pay off some $2,000 (U.S.) of miscellaneous medical debts, and also to furnish a home for us after marriage. I was able to prove to my family and friends that I was physically capable of supporting a wife and family.

We were married in 1967. The expected arrival of our first child had quite a touch of anxiety to it. This was because we were concerned as to whether our child would inherit my heart defect. My doctor felt that the chances were so remote that we needn’t worry about it, but we did anyway. When she finally arrived she had a healthy heart and we were greatly relieved.

Pacemaker Replacements

My pacemaker was a 24-month model, the batteries lasting only that long. Those two years seemed very short. Then I had to go back to the hospital for a replacement unit. This time the surgery was much easier. All that the doctor had to do was to make an incision, carve the flesh away from the pacemaker, uncouple its wiring, remove it and hook up the new one. Then he sewed me up. This was done under a general anesthetic, and took about an hour. I spent three days in the hospital, and was able to go back to work within a week.

At first the pacemaker felt like a large belt buckle on my waistline, and protruded slightly out of my stomach area. In time, as I went from 95 pounds to 130 pounds, the doctor was able to put the replacement in a little deeper, and it was less noticeable.

The next replacement was basically the same as the previous one. But then, in 1972, the doctor started using a new procedure. I entered the hospital as an outpatient, and the surgery was performed while I was awake; I could watch it! First, I was given a local anesthetic. An incision was then made and the old unit was replaced with the new one. This took nearly an hour, and except for the first incision and anesthetic shots there was no real discomfort. Obviously, though, being awake while you are being operated on can build some tension.

I found something to hang onto and gripped it so hard that my hands hurt afterward. I tried to keep my mind off what was happening by talking incessantly for that hour. Every slight movement that the doctor made was amplified in my body. It felt as if he was moving my insides around, although there was really little movement at all. When the hour was up we were joking and laughing. I then got dressed, and walked to the car for the drive home.

This new procedure is much less expensive, since the hospital stay is eliminated. Also, the recovery time is quicker, for the body does not have to overcome the effects of a general anesthetic. I was able to go back to work within three days.

Another advantage of the new pacemakers is that the doctor can make certain adjustments from outside the body. For instance, the required beats per minute, such as 60, 70, 80 or 90, can be set with the use of a small electronic box. Also, the intensity of the electronic impulse can be set to low, medium or high. Thus, if some change is required due to a medical problem or a period of extra activity, the heartbeat can be adjusted during an office visit. In 1973 I was able to go to Israel on a tour arranged by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The doctor increased my heartbeat to 80 beats per minute, and this proved so satisfactory that we have kept it there ever since.

Blessings, Followed by Tragedy

This was a very happy time of my life. I had a wonderful wife, two beautiful daughters, a nice place to live and a job that allowed plenty of time for Christian activities. I also served as an elder in the Christian congregation. Many of my Christian brothers and sisters never suspected that I had been so severely limited earlier in life, or that I have a pacemaker controlling my heart.

Of course, I still didn’t have all the energy I would have liked. So I had to apportion my energy for various activities—some for secular employment, some for time with the family, as well as for Christian meetings, preparing talks, and sharing with my fellow Witnesses in the house-to-house preaching work. This usually meant taking a short nap after coming home from work and before going to our meetings. I wasn’t like most people; I had no backup or reserve whenever I would overdo. But I made the mental adjustments necessary to be balanced in my viewpoint and activities.

Then one Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1975 my wife and I were driving over to my mother-in-law’s home to pick up the children. They had stayed overnight with her. A young boy driving in the opposite direction fell asleep on a curve and hit us head on! Astonishingly, we were not killed, but we were both seriously injured. My ankle exploded, as I was still pressing on the brake pedal when we collided.

The paramedics took us to a local hospital. I first had the emergency room physicians check my pacemaker. It was still beating regularly, not having been affected by the accident. They sewed my lip and X-rayed my foot and leg. When the orthopedic doctor came to see me about my foot, I asked him: “Can you fix it?”

“Yes, I think so,” he replied.

“Will I be able to walk again?” I wanted to know.

“We can’t tell this early.”

“Can you do the operation without blood transfusions, as I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

“No,” he said.

“Can you find me another doctor who will?”

Our family doctor had someone in mind. When I asked this doctor the questions just mentioned, I got the same answers except for the third one. He said: “It’s a bit more risky without blood, but if you’re willing, I am.” So I said: “Let’s go.”

The doctor was able to take extra time in surgery because there was less chance of complications developing with the pacemaker’s regular, controlled beating. The operation took about four hours and required two screws and two metal pins to hold the ankle together. With our family and the friends in our local congregation lovingly doing the housework and cooking our meals, my wife and I steadily recovered. I am happy to say that I can walk again.

Happy Prospects

During this time we lived in the southern California area. But after talking with local traveling representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses and after prayerful consideration, we decided to move to a rural area in northern Arizona where we could be of greater help in advancing the preaching work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. For the past couple of years now I have, off and on, been able to share in the “pioneer” work, and so has my wife. We have had many blessings in sharing the Bible’s message with our neighbors and in working with our Christian brothers and sisters.

An artificial pacemaker has undoubtedly extended my life, and unquestionably has improved it. Due to my heart problems, I have become better acquainted than perhaps most persons with the operations of the heart. True, there are now many things that can and do go wrong with it, and, at best, an artificial pacemaker can only temporarily correct certain problems. But when the marvels of the heart are studied, it can be seen that the heart has the potential to keep on beating forever.

This potential exists because our Creator, Jehovah God, originally purposed for humans to live forever in happiness on earth. And that purpose is certain to be fulfilled, even as the Bible promises: “God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:3, 4) What a grand prospect, therefore, we have to look forward to! Yes, a new system is at hand where all will enjoy vigorous health, without even the slightest hint of trouble with their hearts or any other part of their bodies!—Contributed.

[Picture on page 12]

Pacemaker embedded in the abdominal wall with electrodes attached to the heart wall