Category: ventricular tachycardia

What it was Like to Wear a Linq Heart Monitor for Three Years

heart disease, ventricular tachycardia

The Linq monitor is a small loop recorder, about the size of a small person’s pinky finger. Recently I received an email from a reader (in the Netherlands, believe it or not) asking me for more details about the Linq heart monitor process. I had the Linq heart monitor inside my chest, near my heart, for three years. The Linq gave my electrophysiologist more information about the arrythmias I was experiencing. This diagnosis of a serious heart arrhythmia can scare […]

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V Tach, the MRI, and the Dread

Bible, Bible verses, faith, ventricular tachycardia

*** Disclosure for legal purposes: I often include links in my blog posts, and I do collect advertising fees for these links. I do not promote any product I do not believe in, and all opinions are my own.*** Day 10 of Jumping into Fall & Recovering from Summer Fear Last night I woke up out of a dream to the sound of a man shouting, “April!” Only it wasn’t multiple shouts. It was just one shout, and it must have […]

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Eat Better, Feel Better

food, food allergies, funny stories, healthy eating, ventricular tachycardia

This week I have two cardiology appointments. The one yesterday was fairly easy, and all went smoothly. John David, my faithful sidekick, tagged along for that one. I think he fully entertained the cardiac floor of the hospital. My favorite part was the bit he did with the crayons. See, I brought a brand new box of 24 crayons along. New crayons interest people more than old ones. JD enjoyed the crayons very much, but I’m not sure that he […]

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Life After Home School and the Move

Florida, funny stories, military life, moving, school, stress, summer, ventricular tachycardia
life after home school

Tomorrow is Daniel’s very first day of kindergarten. To me he still looks like this: But, believe it or not, the Dan Man is 5, and he is extremely excited about going to school with his brothers. They will all be at the same school together. I had planned it differently, but at the last minute Daniel was awarded a scholarship, so that worked out beautifully. It’s hard to even focus on how much is happening. Our heads are still […]

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The Move, My California Health Crisis, and The Grocery Store Scuffle

chronic pain, moving, parenting, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ventricular tachycardia
The Move and the California health crisis

The Move Yesterday I started cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and drawers. No, I’m not packing myself. Alan’s job hires people to do that, so why would I? What I’m doing is trying to eliminate all things that I do not want or use so that I don’t have to unpack them in a few weeks. We have way too much junk. Junk. Just junk. How do we all accumulate so much of it? Is it the result of retail […]

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The Linq Procedure for Arrhythmia: Another Half Naked Patient Story

funny stories, ventricular tachycardia

It is done. I am Wi-fi equipped. No, literally. My chest has wi-fi. Today Dr. Grogin implanted a Linq heart monitor into my chest. That’s right. I got to go through just one more heart patient embarrassment. Let me set the scene for you. #1. About 5 nurses and 1 doctor in the room #2. I was naked down to my waist. #3. They had to cover my face with a cloth because the procedure was just below my neck, […]

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What to Expect at a Heart MRI

heart disease, ventricular tachycardia
What to Expect at a Heart MRI

Yesterday was my heart MRI. It wasn’t bad, but we didn’t get to do it exactly as planned. I had no idea what to expect, so I thought I’d write this for newbies like me who’d like a heads up, complete with my humorous commentary, of course. I’d had MRIs before, but a heart MRI is performed much differently than a musculoskeletal one, as I’ve had in the past. I was a little nervous to begin with about the IV and […]

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My Embarrassing Heart Patient Stories and the Giveaway Winner

funny stories, giveaways, heart disease, ventricular tachycardia
What to Expect at a Heart MRI

Many people develop heart problems while they are still young, but trust me, I’ve sat in the cardiology waiting room enough to know that I am nowhere near the average age. Most people in there have a walker and an accompanying nurse. In fact, the receptionists sometimes assume that I’m there with an elderly patient that I walked in after. “Wait. Are you with Mrs. Hammerstein?” “No, no, I have a 3:00 appointment.” Wednesday is my heart MRI. I’ve had […]

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