By Steve Stricker

Columnist

 

Snow update. Exhale…the snow on Thursday night, January 9 covered everything at first light Friday morning the 10th as I opened my front door, temps in the 20’s.  Channel 5 Meteorologists in Memphis early Friday morning were calling for a revised 6-8” of snow!  

February 2021, and January 2024, ice and snow, freezing temperatures remained and I couldn’t get out of my steep house location for 8 days each and ran out of stuff I needed – especially mental!! 

For that Friday, January 10 snow, I was prepared!  Had food for that cat Jag and me, birds, bourbon – but scars from those other two snow-ins, wanted only to be OUT to attend daily Mass, especially, Sunday! 

Thankfully this was a classic Southern Snow – here, beautiful, temps warmed, sun came out. The bit over 3” that fell at my house in Oxford still covered the yard early Saturday morning the 11th but was gone by 2pm in my yard, driveway, and especially extremely steep street!  YAY!  And no worries getting to 11am Mass Sunday. 

 “Tomorrow,” Thursday, January 23, my Cardiologist and hero, Dr. Mark Campbell of the Stern Cardiovascular Clinic, Oxford, at Baptist Hospital, will replace my pacemaker with the new improved, 3-wire model. 

Background. For over a year in 2017, standing up, became dizzy. My regular 3-month checkups and labs with my GP were nearly perfect.  On Thursday, June 22, 2017, blood pressure with nurse, pulse/oxygen thingy on my finger – pulse, 39!  EKG twenty minutes later met Dr. Mark in the emergency room at old Baptist where he, guided by God, implanted a pacemaker to save my life.  Arteries were open, this was an electrical issue – the top of the heart wasn’t communicating with the bottom. 

I actually felt great that day!  Back of the ambulance, where, as in Vietnam over and over, to God: “If you are done with me and I can no longer serve you, I calmly accept my death.” EMT, “Sir, you are one of only a handful of people in that condition that I’ve seen alive!” God is great! 

Because this was an emergency, I was hooked up to a temporary thingy and had to lay motionless all day and night – AGH! Friday morning, the implant was done.  Dr. Mark, “Steve, the procedure was perfect, you are healthy as a horse and will be around for a very long time.” But had to again lay motionless all day and night…. Did I mention that I’m from Missouri, the “Show Me” State…. 

Pacemaker battery was good for 8 years, which is up this June 22.  Although I had 6-month checkups with Dr. Mark, and he assured me the new pacemaker would be implanted in plenty of time…I’m from Missouri. 

All good until October 2024 where at regular checkup, casually mentioned to Dr. Mark that I had some shortness of breath at rest. Bam scheduled an Echocardiogram that revealed an EF (Ejection Fraction) of 25-30%; i.e., the heart was only putting out 25% of the blood my body needed; not good.   

Bam scheduled a Nuclear Stress Test which normally included walking on a treadmill but because of the pacemaker was intravenously induced, then lots of X-ray photos. Follow up with him, perfect, no blockage.  Scheduled another Echo. 

Echo 2, Tuesday, January 14 and immediate follow up – no blockage, heart functioning great, but 25% EF…” Looks like we need that new improved pacemaker now! It will give you more energy and bring up you EF to “normal” percentage…he said to a boy from Missouri. So – tomorrow’s happenings will be in my Eagle column, Wednesday, January 29…Thanks y’all.  

And thank you, God for loving and taking such great care of me…always! Then there’s my GP, eye doc at Rayner, eye doc at Charles Retina Clinic, knee, shoulder doc at University Medicine, Missouri docs, etc., etc.  

Just like y’all – you get this. Ha! 

Steve lives in Oxford and has his Ph.D., in Counseling from Ole Miss. JMJ