By Steve Stricker

Columnist

My column last week was about the procedure at new Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, Oxford on Thursday, January 23, 2025 to replace my pacemaker received eight years earlier in an emergency situation at the old Baptist Hospital on Thursday, June 22, 2017, where at my regular 3-month checkup with hero Dr. Mona Castle, Nurse Cherry Craven placed that Oxygen/Pulse thingy on my finger – pulse 39, I felt great…EKG…20 minutes later met new hero, Dr. Mark Campbell in ER who gifted me a new pacemaker and second life – not counting all the times I should have been dead in Vietnam.

On Friday, May 10, 19… my hero mom, Gert, quite pregnant, was preparing for a quiet weekend, when, oops, she birthed me, only son with three older girls – her favorite child!

Gert’s birthday is tomorrow, February 6. She often told me that my life was like a soap opera (still is) and she was going to stick around to see how it turned out.  Well, she made it to Sunday, February 10, 2008, six days after her 95th birthday where I held her hand for two days and nights without sleeping –  and, yeah, I still wasn’t there.

Because of my “soap opera” life, Dr. Mark couldn’t get the third lead of the new Medtronic pacemaker in place because of a too small vein to the back of the heart that would have given me more energy and more important, more EF (Ejection Fraction) of blood to my body so frustratingly, I would have to endure another procedure to connect it.

But, however, every day I give my life to God, not my will but his be done, and this is the right thing for the reason that only God knows. 

Wednesday, January 29, follow up appointment with Dr. Mark to check surgery site, remove bandage, monitor the new pacemaker, to discern what the new procedure would be to connect that all important third lead, buddy Derik new PM okay, Nurse Practitioner,  Adam, previously with my GP Dr. Castle, removed the surgery bandage, checked and cleaned the wound, provided new cleansing, bandages, Dr Campbell said Dr Lyn would provide the procedure to connect that third lead to the new pacemaker and directions were soon to follow.

Per instructions from Derek, called Medtronic Thursday January 30, talked with Diana who was awesome walking me through the process to connect the new app to my heart – wow, connected to Stern Clinic by an app – technology blows me away!!  Well done, Diana!!

Next, Dr Lyn will create a procedure outside the heart to connect the all-important 3rd lead of the new pacemaker.

I’m tired, beat up, frustrated, want to live so badly, want to just have my life settle down to a boring rhythm again. So much to do with all my car projects, so want that promised energy from that connected 3rd wire of the new pacemaker.

Stay tuned y’all.  Although my life is indeed like a soap opera – it is fantastic!

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