She came over from the Big Island and checked into the hospital for the procedure on Wednesday morning. I took a couple of hours off and was there when she checked in. She does have heart trouble, but to be honest she looked great and seemed a lot less worried than either I or my sister Ulu.
Once it was time for the procedure I took off and went back to work. After work I visited again as she out of surgery and back in her room. This time she was a bit groggy, but deservedly so. I stayed until it was time for me to go deal with some volunteer work but a bunch of the family was on the way so my mom wouldn’t be alone for long.
An ICD is an “implantable cardioverter-defibrillator” and is designed to kickstart the heart in case of trouble. I don’t know a lot about them but my mom trusts her doctor and has had second opinions so I’m down with it.
I asked for a remote control so I could give my mom a jolt from time to time but apparently the docs thought I might just misuse such a device (as if one were even available). Perish the thought.
In any case I’ll be visiting her for a few days next month so we’ll see how it’s all going.
As for me? Well I’m certain I worried more than she did (she may not be so certain however).
I ended up catching a bit of cold sometime during the week, probably stress related though there is one going around. I still managed to ride 110 miles this week even though I didn’t ride on Sunday (or at least not much) and can’t ride tomorrow. That was my goal for the week so life is good. Next week is a light week of only 75 miles so I can recover a little. Then the mileage begins to climb culminating in 175 just before RAGBRAI.
In truth I’m a couple of hundred miles ahead of the schedule recommended as a minimum by RAGBRAI so I’m feeling pretty good about things. I’m also doing 30-60 minutes a day in the gym before work, often doing upper body stuff (which biking does nothing for as far as I know), so I’m getting in plenty of training for an old, fat guy!
Aloha