5 days to S-ICD

In 5 days I will undergo the implantation of a subcutaneous ICD for the purpose of preventing Sudden Death Syndrome. SDS is a complication, and often the first symptom of, HOCM. HOCM is hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart disorder inherited from my father's side of the family. My father had HOCM but died of cancer. His great uncle, uncle and 2 cousins died of HOCM. Two were women who died before they were 51. One had a defibrillator.
I chose this device as it does not invade the heart muscle. The defibrillator sits on the left chest wall vs under the left clavicle.
My surgery will take place at Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ. My surgeon, and this hospital, are participating in a multicenter study designed to convince the FDA to approve use of this device as standard in the US. It is already used in NZ and the UK.
It took a long time to make the decision to have this done. I was concerned about the cosmesis of it. I didn't know if I could live with the "discomfort" of a protrusion on my chest wall. I still don't know. I hope to take pictures and post on youtube so that people who might be contemplating this procedure might have more information. I wonder how it will affect my singing.
I have not had the nerve to ask "will there come a time when my heart may be too sick to be shocked back into rhythm? ". "What can be done to change this condition and decrease the chances of ever needed this device?" "Will it shock me beyond my ability to recuperate to full mental capacity?" I may never know the answers.
When I think of needing a defibrillator it makes me feel vulnerable, frail and old. I don't think that my friends and family would ever use those words to describe me.
I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow into adults. That is why I am having this done at this time.

I originally started this blog to discuss child development and give parents ideas on how to advance their children's gross and fine motor development while getting the most out of their toy dollar. I am awaiting the birth of my third grandchild and hope to use her as a model in some videos. \
Until then I plan to blog about my upcoming experience with the insertion of an S-ICD, a new device used for cardiac patients. Stay tuned as I travel thru this process.

My First Blog Post

I thought I would start by introducing myself. I am a pediatric physical therapist and I treat children who are developmentally challenged and younger than 18 months of age. I hope to use this blog as a way to encourage and tutor moms to help their babies develop motor milestones in a timely fashion as well as begin to review toys and suggest creative ways of playing with them over many months of time.
I also enjoy singing acappella music, gardening, reading and scrapbooking. I have 2 grandchildren who are the lights of my life, one son and of course a husband LOL. I don't know how often I will return to blog. We shall see how this goes.