Where did health go?

After coming home from the UK and Pauline's huge success, then having a cardic arrest, we were looking forward to the NZ summer. Pauline had decided she would like to do Rottnest Channel swim in Feb. All she had to do was qualify in a 10km event, simple given she had done 3 in August all under the qualifying time.

I continued to swim and was enjoying my job as a mediator, I went away to New Plymouth, Nelson, Whangarei, Kerikeri and a few other places with work. I was being monitered closely, I had decided not to swim in the ocean due to the risk and not wanting to place responsibility for my safety on others. I continued to play a major role in organising the Auckland Harbour Swims and my special project being the Auckland Marathon swim. There are very few, no other, 10km swims that go from point to point or are not laps.

Pauline entered a 10km in December to qualify for Rottnest, she was unable to finish that swim due to fatigue, she tried the Epic 10k and was unable to finish that either, she had lost all her iron and was low on energy due to the high level of exercise the previous year, so we had to withdraw her from the Rottnest swim, we still went and enjoyed the experience and hopefully will be back another year.

I was feeling good and believed I was recovering at last. Before we went to Rottnest I did a swim at Blue Lake Rotorua on 18 Feb, I had both Roger Soulsby and Susan Sherwin swim with me, one on either side of me. I did well and was happy with not only my time but the way I did the swim. There were no issues.

On my return form Rottnest I had an appointment with the ICD clinic to check all was well with the equipment. As it hadn't downloaded for a few days they did a manual download of the data. The normal process is the data is downloaded at home during the night, if there has been a shock delivered it will download as soon as it comes within range of the equipment next to my bed. The data is then anaylised automatically based on algorithms and then delivered to the hospital in a report. On this occassion they were able to see the raw data and discovered some activity that was outside the parameters set.

I recieved a call to come in and have the device reprogrammed, That occured on the Thursday, on Monday I recieved a call to come in for a check up. I couldn't get in that day so arranged to come in the following day Tuesday, they said if I was able to come earlier that would be fine. This didn't send any alarm bells through me at that time. On Tuesday 7 March I presented myself to the clinic and they told me that I had had a significant run of VT episodes over the weekend and they would like to admit me for a few days to do tests and see if they could get it under control.

My biggest concern at that stage was that I had arranged to swim at Lake Okataina, Rotorua on Sunday 12 March and then I had the Auckland Marathon to run on the 16 April.

As the week went by an alarm would go off, Nurses and Doctors would come running with paddles and equipment. There was huge concern from them each time it happened. I was completely bemused by it as I didn't feel anything. One time the cardologist, Prof Rob Doughty was talking with me and the alarm went off, we continued to talk, the staff arrived, my heart rate shot through the roof, then it settled down. Rob asked me if I felt anything, I didn't, he explained to me what was going on and that I should have felt very sick during the event. Oh dear this sounded a little dangerous. They played with the medication I was on and things began to settle down.

On the Thursday Prof Rob Doughty arrived first thing in the morning and had another chat, he asked how I felt etc, he then said to me "I think it has reached the stage where we need to consider a heart transplant" It was suggested the chance of me surviving until that time the following year was low.

This came as a complete shock, I thought well I am not too bad, I will get better, but that wasn't the case. I called my step-daughter, Leeanna, and asked her to come in after work when Pauline would be there and I could tell them this news. I didn't sleep that night nor the next, the idea of getting out and doing a swim on Sunday looked a little bleak at that time.

I got a visit from the Transplant Doctor, she explained some things and asked a bunch of questions. I stopped having the VT runs and had medication altered and added to, and was sent home feeling a little confused and OK. I did understand I might be a bit sicker than I thought I had been.