THE STEADY BEAT I am one of the thousands of people who depend on a particular brand of a small battery-powered unit known as a "Pacemaker".
Actually, I am on my second such an assistant to living. There has been a rather negative mannered news series in the media in recent weeks and it is time, perhaps, for some words to be set forth in defense of the helpful health-care item. Some of the observations and opinions have been stated by vocative critics who are, it appears, somewhat confused by medical innovations of recent years.
It has been all too evident that the writer of the offending items was, obviously, not at all familiar with his subject. He was writing about a product made by the same firm which manufactures the well known pacemaker unit. The defibrillator is a much newer product and more complex. It offers a procedure which is is a available to patients from larger mechanical units but it has just recently become available in a small unit which can be implanted in the human chest as is the same firm's small ICD pacemaker. They have kindred functions concerned with the circulation system of the human body and mark the many improvements which have been made recent years in that area of medical care and treatment. To carelessly malign either on of the products is quite wrong and dangerous.
I have been wearing a life-saving pacemaker unit for well over a decade of my life without mishap. The life saving devise was placed in my chest - in the upper right shoulder - after it was determined that, since I was not a hunter, I would not be firing to many rifles, shotguns, or of missles from that shoulder. I happened to be in a hospital at the time it was decided I should have a pacemaker installed. It was ordered by phone from the manufacturer in Minnesota and it was hand-carried by company personnel who flew with it to Virginia to be installed, as scheduled, in my shoulder the very next morning. I had picked the only week when our, then rather new package delivery service - "UPS" and their Teamster's Union drivers were on nation-wide strike.
I am now on my second such unit replacing the previous one which was showing some slow-down tendencies. Wiring into the heart was kept intact; only the battery section was replaced in the same area. Once again: no trouble. I did monthly telephone checkups with provided equipment at first, then every other month with and once, annually, I do an office visit.
I have a feeling that statistical studies made on any newly developed product with show some negative readings from time-to-time. If the ICD's are experiencing such a phase, which they have on two occasions, there is no justification for anyone to spread rumors of the maker's other product.
Shame on you - whom every you may be - for starting such a cycle of distrust.
A. L.M. July 22, 2005 [c511wds]
