2 Years Later: Watching The World Series... Still Swinging The Bat... LVAD Undercover

Beneath the baseball jersey you will still find 2 lithium batteries and and a system controller worn at the waist AND the LVAD implanted inside me.

This photo was shot by my son who was taking pictures of a photo shoot i was participating in for Gina LeVay. http://www.ginalevay.com/

More photos and videos to follow shortly. As for Gina's photos of the day...!? I am looking forward to seeing those :-)

And The Good Saga Continues...

Video of Former VP Cheney Talking About His Thoratec Heartmate II, Implant, Transplant And His Condition Weeks Prior To The LVAD

Vice President Cheney reflects back on the weeks leading up to his LVAD implant, mentioning his HeartMate II... VIDEO HERE:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1143383544001/dick-cheney-gets-personal



And The Good Saga Continues...

VP Cheney Disconnects One Of His LVAD Batteries Alarms/Beeps Are Set Off:

Former Vice President disconnects one HeartMate II Lithium LVAD battery, showing how intricately safe the battery back-up system can be....








http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/cheney-disconnects-his-heart-pump-battery-du

And The Good Saga Continues...

Flight 93 9/11/01 HERO Mr. Burnett/Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Thoratec Corp

With our own drama in our lives we tend to forget HEROES that step up and save lives. Tom Burnett did this on his job at THORATEC and on flight 93 on September 11th, 2001... Thanks Kristin Millar for reminding us about Tom...








Thomas Burnett, Jr.
38 years old
San Ramon, CA

Mr. Burnett was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corp., a maker of Heart medical devices, including the #LVAD... based in Pleasanton, California.

On September 11, 2001, while on board Flight 93, he was able to call his wife four times on an airphone after the hijackers took control of the plane. Mr. Burnett phoned his wife Deena four times. In the first call he told her about the situation on the plane and asked her to call authorities. The second time he phoned, he told her that he believed their captors were going to fly the plane into the ground. "The next time he called," Mrs. Burnett said, "I could tell they were formulating a plan." In the last call, he reportedly said, "I know we're going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it."

Burnett and other passengers had been in communication with people via airphones and learned that the World Trade Center had been hit using hijacked airplanes. Burnett was among the passengers who decided to fight the hijackers hand-to-hand.

Burnett called his wife, Deena, and reportedly told her, "We're all going to die, but three of us are going to do something." He is survived by his wife and three young daughters: Halley, Madison, and Anna Clare. He is also survived by a biological daughter, Mariah, that he and his college girlfriend gave up for adoption in 1985. (Mariah Mills now has a relationship with Deena and her three half-sisters.)

Deena Burnett co-authored a book with Anthony Giombetti entitled Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves. The book is published by Advantage Inspirational and was released in July 2006. Fighting Back recounts the difficulties in getting the FBI to release cockpit voice recorder tapes from United 93 to the public, and includes Deena Burnett's thoughts on the nature of heroism.

Burnett was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002. Also in that same year, a street in Pleasanton, California, where he worked for Thoratec Corporation, was renamed Tom Burnett Lane, commemorating his heroic efforts on Flight 93 that fateful day of September 11, along with his fellow passengers. There is also a memorial called Hero's Garden at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management in Tom's honor.

The California State Assembly renamed the Fostoria Way overcrossing over Interstate 680 in San Ramon the Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Memorial Bridge in his honor

At his memorial service Mr. Burnett's older sister, Martha Burnett O'Brien, said she's struggling with her brother's death, partly because she didn't see him the last time he visited the family in Minnesota. It was a week and a half before his death. "I didn't know it was going to be my last chance. I regret not making time, not catching him before he flew out. I figured that I had a lifetime of opportunities to do that. And in the course of this loss, our country has gained a hero," she said.

His sister also added that her brother would be happiest if everyone in the audience at least did a little something to improve the country...

Thomas Burnett was the father of three girls, five-year-old twins, Madison and Halley, and four-year-old Anna-Claire.

Mr. Burnett's employer, THORATEC has set up a memorial fund. All the money collected will go directly into a fund for Deena Burnett. She plans to use the money largely for the children's education.

Send donations to:

The Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Family Memorial Fund
c/o CIBC Oppenheimer Corp.
Account #074-17387-10
580 California Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94104
phone: (415) 438-3000

If you wish to send a letter to the family, send it to Deena Burnett, c/o Thoratec Corp. att: Beth Taylor, 6035 Stone Ridge Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588.


And The GOOD SAGA continues... Thank You Tom! Thank You!

*Thanks again to Kristin Millar for reminding us of this Great American Hero

The Mac Sinclair LVAD AWARD

Who is Mac Sinclair??? He was an LVAD recipient who designed his own lithium batteries before Thoratec issued them to the public. Mac also wired his car so that the LVAD can be powered via cigarette lighter :-) and this was just the begining of this true LVAD PIONEER... Mac and Sue's Blog: http://www.heartmateII.blogspot.com/

And The Good Saga Continues...

Yes I Have an LVAD! If I Lift My Shirt You Will See My Batteries.

And The Good Saga Continues...

I have Been Nominated and Awarded For My HealthCare and Communications/Social Media Involvement for the LVAD

Below is a direct link to my profile page on Organized Wisdom. This brings a smile to my face as over the past year i have used Organized Wisdom-Folks as a reliable resource for my LVAD research and more.

I am humbled and Honored to be listed among these leading experts and professionals.

http://my.organizedwisdom.com/LVADone
And The Good Saga Continues...

Is Your Cardiologist And Or LVAD Team Suggesting Flu Shot?

Last week... 1st time in my life, I got the Flu shot.

And the Good Saga Continues...

Me, My LVAD And A BAT :-) The Video!

Left ventricular assist device made by Thoratec Saved and restored my life.

The LVAD that I have is a HeartMate II. Its purpose is to bypass my damaged Left Ventricle by pumping oxygen enriched blood into my brain, lungs and body. Its kind of a partial artificial heart, but really a blood pump. It is a manmade miracle! before i had the implant i was horizontal on a hospital bed 24/7 with little time left to live and with poor quality of life... now i can swing a bat again :-) Thank you "LVAD NATION" 7th Floor, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC

Here is a video that is my "living proof" :-)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4A1yTvFOnk

And the Good Saga continues...

2nd LVAD LUNCH AND LEARN

2nd LVAD LUNCH and LEARN... They are great as it focuses on the

LVAD recipient/patient/care-givers/Families ONLY!

The last one pulled in over 20 LVAD recipients. I am hoping more of us is there.

And the good saga continues...

I am who I am TODAY because of a lot people and their passion. Let's start here...

This Wednesday at 5am, My Wife, Rosie and I are flying off to California.

We are attending Thoratec's HeartMate2 Patient Ambassador Summit 2010. We are honored and looking forward to sharing what we will learn once we come back.

Posted in the photo is part of LVAD NATION from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan... I am who I am now because of them and would like to thank the ENTIRE staff there.

Not pictured are Margaret, Donna and the many doctors & nurses that saw me through surgery and recovery. L to R Rosie, Jennifer, Anne Marie, me and Khristine... pictures of Margaret and Donna soon to follow.

And The Good Saga Continues...

Dick Cheney: ‘Doing a Lot of Physical Therapy’ After Heart Surgery—but Hoping to Go Fishing Real Soon, Says Daughter Liz

Here are excerpts from a BlogRadio interview with Liz Cheney

Dick Cheney: ‘Doing a Lot of Physical Therapy’ After Heart Surgery—but Hoping to Go Fishing Real Soon, Says Daughter Liz


The former veep: Angling to get back to the Cowboy State asap. You gotta hand it to Dick Cheney. Less than two months after doctors implanted a pump in his heart to compensate for increasing congestive heart failure, the 69-year-old former vice president—who has had five heart attacks over the past 32 years —is hard at work on his memoirs, while gearing up for some outdoor fun.

So says Dick’s daughter, Liz Cheney, who’s collaborating on her dad’s book, which will help put his legacy within the George W. Bush administration into perspective.

“He’s doing really well. He is back at home here in Virginia and he’s hoping to get back to what we really consider home, which is Wyoming, as soon as he can,” she tells AACONS host Marie Stroughter.

“His left-ventricular assist device is essentially a pump that helps his heart function, helps his heart to pump more effectively. And that’s working wonderfully.

Liz: Helping dad cast new light on history.
“He’s doing a lot of physical therapy. He was in the hospital for about five weeks. So when you’re in the hospital for that long, it does take time to recover and come back. So that’s what he’s focused on very much now,” Liz, an attorney who held key roles in the State Department under President Bush, continues.

“But he’s doing really well, and back at work on the book. We’re looking forward to having the book come out, and also to having him get back to Wyoming.

“I think what he’d really like to do is get back on a drift boat on the Snake River and do some fishing. Hopefully that’ll come...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/aacons/2010/09/02/interview-with-liz-cheney

THE LVAD IN AN ILLUSTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE

And The Good Saga Continues...

My LVAD Experience Response Letter To A Daughter Whose Dad Is Post-Op with LVAD HeartMate ll

My LVAD Experience Response Letter To A Daughter Whose Dad Is Post-Op With LVAD HeartMate ll :


"As you stated my case is different than your dad's... i have no prior Heart History until my heart attack that happened about 1 month before my LVAD implant. I am also under the age of 50.

But I have LVAD friends in their late 70s and well into their 80s who are more active than they have been in 10 maybe 20 years! I know kids 19, 20 21 year olds with the LVAD. One 21 year old is a Father of 2.

The LVAD is amazing, however... respecting the Driveline and Entry Point and our diets are crucial elements in keeping healthy and preventing infection.

Bravo to your Dad, i think the key to keeping him positive through the 1st week of recovery...

...i kept setting ...Goals Setting SETTING GOALS :-) and achievements... rewarding myself by fulfilling certain food cravings... and other small goals.

Here I am seen helping to "teach" Baseball to my eldest Grandson ...along with my Son-in-law, Daughter and wife.

Also battery location... I use this Holster-shirt that undercover law enforcement wear. i conceal my batteries in these pockets :-) Nice.

I have no neck,shoulder and or back strain as the batteries are stuck to my ribs like a spider web, i barely feel the weight of the batteries while there is not any free motion of the batteries as well.


Holsters are stitched onto an actual shirt and the shirt actually stretches over the driveline that helps to keep everything snug and stable. Lower risk of tugging on the driveline and entry points too.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE NOW IS FOR YOUR DAD TO PREVENT ALL TUGGING OF DRIVELINE ON THE ENTRY POINT OF THE BELLY. NOT GOOD! IT CAN CAUSE INFECTION. VERY BAD :-) BUT IT IS EASY TO PREVENT THE TUGGING.

I also wrapped a binder around my belly, taught by my hospital, that trapped the driveline as a secondary measure to prevent tugging on the entry point. feeling more secure too.

This style shirt makes "This" LVAD RECIP feel even more comfortable and dignified too ;-)

Sometimes when i dont wear the binder or holster-shirt i wear this small round "thing" called a Hollister that sticks to the skin and snuggly anchors the driveline like a brake, but the Hollister might be given to your dad from the hospital upon discharge... Because it was an LVADRecip from Belgium who told me of the Hollister ...!

I trust that your Dad is being Honored as his biggest Victory in Life has just occurred...

Tell your Dad to Keep Strong, fight the good fight, Heal as Quick as possible and will have fun soon :-)

BTW i am posting this on my Blog without revealing your name.
Thank you... it was a good and important topic to cover. POST-OP LVAD

If you are on Facebook, there is a Greg Wood Memorial HeartMate ll Group there that has LVAD recipients, recipient's family and friends there"

And the good saga continues...

Because there is an LVAD, today is my Birthday! From The Bottom Of My LVAD... Thank You!

Because there is an LVAD, today is my Birthday!

Thanks to ALL that made this happen!


From The Bottom Of My LVAD... Thank you

And the good saga continues...

AS THE LVAD SPINS... The LVAD Links Its Recipients Into A Special Community

Since i started this blog, folks come to me with questions about the LVAD. By no means am i an expert, nor medical professional. I am a very lucky man with an LVAD implant and it is grafted to my heart. The LVAD, Heartmate 2, has given back to me what the Heart Attack took away!


Ever since the NEWS broke about VP Cheney receiving an LVAD as well, my email inbox and phone messages are SWARMED by the question HOW IS VP DICK CHENEY?


I wish some words or signals came out of his camp. But i do understand his need for privacy... as I do enjoy my privacy as well. I can only guess that he is doing well and following the course set for him and his condition by his team of Doctors... We hope and pray he is well, but am comfortable in knowing he is in great medical hands... no doubt!

Again The LVAD community sends its BEST wishes and Prayers out to Vice President Dick Cheney! Keep Strong in body and mind!!!

And the good saga continues...

1st Annual LVAD-WIFFLE BALL 2010 MEET

:-) For now, this is a dream of mine. As an LVAD recipient, I must keep active but at the same time I must stay away from strenuous exercise and contact sports.

So it "dawned" upon me, why not stick ball? Wiffle ball?

It is a VERY TAME form of baseball that does not require running. The equipment used is a light plastic bat and ball. Scoring and outs are determined by the distance and location of where the ball is hit or NOT HIT :-)

I live in the NYC area but would hold this 1st Annual CHAMPIONSHIP at a central location or at several locations.

If interested or have ideas to make this a reality, contact me @ LVADone@gmail.com

At this juncture, WIFFLE Inc is not affiliated with this Planned event.

The WIFFLE® perforated plastic ball -

The WIFFLE ball was designed to take the place of baseball, stickball and softball for boys and girls in back yards and city streets. It is made of a tough rubbery plastic – is light in weight and cannot be thrown or hit any great distance. The WIFFLE ball is also an excellent indoor ball.

The Pitches -

The WIFFLE ball is thrown like a baseball and will curve very easily. The diagrams below show how the ball should be held for curving and controlling the ball. Experiment with different grips and releases to find the pitches that work best for you. There is no need to throw the ball hard to produce results!

The Game - played with the WIFFLE perforated plastic ball

As stated above, the WIFFLE ball was designed for use in congested areas. Because the ball will not travel far when solidly hit, ball chasing and base running have been eliminated. An ordinary broom handle can be used if a WIFFLE bat is not available. The size of the playing field is optional, but we recommend a minimum dimension of 20 feet in width at the home run markers (approx. 8 paces) by about 60 feet long (approx. 23 paces) from home plate to each home run marker. The field is laid out with foul lines and markers for singles, doubles triples and home run areas. See sketch of suggested playing field.



The minimum number of players required to play a game with the WIFFLE ball is two – the pitcher and batter – one player per side. The maximum number of players that can complete are ten – five players to a side. If a full team is playing, each side will consist of a catcher, pitcher, double area fielder, triple area fielder and home run area fielder. Fielders cannot move from one area to another when a full team is playing. When more than two players are playing, captains for each side are picked and they choose their respective teams alternately. As in baseball, the game is played with one team at bat and one team in the field. The batting order of the team at bat shall be Pitcher, Catcher, Double Area player, Triple Area player and finally Home Run area player. The rules of play are similar to baseball, however there is no base running. Three outs to retire a side, per inning, nine innings per game. In case of a tie, additional innings are played. For a complete inning, both sides must bat.

An out for the batter can be made in three ways:

The batter can strike out only if he/she swings at a pitched ball and does not foul tip the third strike. Foul tips count as a strike for the first two strikes only. A foul tip caught in back of the batters box does not count as an out.
Fly balls caught in fair or foul territory
Ground balls caught while the ball is in motion, in fair territory. Bunting is not allowed and the batter cannot obtain a base on balls.
Scoring -

Single markers are placed approximately 24 feet from home plate on the foul line. A ball hit in the single area (i.e. the area between batters box and single markers and not caught, constitutes a single. Double markers are placed approximately 20 feet in back of the single markers on the foul line. A ball hit in the double area (between the single marker and the double marker) and not caught constitutes a double. Triple markers are placed on foul lines 20 feet back of the double markers. Balls hit in the triple area (between the double markers and triple markers) and not caught, constitute a triple. Balls hit past the triple markers, and not caught, constitute a home run.

The baseball rules of scoring apply:

Example: A player hits a single – his/her team has a man on first base (imaginary runners). The next player hits a single – the team now has a man of first and second. Third batter hits a home run – three runs score! (The imaginary runners on first and second, plus the home run.)

A batter earns 1 imaginary base on a single, 2 imaginary bases on a double and 3 imaginary bases on a triple.
A runner on 1st advances one base on a single, 2 bases on a double and scores on a triple
A runner on 2nd base scores on a single, double, or triple.
A runner on 3rd base scores on any hit.


Copyright 1954, 1982, 1999 The Wiffle Ball, Inc.

AND THE GOOD SAGA CONTINUES...

One Spin At A Time, A Day In The Life Of A Lucky LVAD Recipient. No Rodeo Yet!

With The LVAD, we must listen to our Doctors and Nurses and KNOW our own limitations and safety concerns while keeping active. Common Sense ABOVE ALL!

Here I am riding an old gentle horse name Delores. I mounted her via a concrete platform with steps, like a loading dock. i did not climb up on her as I would have normally done without the LVAD. On my ride, I was joined by a guide, my wife and daughter.

Everyday I am finding new reasons to love and respect my Heartmate2 LVAD!


Me, Myself and My LVAD, getting to ride Delores on a slow and easy run. No Rodeos yet!

Take Note: The LVAD battery wire (gray) exiting the controller :-)

And the good saga continues...

Vice President Dick Cheney Released From Hospital

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was released Monday from the hospital, about a month after doctors installed a new pump in his chest to assist his damaged heart. A spokesman said in a brief statement that the vice president “was released from Fairfax hospital and returned home this morning.”

Associated Press

In this July 8, 2001 file photo released by The White House Vice President Dick Cheney smiles while fly-fishing on the Snake River with his family in his home state of Wyoming.

The former vice president was released from the hospital Monday. His daughter Liz Cheney said he is already planning trips for fly fishing and hunting later this year. Cheney had his first heart attack at 37-years-old and his most recent one in February. He entered the hospital in late June complaining of discomfort, and later disclosed that he was “entering a new phase of the disease when I began to experience increasing congestive heart failure.”
That led to the decision to implant a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, in his chest in July.

While the treatment is relatively new, one of Cheney’s doctors held out hope last week that the former vice president will be able to return to an active life.

“This can take a person who has a failing heart, who is short of breath, perhaps, you know, walking to the bathroom, and can restore them, not just a sort of adequate functioning, but to normal functioning,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner told Cheney’s daughter, Liz, on Fox News last week. “People with this device can go back to work and go back to full-time work.”

They also can go back to fishing and hunting – two of the vice president’s favorite activities – Reiner added in response to a prompt from Cheney.

Reiner describes the device this way: “What this pump can do is take blood from the failing heart, accelerate it with a turbine essentially that’s spinning it almost 10,000 revolutions per minute and essentially jack that up into the aorta. So, a failing heart may only be able to deliver two liters per minute of blood to the body. A normal heart can deliver almost six liters per minute. It’s about a quarter and a half, gallon and a half, excuse me. This device by itself can deliver over six liters per minute.”

Link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/08/09/cheney-released-from-hospital/

And the good saga continues...

A-ROD Crushes 600th! LVAD Crushes 1st!

Yesterday A-ROD hits his 600th home run.

Me and my LVAD crushing the ball! Hehehehehe!