Fly fishing again: the gift of a new heart

Memorial Day weekend is the usual Minnesota bass fishing season opening. With the HeartMate II for 38 months, I missed a few openers.

But this year, sans LVAD and feeling good with my new heart, I got to go fishing with my son on Big Detroit Lake, 50 miles east of Fargo.  My new heart keeps giving me gifts. Going fishing might not seem like much of a gift to the able bodied  but to me it was sublime. 

This year I am waterproof and do not carry lithium ion batteries to power my heart pump and do not have to worry about sudden immersion like falling overboard.  Sudden or any immersion with an LVAD was no joke. You short out the pump/electrical system and you may short out your existence. 

Although last year I became waterproof I wasn't physically up to being an active fly fisherman.

I am holding positive thoughts for a friend waiting for a new heart at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Some of his wiring is wearing out.  

It is the Achilles Heel of the HeartMate II system, the internal driveline, which carries power from his batteries through a paperback sized computer on his waist. The driveline has frayed at the pump. The pump is internal and the driveline is too. What to do? Replace the pump or wait as an inpatient in the hospital for an acceptable match. His attitude is good.  As an Army Ranger, he knows how to adapt and overcome.

The fraying has caused temporary--so far--short circuits, which have reduced the pre-set speed of his pump.  Mine ran at 9200 rpms, hence the running title of this blog.

When a short circuit happens, and there is no predicting when one will occur, the pump drops in speed, slowing the flow of blood to the heart and major organs.  

A short circuit could cause the pump to fail and stop working.  The result simply stated could be death.
You can read about his situation on his blog,
www.waitingforanewheart@blogspot.com