37-Death panels part 9

37-Death panels, advanced directives, a dream, and a miracle

Part 9: The Device

Because of his new valve and this episode of tachycardia, he was at high risk for a relapse. All this could happen again. He qualified for an experimental device. A major biomedical company had developed a solution: an implant to reset my dad’s heart should it ever loose its rhythm again. An AICD (now called an ICD) was attached to his beating heart. Dick Cheney’s first ICD (my father's third) was the same model my dad had when he died.

Someone trained to deactivate the device with a powerful doughnut-shaped magnet needed to be at hand should it malfunction. Recipients require full-time oversight. I was the next best thing 23/7/365; someone had to shop and walk the dog. Synchronistically, walkie-talkie technology had improved significantly at the time which meant we were always in touch.

Caring for him was an opportunity to return the love and support he provided as I became a man. From the time I was taken home as a baby to die from the Hong Kong Flu pandemic, to the time the pool table crushed me as a toddler, to the time I scored my first touchdown as a boy, or scored my first crush as a teen, my dad was there for me.

Between the time Johns Hopkins advised me and his death, the ICD began to make a noise: a daily, brief beeping sounded from within his body. What was wrong? Was it going to shock him? Maybe it was simply dying and would shut down without incident. It was suppose to last ten years. It hadn't been seven. I had to know. I called the device’s help-line. I must note the way this company’s representative treated me. I was a professional caregiver who needed real information. He labeled me with insults and refused to simply say yes or no.

I wanted to know if the battery could malfunction and create a life-threatening situation or could we allow it to safely run out of juice? Was there any reason a tech would be required to turn it off? In light of his age and the fact Dad had no recurrence of the serious condition that sent him to the hospital and led to the implant, we had no intention of replacing the device with further surgery and would take full responsibility for its dormancy.

The voice refused to provide anything but a judgmental tone. Every time I called the help line, I was transferred to him. In light of these new changes to the healthcare system, it will be profitable for companies of such complicated devices to train their reps to provide information to caregivers in a respectful, if not helpful, manner. I explored other avenues and eventually found my answer: no known issues. I could allow the battery to die without concern.