TL; DR: The procedure was quite uneventful. I have an implant (or as my heart sister called it, an alien implant) in my chest. It’s under the skin of my left breast, which is tender and sore at the incision site.
The procedure was performed with only local anesthesia (lidocaine). I didn’t feel the incision at all, but the pressure when the device was inserted? Oh my. I jumped, and the surgeon looked at me quizzically. I told him it was just the pressure. This was after spending over 3 hours in holding waiting for my turn. The bed was absolutely not comfortable. And of course, that ended up triggering a fibro flare. By the time it was over, and I got home, I was in some fairly significant pain from the fibro. And then the anesthesia wore off.
I spent yesterday doing basically nothing, other than taking Tylenol, and coughing my lungs up. That’s just springtime allergic asthma. No fever or other symptoms beside a slight runny nose. I’m isolating nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution. I’m on lifting restrictions for the next week (nothing over 10 pounds), along with 30 days of no strenuous or repetitive upper body exercise.
The cough is still very much present, and likely will be for a couple of weeks, at least. It could be longer, since I’m in a new area whose various pollen I have not yet adapted. But that’s yet to be determined.
My lovely heart sister happened to pick today to burn off some pampas grass along the chain link fence around the backyard. Not being pagan, she had no idea of the significance of a bonfire at this time of the year (Beltane was yesterday). She thought I’d enjoy the display though, and called me to the backyard without explaining why. I did indeed enjoy it, and told her how significant it was.
So I’ve had a functioning internal cardiac monitor for just under 24 hours now. Nothing that I’m aware of has happened outside the parameters of “normal” cardiac rhythm and heart rate. But that’s okay. It’s sometimes a month or two between the big events, and the monitor can remain in place for up to three years. Ultimately, the doctor will decide when he has enough data to justify removing it.
Oh, and I have a followup EEG (for the seizures) scheduled for early tomorrow morning. It’s to be a “sleep deprived EEG“. There’s a concern that I may have been experiencing very short absence seizures in addition to the seizures that were diagnosed in early 2021. I was due for another EEG anyway. So that’s going to be fun.
And the journey continues.
An Aging Trans Woman 
Would you be willing to explain the significance of the fire and Beltane? I’m trying to educate myself and I am genuinely interested. If not, I totally understand.
I hope the soreness and the coughing let up soon and I hope the EEG goes well. Sending healing energy your way. ❤
Thank you,
Heather
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Hi Heather. In general, fire is one of the four elements of nature, along with air, water, and earth. It’s believed to have healing and protective properties.
As for Beltane specifically, bonfires were lit to welcome the return of the sun, and the end of winter. This is one of the four seasonal festivals, the bonfire represents that seasonal change.
I recommend the Wikipedia article for a more complete discussion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
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You might find this folk verse interesting.
https://sarahpirtle.com/hope-sings/earth-my-body.htm
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Thank you! That was very interesting – I really should know more about Celtic culture but my family did not carry much of that culture forward. My local library actually has a couple of books about Celtic culture and Beltane and Celtic myths and legends that I just requested to read, so I’ll expand those horizons a little bit. Again, thank you and heal well.
Blessed be,
Heather
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If you are interested in Celtic culture, I would encourage you to look into John O’Donohue’s various works. I especially enjoyed “Anam Cara.” I actually met him years ago. He has passed over now, but he was a scholar of Celtic culture and a fairly prolific author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Donohue
https://www.johnodonohue.com/works
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Also, thank you for the well wishes. It is much appreciated. 💜
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Hi, Janet! I hope you are more comfortable today/tonight. I appreciate these updates. I’m also putting out healing energy, and wish you good health and low pollen, too! 💜🖖
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Thank you Ali. 💜 I am feeling better. And it’s been raining, so pollen is better too. 🖖😘
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