What if...

I had a stereotactic biopsy done on my right breast. It was a highly unpleasant experience because of the depth and the fact that the doctor didn't wait long enough for the lidocaine to take effect. But it made me wonder...what if it had been the left side where my ICD is? Could it have been done? Would it have hurt more? What happens if the needle hits a lead?

Always pick a winner

The New York Time reported today about the problems with removing the defective ICD leads that around 150,000 people in the United States still have in them. The lead removal is tricky and if you must have it done, choose a doctor who has done it numerous times. One of the top lead-removal doctors in the country is Dr. Epstein at Brigham and Women's. He's the one who did mine. Mine wasn't defective, but it needed to be repositioned and that necessitated removing it and placing a new one.

Never Say Never

I received a gift certificate to my favorite running shoe store. I popped in on Sunday and used it toward a new pair of trail runners (Asics Trabuco 11). My old ones haven't been used much over the last ten years--actually I've only strapped them on maybe five times since my 50-mile Umstead (N.C.) run, after which I swore I would never run that far again.

But a few miles on the trails and warmer weather and what happens? I start thinking about ultras again.

How can I even consider that after the way my life has gone for the last two years? Got back into running in a more serious way after an extended period away from it. Cardiac arrest. ICD implanted. Down time. Back to running. Lyme disease. Down time. Back to running. Working my way towards half marathon. ICD has to be replaced. Down time. Back to running (this period lasted approxiamtely 3 weeks). Back goes out and I can barely move. Down time. Back to running. And now I'm thinking about ultras? Maybe I have running dementia now (happens in my age group).