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Well its a new year once more 2003 and 6 years after my defib and a new one that lasted 5 years I am still here doing the site.
There is more sites starting up all the time for Great Britain and I will put links to all these for you so that you can see what other people are doing.
This site will upgraded within the next few weeks I hope so that it is more easier to use. The site has a lot on it so I will try and make a bit easier for you all to use. This will take a bit of time so please bear with me, but it will be done as soon as possible.
I have left the notes below for all to read so you see that you are not alone with your heart problems and just hope it helps you in a small way.
The hospital site is up and running the link is at the top and will also bo on the page for all links so its a lot better to find things.
Well the new year starter well for all of us rain,snow,gales and much more besides and the cold that really got to me had to sit in doors in the warm.
I had to keep the stress level down as well or the machine would go off. Thats all I need so I try to keep calm as the hospital has said it does not help your defib or your heart at all. After all I do not need to go back into hospital again or I would be taken B/B there *S*
We have being bless by a new computer donated to us and we thank the people that has given it to us THANK YOU.
I took me some time to get used to it but all is well and things are going well.
I have not had details for the Active Life News Letter to print for you but will get in touch with the hospital to find out what is going on as I know you all look forward to it for the news and letter and all the good things that are put together by the hospital for you all. I will put in on the site for you to read or download for you.
My work has gone mad as well as this Web Site I have one other I do and well as being a K.T. with the Knights Templar.
If any of you know where I can get pews for the church please e-mail me as the church needs them as the other ones have wood worm in them so we need to replace them as soon as possible I hope someone knows where I can get some from.
In the mean time have a good start to the year and if you need me to come and see you in Glenfield Hospital just e-mail me and I will be right there to see as I only live five minutes away and will be only to glad to see you.
Happy New Year to you all and please no zapping OK and keep well all of you. God Bless you all.
Chev Colin Kerridge K.T.
Life without a Defibrillator and Life with one By Michael White
I had the pleasure of meeting Michael White at Glenfield one real Winder Day and after going the road as well with no path it was mad and so was I.
This is what he had to say about life as a whole with and without the Defibrillator.
Life before a Defibrillator.
I had a Stressful but enjoyable job teaching music in a City Secondary school. Full time from 1960 until 1992 when I suffered a slight stoke, (ITA) after which I then taught part-time until 1999. Work included concert band, choir, orchestra and handbell ringing groups in the lunch times and after school, as well as full time class teaching. Class teaching was stopped as soon as I went part-time, but was replaced by a lot of individual instrumental tuition. It was at this time I also took up woodturning - something I had done in my early days of Teaching. Well all I can say Michael you had a full time job with your life did you not ~S~
Life full of hobbies, mostly musical. These hobbies included singing in various choirs, church bellringing, travelling aboard on holiday, caravan holidays, giving concerts in various parts of the county and country with the handbell group and also the concert band. The school groups were also taken abroad into Europe for musical tours. I also had a family, wife and two children with a large house and very large garden and as mentioned before, latterly I took up woodturning.
In February 2000, soon after my mother had died I collapsed whilst doing some work in the garden on a beautiful sunny afternoon (always the way Michael) Was rushed off to the LRI and some time later to Glenfield General Hospital to be given various tests including an angiopgram and some electrical tests where they tried to duplicate the reason for my heart going into VT. After 2½ weeks, a lot of medication and a repeat of the test it was decided that a defibrillator was necessary.
The next line we can all relate to Michael
How I felt when told that I would probable live for only 2 years if the defibrillator was not fittedMany of these words we all feel well I did anyway
Terrified, Devastated, Worried, Depressed, End of Active life as I'd known it.
Changes to life-style when I came out of hospital
Dare do very little except rest, No driving - licence taken away for 6 months minimum, Stayed at home or driven about, {Amioderone - side effects, Sun blistering - nightmares - numbness - sweating bouts. {STOPPED}
After imput from Rehab, Team at Glenfield
From the first session I was made to realise that exercise was good. That I should try to lead as normal a life as possible. Defib was there to ensure quick return to normal if I collapsed again. Gradually got used to Defib,- now forget that it is there. Now do most things that I use to do. Also GYM 3 times per week. I again took up woodturning
Unfortunately, in February 2001 I had another collapse, (what happened to the second of my two years) (it happens to us all Michael just when things are looking great then bang) but after being fitted with a new defibrillator and a pacemaker plus a change in medication I am now leading an almost normal life (don't tell my wife that I am never normal ~S~) visiting the gym 3 times a week and doing most of my hobbies. We have recently moved house which means a lot of extra odd-jobs, including gardening, but I seem to be coping very well. There is a little restriction on what I can do because of arthritis, but generally speaking there are not enough days in the week to do all I would like to do.( tell me about it Michael ~S~ same here)
Michael White, Oadby Leicester
I spent some time with a football player and what a player he was since he left school.
He started at Leicester City Football Club when he left school and done his apprenticeship with them.
Lets start at the at the start. I went and have a interview with him and had it all on tape only to find that the tape broke just like my luck I call the tape many names I can tell you as he has very little time to give interviews. So i had to go back again. Thank you Nevell.
Nevell was at Leicester City at 1967 to 1978 and sold to Mansfields Town the he went to Rochdale then sign for Wolves in 1984 Wovlerhamton .
At Wovlerhamton is where problems started with his heart. He found that one time he was training he just collapsed this was in the per season training match he had died on the pitch and had to be brought back to life by the people on the field..
After months and months of tests the doctors told him he had a rear problem with his heart the problem he would go into VT (come on don't ask me to spell that I am not that good LOL).
This is one of these problems that is life threatening and could happen any time any where. He had to give up football.
Now he had been Playing football from 1967 to 1978 and this was his living, so this was hard for him as well as his family and I would think made he mad as he had done nothing else all his working like.
He so many tests to try and get his heart to go into VT again like running on the tread mill where he would black out many times. As he said thats was proof for him that this was a one off thing. I ask him did anything happen before the major one and on thinking back he said he could remember at times he would lose minutes in a match where he would not remember what had happened in the last few minutes but would come to and carrying on playing in other games he would become breathless for no reason at all now remember he had been playing for years some 200 games and he was a fit person like all of us before the heart attacks we would get. OK he never had a drink (watch it before you say anything ~S~) in some games he could not breath for the last 20 mins of the game so he had to come off and rest unbeknown to him this was when his heart went into VT but not that bad but still this was a warning to his body and mind but because he did not know what was happening he just carried on playing.
He was move to Rochdale football team and at this football team he had a couple of dizzy spells and at the end of the season he was given a lot of yellow cards (in four games for people that don't know what this is, its a refs warning for fouls (hehehe) and if you get four or more you have to spot playing for so many games) this was at the end of the season) he was sent of for a real bad foul he says he was not bad (now where have I heard that before ~S~) after that he could not play for three games well as luck would have it this would take him to out of season so not games for a few months He was at Wolves at the time so he never played a game at all at Wolves at all. The first games in season was against Leeds United on of his old teams so he was looking forward to this game (we all would I think ~S~) he was playing at per season game on a Tuesday and to this day he does not now how he finished the game. After the game he went to the team Doctor and told him something was wrong as he was getting lots of dizzy spells and guess what the doctor told him it could be your diet and come back in the morning. He told the doctor he was not able to run for a long time as he would in a normal game, over the short he was OK but for prolonged running this was out. He played one game where he was not like his self he was on patch so tied that he collapsed on the pitch and died but as luck would have it he was with people that knew what to do and was given the kiss of life. After which he was taken to hospital the local one then onto other ones for test until he got to London St Gorges where he was given drugs to control the VT and never played a game of football again. For years he was given lots of drugs and these was changed many time over the years because of the VT (this would come back as well as the dizzy spells) the hospital fond the right mix of drugs and that lasted for around 10 years.
He came back to Leicester City Football Club and became a trainer for the your people but as you get older you do slow down (hold on there is this the same for all of us.....yes I think it is ~S~) after this he asked the doctor if there was anything else he could do about the way he felt. Now you have to think what a trainer does and with children heaven help him there a bad enough in the streets but to keep them under control on a pitch thats a job I would not like to do I can tell you ~S~. The doctor wrote to Glenfield Hospital where he was given tests and we all know what tests there are don't we. The doctor said there is a way where the doctors can laser the part of the heart thats given the problem and laser it out. This was tried and this did not work. There took him of all his drugs and guess what that did not work. Then he was told about the Defib machine, this is where he had to think about all the things that goes with it. The doctor said he could come of some of his drugs and as he had a family as well he had to think of them as well, like we all had to and to try and work out which is best the drugs all your life or the machine (not a lot to choose from, one or the other, as we all have to ask that question at some time) Nevell said lets go for it to the doctors. After it was put in his life changed so much and the good life was back normal with him again with no problems (thats a if the Defib behaves itself and he also) He is like myself forward thinking and don't worry about his health a lot as long as he is feeling OK.
After the operation his life has been great and five years down the line he is ready to have the machine replace with a new one. He has two socks for his machine he has now. He was playing football both times (now this is not the thing to do Nevell ~S~) the first time he just got carried away playing football and BANG he was in the box in front of the goal and he thought someone had kick him in the back there he was on the ground thinking what was going on here looking around trying to find who had done this little did he know it was his machine that bang in.
Now his looking forward to having a new machine (thinking he will be asleep when it is done little does he know. Its not that bad Nevell.
He is a lovely person and i look forward to meeting him again with his new machine and then I will be told of good don't worry.
But as you can see life can bring many changes without you knowing about it as the story of |Nevell shows. You never now whats round the corner and its down to you as to how you use you life as for Nevell he has a good job and a good doctor at Glenfield so things should be OK for him if not I am in trouble AGAIN so i better watch out.
Good luck Nevell and thank you for meeting me not once but twice.
Chev Colin Kerridge K.T. and Web Master of Zapper UK
