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Pacemaker, Lifelong Anticoagulants and Lost Travel Dreams

Day 4 · 1:46:15 · Lisa Lavoie · Shannon Holmes · Dean Allison

  • 🔋 She now carries a pacemaker-defibrillator that itself caused arm thrombosis twice, serious bleeding, and permanent arm impairment.
  • 🩸 Lifelong anticoagulants leave her terrified of bleeding to death from any injury; arrhythmias may soon require drugs she cannot tolerate.
  • ✈️ Retirement travel plans are abandoned because she cannot be far from treatment and must constantly gauge limited energy.

Ongoing device complications and the collapse of the independent life she had planned.

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Transcript

Lisa Lavoie · 1:46:15

I understand that you had to have a pacemaker installed. I have a pacemaker, a defibrillator, that has caused problems as well. I've had thrombosis in the arm twice, serious bleeding, and I still have trouble with my arm. I can't, uh, use it properly. I'm relying on my partner to help me. You also take anticoagulants constantly? That's right. I'll be taking them for life. I'm still worried about hurting myself somehow and me and bleeding, bleeding to death. There are arrhythmias. I don't think that my pacemaker could deal with it. I'll have to add drugs in that case, which I probably won't be able to withstand.

Lisa Lavoie · 1:47:19

So truly things are not rosy. You also mentioned that you retired because you wanted to travel. And what has— what, what of your plans today? I've, I've given up on it. I can't be far away. I need treatment. If ever I'm far away and I do treatment, well, that's inconceivable. And this is what I think about. What's been the worst for you through all this process? First of all, we were lied to. I'm still trying to get the truth, like many of us here. I hope that we'll receive it one day, but I am a shadow of myself.

Lisa Lavoie · 1:48:20

I used to be full of energy, ready for anything. Now I can't work standing up for too long. I have to sit down, otherwise I'll go completely nuts. You had to reduce your work hours to 15 hours a week?

Shannon Holmes · 1:48:40

That's right.

Shannon Holmes · 1:48:41

Night.

Lisa Lavoie · 1:48:41

I can't do more than 5 hours a day because I just become exhausted. Uh, I have no energy if I do too much in a day, which is something I still try to do. Then I pay for it the next day.

Shannon Holmes · 1:48:56

Absolutely.

Lisa Lavoie · 1:48:59

So my life is very limited. You told me that you have gone from being autonomous independent to someone who relies on their partner for daily errands and tasks, for driving, to be able to carry out activities. And every single day you have to gauge how much energy you have before undertaking something. A lot of the problem is the anxiety. I don't want to take antidepressants. I know how they can affect us. But I'm dealing with all that as well at the same time. I'll let the MPs, uh, comment or question here.

Dean Allison · 1:49:51

And, um, we appreciate, uh, your journey too.

Lisa Lavoie · 1:49:56

Thanks to you.

Dean Allison · 1:49:57

No, and so I just, uh, just, just wanted to know, like, in— how does this affect the family in terms of your, your, your immediate family or maybe even extended?