Divestment

Today I had my first appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Desai, since my echocardiogram on May 10. He is pleased with the way my heart health is improving, as indicated by my increased ejection fraction. He is also pleased with my weight loss. There really weren’t any negatives to discuss. I’m making progress, gradually but steadily. As I told Dr. Desai, I wish I could take credit for the progress, but I attribute most of it to the medicines that I’ve been taking. There’s no reason to change any of that, and he didn’t. All of my meds remain the same for now.

So, as expected, the topic of the LifeVest came up. That’s the wearable defibrillator that has been my constant companion for five months. Dr. Desai told me that I don’t need to wear it anymore, and when I got home, I removed it. For the first time since I left the hospital on January 3, I am walking around my apartment without it. It feels good to be free and unencumbered.

The LifeVest will have to be returned to Zoll, the company that manufactures and leases it. That should be a straightforward process. I have the box that it came in and all of the materials that were included with it, so packing it for shipment will be simple. I already have a preprinted shipping label. However, I will talk to Zoll customer service tomorrow just to make sure that I am following the correct return procedure.

I have to make another phone call tomorrow. This afternoon, as I was on my way out the door for my appointment with Dr. Desai, I received a call from Cary Dermatology about the test results for the irregular mole that was shaved off my left forearm and sent to pathology last week. I explained that I didn’t have time to talk unless they could tell me the results very quickly, and the person who called me said that wasn’t possible, because they will need to schedule another appointment. So we agreed that I would call them tomorrow morning.

Reading between the lines, I think that means that the test results for the mole were something less than completely benign. If it’s something like the growth on my face that turned out to be basal cell carcinoma, an additional procedure may be needed to ensure that every trace of malignancy is removed. But I’m just speculating. I won’t know the details until I speak to the Cary Dermatology people tomorrow. Whatever I find out, I will report here. Stay tuned.

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