Friday's operation to remove the cursed pacemaker was a success! Everything went well, the surgeons were able to clean up the area around the pacemaker which was looking pretty nasty, I'm told. They aren't worried about the growth inside Ivy's heart valve either. It's at a size now where the immune system can take care of it on it's own. Ivy just has to rest up, recover, and run the rest of the course of antibiotics before she has another pacemaker put in. Having been a victim of cardiac arrest, she will have to have a pacemaker/defibrillator for the rest of her life.
Ivy's in good shape though, considering the anesthetic, and the duration of her hospitalization so far (now surpassing 3 weeks). She was heard to declare today: "My sense of humor is coming back." I observed that her "sarcast-o-meter" was up at about 95% all day. She is doing very well indeed, and her caustic wit abounds. Be warned, if you're one of the unfortunate souls to ask her how she's feeling, you'll likely to hear the retort: "I'm in the %#@*ing hospital. How do you think I'm feeling?" Do not despair however, she still loves you.
