So after a bit of time recuperating back home in Australia, well the home of Pedr’s parents, we’re now ready to head off on another adventure. After we arrived back in Australia we visited various medical professionals who were all surprised that Pedr had had a heart attack. Even now it’s still a bit of a mystery as to what caused it in the first place. During all this poking and prodding the doctors noticed that the electrical signals in the damaged area of his heart could cause a dangerous arrhythmia. So he’s also had an ICD implanted in his chest (it’s a bit like a pacemaker, but corrects a fast heartbeat instead of a slow one). So now he’s got Energizer batteries to keep him going. This does mean that it’s less risky for him to go wandering around in remote areas so it’s a positive overall. He was a bit disappointed a week after the surgery, because when the nurse removed his clear wound dressing the very impressive looking scar had gone. All that was left was a reddish line.
But apart from that minor setback he’s feeling really good. He hasn’t felt lightheaded or breathless doing normal things, so hopefully he won’t be too badly affected going hiking or doing any of our other adventurous activities. Only one way to find out! But we will take it easy to start with, and not push too hard unless we think he can handle it. So no need to worry there. One thing we are very grateful for is the fact that we live in Australia. I don’t know how much it would’ve cost for Pedr to spend a week in the hospital, and undergo two specialist surgical procedures, but we didn’t have to pay anything for it. We probably would’ve had to have sold our home if we were from the US. So for people complaining about paying taxes; they helped keep Pedr alive which we’re grateful for.
Blog Revamp
You may have also noticed that the blog has a new look. Along with the new look, it’s going to change the focus a bit to more adventure travel. So expect to see more specific posts about hiking, biking, diving, etc and tips and advice. But don’t worry, we’re still going to keep you posted on where we are in the world and what we’re doing. So you can still find out about the latest dumb things we’ve done.
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