Dec 22, 2020
Pope Francis and Pacemakers
By Father Don Hornsey - Lower Hutt
It seems that for most, if not all of my life, I have had an irregular heart beat, but it never caused any problems as I rode a bicycle for ten consecutive days visiting communities in rural Brasil, nor when I climbed hills at 4,000 metres in Peru. However, a recent blackout led to the diagnosis that with advancing age, the arrhythmia heartbeat was causing problems and a pacemaker was recommended. Last Tuesday, I had one inserted at Wellington Hospital.
Wellington Hospital
The professional and friendly care of the doctors, nurses and technicians was wonderful. In the intervals between procedures, I read Pope Francis' latest encyclical letter, ''Fratelli Tutti'' and I found some very relevant passages. In no. 54 he says ''The recent pandemic enabled us to realise that our lives are interwoven with and sustained by ordinary people valiently shaping the decisive events of our shared history'', and heading the long list that he gives are doctors and nurses.
Fifteen people attended me in different ways and they came from from India, Philippines, Iran, England, Ireland and Aotearoa. In No 129 of ''Fratelli Tutti'' I read ''Our response to the arrival of migrating persons can be summed up by four words: welcome, protect, promote and integrate so that through these four actions, we may undertake a journey together, that while preserving respective cultural differences and religious identity, we are open to differences and know how to promote the spirit of human fraternity.''
I shared that with one of the doctors and he said that it was like a league of nations in the cardiac unit, with all working together as a team.
As I came home, with a renovated heart, I also left with a great feeling of hope after a brief experience of the values of the kingdom of God at work in unity and friendly service. Part of the final prayer of Francis sums it up well.
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us dreams of renewed encounter.
May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognise the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects
and shared dreams. Amen,
Information - What is a Pacemaker
A pacemaker is a small but very sophisticated electronic device that is implanted under the skin to help regulate the heartbeat. Specifically, pacemakers are most commonly used to treat several cardiac arrhythmias that produce bradycardia which is a heartbeat that is too slow. The heart rhythms that cause bradycardia are sick sinus syndrome and heart block. Pacemakers usually eliminate the symptoms caused by bradycardia including weakness, fatigue, lightheadedness, dizziness, or syncope (loss of consciousness).
Contrary to what you may have heard, pacemakers do not take over the work of the heart. After you have a pacemaker, your heart still does all its own work. Rather, the pacemaker merely helps to regulate the timing and sequence of your heartbeat.
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