Bill Deitemeyer bdeit@cfl.rr.com Florida age 54 married to Karen one son, one daughter & one granddaughter

My name is Bill Deitemeyer and my wife is Karen. We moved from Indiana to Florida in 1971 and lived pretty active lives until September of 1998, when we were told I have CHF. Our son, wife and 17 month old granddaughter live in North Carolina, where he is a mechanic and his wife is a respiratory therapist. Our daughter lives in Gainesville, Florida, after graduating from the University of Florida last spring with a bachelor's degree in sociology. Our picture was taken before I was diagnosed, and before we both lost weight on low fat diets
     We have a 30 foot party hut pontoon boat and were actively looking for a sail boat when we got the bad news. We are still able to use the pontoon boat at times. Since we keep it docked in the City docks (City of Kissimmee), it isn't too difficult to take the canvas down and take it out for a few hours. One of the many nice things about this boat is that you always have a place to take a nap whenever necessary. We had to cancel our plans for a sail boat though.
     I am employed by the City of Kissimmee, although it looks as if I will be taking disability retirement as soon as all the details are worked out, since my cardiologist told me at the end of September to apply for Social Security Disability and stop working immediately. My wife is employed by Osceola County. We have been fortunate to have them as employers because they have been very helpful and understanding in both our cases. Karen is still working, when she's not taking me to Tampa General Hospital or for my local doctor visits. I don't know why anyone would call them visits, or appointments for that matter. They are not a pleasant place to go and they are never on time. The city is responsible for my condition being found at the time it was. They had most employees take a physical by a nurse they brought in, and the nurse told me I had to see a doctor about this irregular heart beat. I did not know before that day I even had an irregular heart beat. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had not had that physical, expecially since I'm one of those people who always say, "There is nothing wrong with me."

My Health

The news of an enlarged heart, leaky valve, irregular heart beats, 30% blockage (which they originally thought was 50%) of the left main artery, and an EF of 12% was a pretty huge shock to us both. I've had a lot of the usual tests up to and including an EP study. In that test, they do a catheterization with a wire and after reaching your heart, give you electrical shocks in various parts of the heart to make your heart beat go out of control, then shock you back to join the living. If your heart can be shocked into an arrhythmia, they either kill that tiny part of the heart with electricity, or later implant a defibrillator which will shock your heart back to normal if and when necessary. I needed the implant. If they can't get your heart to go out of control, they figure you're safe from sudden death without the implant. They did this test because my heart beat is very irregular, has extra beats, and PVCs. The defibrillator is about the size of a beeper, which goes under the skin above and to the left of one's heart. A wire goes from it through a vein into the heart. I just had this done a week ago and haven't had time to get used to it yet. These tests have been done at Tampa General Hospital's Cardiac Transplant Center. I go back the middle of January for tests to check my general health, all of which is to determine when and if I go on the transplant list, since there is nothing else that can be done for me at this point.

My Meds

This site has been very helpful and gives you a little peace of mind, getting to know others with the same problems and everyone praying for each other. This site is not new to me, I'm just now getting around to "signing in." A special thanks to Jon and also to Bill Drummond.

Update Update Update Update

April 22, 2000 - I did apply for and receive Social Security Disability and was one of the lucky ones who was approved right away, and did not have to file an appeal. My employer approved my medical retirement and as a retiree I am able to continue my health insurance through them.
     During the past year my condition has improved to the point that I no longer need a heart transplant. My EF has gone up to 40%, my latest Vo2max test was 19% (up from 16) and my heart is back to normal size. Although the dead part of my heart muscle will never come back to life, the remaining good muscle is working better. My doctor says there is no medical reason for me to have improved, but I have.

Bill -- January 7, 1999

All information on this site is opinion only. All concepts, explanations, trials, and studies have been re-written in plain English and may contain errors. No one here is a doctor. No information on this page should be used by any person to affect their medical, legal, educational, social, or psychological treatment in any way. This web site and all its pages copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Jon C.