I went for my daily acclimatization hike on May 1 and immediately noticed that my heart was beating erratically and my breathing was quite labored. I returned to my tent and rested for a couple of hours but my breathing didn't return to normal. I visited the HRA docs and they recommended that I go to a hospital in Kathmandu for a proper examination. I flew there on May 2 and was seen at the CIWEC clinic. They diagnosed arrhythmia and advised that I return home for treatment.
I flew out on May 4, quite concerned about the international flight ban that seemed to be a moving target.
I was seen by the local heart hospital and they recommended that I get a three wire pacemaker to correct the problem! This was not something that I was planning for!!
The surgery was done on May 12 and I am now at home doing my best to heal. One benefit of all of this (besides not possibly dying on my summit push!) is that there's a good chance that I will be faster in the future. My heart was not beating in time and this made it inefficient but the pacemaker will hopefully correct this. I certainly would enjoy that!
As everyone likes to say, the mountain will be there next year.
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