My boating days may be over.
 

Yesterday I was putting my boat in the water to use over the 4 day weekend. I had just tied the bow line, walked to the stern, as i went to put the stern line on My defribulator went off. I never in my life felt anything like that. I thought I put my hand on an exposed power line. I'm not sure how but I ended up standing on the dock with the rope on my hand. All of a sudden it went off again. I always wondered how it felt when the guys on Cops get tazered. I can't even imagine since that is much worse then this. I lost control of every muscle in my body. Today every joint is acheing.
I had a few guys tie up the boat while I waited for the EMS to get there. When they got there and started checking me out and asking questions, they all asked the same thing, should you be doing this type of boating with a defributlator. I told them the doctor said it was fine. After about 20 minutes in the ambulance, my heart surgeon answered our page. After going over all the heart readings with the EMS he said i could go home if I want but be in his office Monday morning. If it goes off again, go to the Emergency room and call him. He also said it may be time to get a new hobby, we'll talk about it on Monday.
I think I will go out of my mind if I'm going to have to give it up. Like most of you guys, I don't thing 1 hour goes by a day that I am not doing something or at least thinking about something to do with boating. Most of my decisions are made around it. (Where to live, how much to spend on other things, plans for anything are done around Poker run dates).
The worst part is, the doctor told this directly to my girl friend. Now I will have a headache if I even mention the boat.
I guess I will find out more tomorrow. Anyone can think of any good argument points on why I should be allowed to keep boating, send them.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

:( :( :(

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

I hope the Doc will not take the boat away, but remember things could be worse. :D

Hope all goes well.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

You have some bad luck,keep the fingers crossed.We need to get you a shot of High octane and your good as new. Good LucK!!! Tom Abrams

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

There is always something to be thankful for and today it is that you were able to tell the story. Maybe consider letting somebody else do the strenuous work (like the girl friend) and you do the rest.

Boating is one of the last things I will give up. I can see it now, a Skater rigged for wheel chair access, oxygen, the chair straps in behind the helm with the throttles mounted on the arm of the chair. :D

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Take your doctor out on your boat that should change his mind. :D :D

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

My skin cancer doctor is HARD on my azz to give up boating. After 45 MAJOR skin cancer surgeries he is really putting it to me hard to stay out of the sun even though I don't go anywhere without my SPF 50. His reasoning is pretty simple and difficult to debate: "You've got skin cancer issues caused by the sun, what's not to understand"????? :rolleyes: :mad:

Best of luck to you, in all ways...Russ

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Can't imagine not seeing your posts. Boating can't be as strenuous as being VP of the US. Get in touch with the best in the world and do whatever it takes. If boating means that much, Never Give Up! Your girlfriend will understand. Best of luck, keep us informed.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

.Non boaters just think that giving up boating is just like giving up golf. :( :(

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Sorry to hear Gino :( What exactly about the 'boating' hobby is no good for the heart?? Stress?? I would think it helps ... it does for me. If the stress is labor related, like you're working too hard getting boat in and out and preparing. Have someone / pay someone to do ALL that stuff for you :) Other than that I'd be interested what the doc thinks that's going to buy you?!

Take care of yourself first though G ;) Maybe there's something more long term that can be done medically for you.

Chris

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Sorry to hear this lubejob... As a matter of fact, things could be worst, but you may look for a driver. I'm sure you would not have to pay to find someone who already knows about driving a boat, teach him how to drive your boat, so almost whenever you want to go, plan it with him, and then go for it! A friend of mine has done that with a plane, why not with a boat! (by the way if I would live closer to you I'd give you my name!)

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Damn Gino...That sucks. Hope you feel better. I'm with ya on the "What would I do w/o boats" I personally would go nuts, gain even more weight and drive my wife completely out of her mind!! :eek:

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Sorry to read about your incident this morning. I assume you suffer from Ventricular Arithmia's. Considering your defribulator is lead attached directly to your hearts lower chamber and its output is measured in milivolts I would heed your doctors advice and stay put until your implant be checked Monday. It would appear to be a potential malfunction of the unit. Take care. I do not think your boating days are over. Do you know who the maker of your device is? I don't mean to be personal, just concerned. Jeff

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Sorry to hear this. I know what you mean about not even dreaming of not boating. It becomes an addiction, and settles in your bones.
I've been boatless for a few years, and I've been doing everything I can to scrape some $$ together to get back on the water short of selling my soul (the offer was too low to buy a boat :rolleyes: :D )

Be glad that this happened at the DOCK. This could have been REALLY bad had it happened on the water while running... Could've been much worse for yourself, and possibly others on the water.

I hope it's nothing too serious.
Good Luck!

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Man I realy feel for ya .. But am also impressed by modern medical technology. What about just taking it down a notch.. Maybe a cruiser on a lift out front etc

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino -- You have the worst luck on the board. The car, people ramming the boat, the stepmother dogging you out, etc and now this. The way I look at it , F@CK IT!!! YOU GOTTA DIE OF SOMETHING. It might as well be something you love. :cool:

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino, Sorry to hear this. Not having the boat will bring more stress. get a good fist mate to help with the strenous stuff. You only live once, so live life doing what you love to do!
Karen

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

man, I will say a prayer for ya...

I think Fred is right, you may want to look at keeping the boat at a marina on a lift or something, that makes it pretty non-stressful... maybe keep this idea in your back pocket just in case the doc wants to start limiting you....

of course, you could always just LET ME DRIVE..... :D

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

I'm with most, find a good Boatell that will do all the grunt work. You might want to think about putting a kill switch on the passenger side if you don't already so if it ever happens again they can shut it down.

If you not living for something your dying for nothing

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

What about less work and more boating. I have never known anyone that said boating was stressful. Like I said when you posted your problem, If you have your health, you have everything. A beautiful fast boat does a dead man no good.

Like many people on this site, you must be very Type A and work very hard for what you have and the time to use it. It's time to spend the money on more people to lessen the stress.
It's a hard thing to do when you are a hands on person, but your LIFE depends on it.

Listen to me, I am at work on a Sunday. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino, I would imagine that you were probably boating in Florida when this happened. At this time of the year it is so hot and humid in Florida I can hardly even stand to be on the boat without getting headaches and feeling week and tired. I am no spring chicken but I also don't have a piece of equipment like you have. Why dont you take it easy and limit the boating during the summer as it probably can be really hard on you, especially cause you can become dehydrated in minutes in Florida at this time of the year.

Also I would recommend a cover over the Drivers area and some air conditioning. I saw a 39 Outerlimits with this setup and it was real nice and comfortable.

Limit your boating to early evening when its not so hot and have the boat waiting at the dock for you and just jump in and drive. I am sure Larry can set up this type of concierge service for you.

Good luck and let me know if you need anything. I have several guys I know down there that will be your rope b**** and do all the hard work to enjoy a boat ride.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Keep that in mind!!!

Take your Doc's advice but don't give up living, it wouldn't be worth it.

Good Luck.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Don't give it up. Modifiy, adjust or change as needed. Giving up could cause more of a problem for you than just lightening up a little and taking a rest.
I'm sitting here with on a nice weekend without a boat that's up and running and it sucks. The last time I was out on the water was in February with the Lucky Strikes 1,2,3, and Mrs L.S. What a great time! Take Steves advice and just get some help with the chores and take a co-pilot with you just in case. Now, it's back to sanding and prepping the drives for paint.

Roger

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Here's my take:

We're all going to die. Just like the classic line from the movie "Gladiator" - "In the end, we're all dead men. Sadly, most don't get to choose how."

In one of his last interviews before he died Michael Landon (little Joe on Gunsmoke) put it best. He was dying of cancer - he said: "Live every day to the fullest, tomorrow is not guaranteed. If I could go back I would do many things differently."

You could be killed in a car wreck on the way to that doctor's appointment - you never know. Live your life on your terms and you'll be happer and healthier for it.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Add another to the list.. Comes with tow vehicle and experiance :) :)

It will be interesting to hear what the doc says tomorrow.. Good luck with this, IMO you will persevere though!

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Alot of good advise on the board. I'm just glad you are ok. :cool: Take it easy till Monday, let them diagnose the unit as well as yourself. Please keep us informed, thanks Jeff

Take that boat off the Classified section, you put way to much effort at this time in your life to be second guessing your situation. This is no different then work, you have a situation, you resolve the situation like you always do, and move on. Wait till Monday, and if it is not what you want to hear get a second opinion. Life is a scare, if you truly enjoy boating, you will find alternative mearsures to keep you in boating, good luck this holiday weekend, Im also at home with an injury, so I feel your pain brotha. :drink: Jeff

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino-
If your anything like my me or my dad, someone else driveing or getting the ropes may add more stress. Aside from that though, since my boat is a pita sometimes, id be more then happy to come help out with yours whenever im in the area. AC woudl be great down here now with the heat and humidty. My dad has one on his SF by the helm. or maybe even one of those misters.
-Rick

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

lube, make it your new goal to find out everything you can to bring your heart health up to snuff and i'm not just talking more pharmaceuticals. there have been tremendous advances in things that build hearth health over the past 2-3 years. just a quick note about how wise we have to be about things that are prescribed to us: lipitor - sure it really does lower cholesterol; also depletes co-enzyme Q-10, one of the most critical substances for long term organ health. i could go on and on; point is your doc and meds may well save your life and fix stuff short term but for great cardiac health you're gonna have to dig deeper. i can point you in the rigfht direction. -jeff 503-975-0551

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino,
I hope everyhting works out for you. (hopefully) worst case scenario is that you have to by a cruiser like a nice Sunseeker and relax more on that thing. Good luck.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

A. You were not boating you were on the dock=not boatings fault

B. That happened to my boss a rewire and he was good as new. Faulty defib.

Good luck at DR.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino, I don't know you except for this board. I really hate the situation that your in. With that said... if the doc says find a new hobby then find a new hobby. Nothing is more important than your health!!!! Good luck, and hopefully he will have another solution.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Good thoughts on this already posted:
#1. Probly the box, not you. I'd go for the warranty claim on the ignition.
#2. Boating itself, is NOT a source of stress. NOT boating is.
#3. Trailering sux anyway. Time for a dockominium or other solution.
#4. Redundant kill switches do sound like a good idea.
#5. Doctors are paid to be conservative, and their insurance liability reinforces it.
#6. If / when I die, I'd LIKE it to be on my boat!
My dad had his system upgraded 13 years ago still running strong! Good luck! D911

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Gino, Hope you feel better and everything works out in your favor. Let me know if you need any help with anything.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

I hate hearing stories like this, Just be glad you around to tell it as stated earlier...........

you should start having someone on board to do the harder stuff and capable of running the boat if nessisary though but I wouldnt give it up

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

is this a compliment or insult......... a good thing or bad ?????

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

that sucks hope every thing works out ok .like fred said get some help to load and unload it. may be your local boat hotel will let you have a special rack built . to set your boat on so they can set in in the water for you . best of luck . robbie .

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Wait until the defibrillator is interrogated so your doc can know why it went off. Then you can make a more informed decision about what to do/not do. Several good comments here ... may have been a fault in programming, device malfunction, heat related problem. Unless you were feeling lightheaded and dizzy or felt your heart skipping or racing before it fired, more likely a malfunction.

Don't worry until you know it's time to worry. That will kill you quicker than anything I know.

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

There you go, whoring me out again!!!! :D

It's all good.

Gino, I am free during the day always. I'd be glad to help with launch/retrieve duties, even w/o a ride. I just want to help you stay doing what we all love.

Call me any day. I'm in Deerfield so close by.

Greg
678-778-4734

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Lube,
Rice Hauler here.
I think that the comments of the board in general are to be well taken.
I STRONGLY AGREE with the comments of OSO and those of the like. Hear you physician out FIRST. THE fact that he did not IMMEDIATELY send you to the ER Speaks volumes to me and your overall condition.
The bottom line in a situation like this one is that you do not have to Bleed before your Cut.
Let's get an informed and educated opinion first then start figuring out the ramifications on your life and lifestyle.
Hang in the Buddy. Monday's here in a few hours and I'm sure that with some Prior Planning you can still have your cake and eat it too.
Best,
Robert Shin
a.k.a. Rice Hauler

Re: My boating days may be over.
 

Chin up !

You'll be cool bro !!

LS Steve