posted on July 23, 2001 02:58:43 PM
Bush Resting Comfortably after Surgery
>
> July 19, 2001 | WASHINGTON -
>
> In the second White House health scare in little more than a week,
> doctors Wednesday night implanted a sophisticated pacemaker in
> President Bush's brain. The device, known as an Implantable
> Cranial Defibrillator, or ICD, continuously monitors and records the
> president's brain waves. When Mr. Bush's brain activity becomes
> dangerously slow for a chief executive, the device delivers a mild
> electric shock, jolting the president back to a relatively active
> mental state.
>
> "I feel good," the president told reporters several hours after the
> operation. Bush then twitched noticeably. "I mean, I feel well," he
> said. Doctors say the implant is performing flawlessly, although
> they're trying to limit the number of shocks Bush receives to fewer
> than 100 a day. The surgery came barely a week after Vice
> President Dick Cheney was fitted with a device to regulate his
> irregular heartbeat.
>
> The White House portrayed last night's medical procedure as an
> "insurance policy" against further problems for the president. At a
> news conference at George Washington University Hospital, where
> the operation was performed, doctors downplayed the seriousness
> of Bush's condition. The periodic electric jolts from the implant,
> physicians say, will have minimal effect on the president.
>
> "His hair is not going to stand on end," said chief surgeon Dr. Alan
> J. Thayer. "Well, maybe a little."
>
> The president, looking tired but fit after his operation, said that the
> device will help him function better as a world leader.
>
> "The American people need to know that their president is
> equipped to handle a trouble spot like Slovenia," Mr. Bush said.
> "Serbia, I mean Serbia," he added, his head jerking violently.
>
> Bush has an extensive medical history of moderately impaired
> thinking and reasoning, dating back to the 1970s. Doctors have
> long noted that the president's thoughts easily become confused,
> and that his public pronouncements often deteriorate into a tangle
> of mispronunciations, faulty logic and bad grammar. Although
> Bush's condition wasn't serious enough to prevent him from running
> for president, or from winning the state of Florida, doctors say his
> condition has deteriorated significantly in recent months. The
> president's brain wave activity dipped dangerously low during his
> recent trip to Europe, and stopped altogether at one point during a
> meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Russian
> leader was unaware of any change in Mr. Bush's condition, officials
> say.
>
> Yesterday, the president's doctors subjected him to a battery of
> mental tests to assess his risk of developing a potentially fatal
> "zero brain wave" pattern. Once the risk was confirmed, surgeons
> decided to implant the electronic device, which acts both as a
> pacemaker and a defibrillator. The pacemaker component is
> programmed to speed up the president's thinking when it becomes
> abnormally slow. The defibrillator can shock his brain back to a
> normal state if Bush's thoughts become "too fast," although
> doctors say that the chances of that happening are remote.
>
> The device that doctors sutured to the base of the president's
> cerebellum is known as a Medtronic Gem IV DR model. (There
> were some problems with an earlier model, which had to be
> recalled by the manufacturer.) Such devices, once the stuff of
> science fiction, have become an increasingly common tool in
> modern neurology. Hundreds of prominent Americans have been
> fitted with so-called mental pacemakers in recent years, including
> actor Adam Sandler, TV personality Mary Hart, Yankees owner
> George Steinbrenner, singer Britney Spears, Rep. Gary Condit, D-
> Calif., former vice president Dan Quayle, and the entire board of
> directors of the now-defunct Pets.com. Some of those who wear a
> mental pacemaker expressed hope that the president's condition
> would raise public awareness about their circumstance.
>
> "This may turn out to be a blessing in the skies for all of us," said
> talk show host Maury Povich, who was fitted with one of the first
> Medtronic devices four years ago. Mr. Povich trembled violently
> from head to toe before adding, "I mean disguise, disguise, for
> God's sake, turn it off." Bush has been advised to avoid deep
> thoughts for a few days to give the device a chance to settle in
> place. Doctors say the president so far has cooperated fully with
> the recommendation. Bush has also been told to alternate holding
> his cell phone against his right and left ear so the implant receives
> equal doses of radiation from each side. And the president will
> have to run at full speed whenever passing through White House
> metal detectors.
>
> Several congressional leaders privately expressed concern about
> the president's medical procedure, coming barely a week after
> Cheney was fitted with a device to regulate his irregular heartbeat.
> But Bush dismissed the worries, stating that the Bush-Cheney
> team is "more fit than ever" to lead the country.
>
> "You'll find no healthier duo than Dick Cheney and I," Bush said.
> The president hesitated, as if waiting for a signal, and when none
> came, broke into a toothy grin.
posted on July 23, 2001 03:16:24 PM
Well, Pilgrim, ya got me, I thought it was gonna be a complete brain transplant with a little something to smooth out the verbal skills........ohhhh welll, never mind!
