Yesterday, DH played his first game of golf in 5 1/2 weeks; the time which has elapsed since he collapsed on the final hole of that same golf course, early in December.
This was his chest a day or so after the pacemaker was implanted...still a bit swollen then of course.
This was his chest a day or so after the pacemaker was implanted...still a bit swollen then of course.
The plastic adhesive over the wound meant he could continue to shower as normal. The dressings were taken off a week after the operation and over the weeks the swelling and soreness had completely disappeared. Golfing was off the agenda for a while as the electrodes which had been attached by tiny screws into heart tissue could be ripped out by the action of the golf swing and the follow through. After 4 weeks the electrodes would be anchored firmly by tissue growing around them.
Yesterday's game went well with him being placed 18th in a field of well over 100 players. So he came home feeling rather pleased.
But one day last year in July he was even more pleased with his game. After 40 plus years playing golf, he finally achieved that 'hole in one!' And in November we both attended the club's presentation night so that DH could receive his trophy.
The table all loaded up with the various trophies...
The main guest speaker for the night was another member of the club, who happened to be an Australian tennis champion from the 1950s to the early 1970s, Mal Anderson. My mum had been a really big fan of Mal and I remember how chuffed she was when her granddaughters had tennis lessons with him at their school. Mal was a very entertaining speaker having embraced golf after his 'tennis days'.
After speeches, it was time for the trophies to be distributed...DH receiving his...
A close-up; it is the actual ball that he used that day. The club takes it and sends it off to the trophy maker to be incorporated into the piece. There were a few 'holes in one' winners last year; not all on the same hole as DH. His achievement was on the 16th.
So it's good to report that DH is now back golfing and possibly hoping to replicate last year's achievement; the hole in one that is...not the collapse or 'dispsy doodle' as he described it! lol
