BREAKING NEWS: President Bush Gets Implantable Cranial Defibrillator
Bush rests comfortably after surgery to implant pacemaker in
brain. Thanks to a device similar to the one in Vice President
****** Cheney's heart, the nation has healthy, clear-thinking,
plain-speaking leaders again.
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By Tom McNichol
July 13, 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
****** 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 ****** Cheney and I," Bush said.
The president hesitated, as if waiting for a signal, and when none
came, broke into a toothy grin.
