Dublin Woman One of the First to Receive New Pacemaker

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A new pacemaker is keeping a Dublin woman’s heart rate on track.

Shirley Henderson is one of the first people in the region to receive this new device.

“It felt kind of strange at first.” I was like okay, but then I trust Dr. Sogade. He’s really good at what he does,” she said.

Henderson got the first pacemaker after having an irregular heartbeat.

But it gave her an infection, so she had surgery on June 8th for the new pacemaker.

Her husband, William, remembers when she got sick.

“It was scary because I went through it with her and it was more than a six month period we was going through this stuff until it was finally taken out,” he said.

Dr. Felix Sogade, from Navicent Health, removed Henderson’s old pacemaker.

“This new pacemaker is very revolutionary because there is no wire to break and there is no restriction on the use of the upper part of the body with this particular device,” Sogade said.

The device is inserted through someone’s groin, unlike the old pacemaker that requires an incision in someone’s chest.

“There is no scar for you too see on the body. There is no reminder for you, when you’re dressing in the morning, for a scar to remind you, oh I have a pacemaker, ” Sogade said. “So you may even forget that you have a pacemaker with this type of device.”

Henderson said she is grateful for her husband helping her through this process.

“He’s been great, I gotta give it to him. When I was going through those treatments with the antibiotics, he was there with all the treatments. He was amazing,” she said.

The pacemaker is expected to last about nine years.