Cheney Is Back, With Heart Pump and New Outlook

[babylonsister]

But w/o a pulse...


Cheney Is Back, With Heart Pump and New Outlook
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Published: January 4, 2011


WASHINGTON — A few days before Christmas, former Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from several months of a self-imposed political sabbatical to headline a fund-raiser for Maria Cino, a party operative and Bush administration official who is running to replace Michael Steele as head of the Republican National Committee.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was noticeably thinner at a groundbreaking ceremony for former President George W. Bush’s presidential library in November.

The fund-raiser for Ms. Cino, held at the Alexandria, Va., home of Mr. Cheney’s former aide Mary Matalin, was his first major foray into partisan Washington political theater since receiving a mechanical heart pump in July that has, most doctors say, saved Mr. Cheney’s life by taking on the task of helping to push blood through his arteries.

snip//

At 69, Mr. Cheney’s heart will never beat at full strength again, doctors say. His new mechanical pump — a partial artificial heart known as a ventricular assist device — leaves patients without a pulse because it pushes blood continuously instead of mimicking the heart’s own beat. Most pulse-less patients feel nothing unusual, but the devices do pose significant risks of infection. They are implanted as a last resort either for permanent use or as a bridge to transplant until a donor heart can be found. Mr. Cheney, who has participated in some of the nation’s toughest decisions for decades, now faces a crucial one of his own: whether to seek a full heart transplant.

It is a decision he will most likely be forced to make within months. He is old enough that soon he will no longer qualify for a transplant, doctors say. And while it is possible for some patients with Mr. Cheney’s device to live for years, the long-term prospects remain unknown.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/us/politics/05cheney.html?_r=2&ref=politics

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. I rarely piss on someone who is down

but in his case, I am more than willing, no, extremely eager to make an exception.

[3waygeek]

3. Hey, he's been pissing on us for 40 years...

about time we should repay the favor.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

33. I don't think we'll have the time to do it justice.

[Parche]

2. gawd he looks like death warmed over

someone who i will never miss if he kicks the bucket
and i am not a mean person
but what he did is not forgivable

[napi21]

4. WOW! He looks terrible in that pic! He reallylost a lot f weight,

and it makes him look more like 80 than 70. Based strictly on appearances, he doesn't look like he could even withstand a heart transplant operation.

[hlthe2b]

5. No pulse needed when you warm your electrical device "heart"

with pure evil intent. And, that, Cheney has in spades.

[merh]

28. I wouldn't be surprised if he cannot see his reflection in a mirror

or his shadow.

They say evil spirits have that problem.

[Missy Vixen]

6. Maybe I need to tighten my tinfoil hat a little

but is that really Cheney? Doesn't look like him at all.

C'mon, DU, you know you're wondering, too...

:eyes:

[Cleita]

31. Strangely, I had the same thoughts a few weeks ago

when he first emerged after his operation. The snarl seems to be gone. Does he have a brother or cousin who could pass for him?

[conspirator]

36. He has enough money to pay anyone to pass for him

He is probably enjoying a beach in Hawai

[Cleita]

39. Or he's dead and his evil family is keeping up

appearances. They probably know everyone would be dancing on his grave.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. Reading that I almost regret being an organ donor (almost)

and, doesn't he have a book coming out soon?

[Submariner]

8. The Dick knows the Grim Reaper is just around the corner

I, for one, am glad to see this draft dodging punk unable to enjoy his blood-soaked millions in his retirement.

[truedelphi]

9. Yep he has a new attitude. No longer will he

Eat up those to the left of him, he will only eat them after cutting them up in tiny tiny pieces.

The larger pieces that he used to eat, those might cause him heart burn. Not good for yet another ticker.

[fascisthunter]

10. What a sick pathetic man he is

all the money and power in the world will never make you anything but what you already were.

[madmax]

11. He looks terrible and he seems to know

he's on borrowed time.

[DemoTex]

12. Why hasn't he gone for a heart transplant before now? With all his power?

Maybe for the same reason he got 5 deferments from Viet Nam. Fear of death?

Hate to tell you Dick, but looks like 2011 is your year.

Buh bye.

[lonestarnot]

32. He tried. They called in an accident. Shootemintheface, he didn't "git er done."

Too bad we couldn't transplant his ass onto some other planet.

[TheMightyFavog]

13. He's done it. He's become a lich.

Quick, We must assemble a team of brave heroes to find his phylactery!

[underpants]

14. I know how to play the Darth Vader theme on the guitar

A string open one...two three four
E sting first fret once
A sting third fret once and then open
E sting first fret once
A sting third fret once and then open

Buh ...buh buh BUH
Buh buh buh
Buh buh buh

[bluestate10]

15. Cheney is figuring out his opening move

in the game of checkers he will be playing with the devil, hope be it before long.

[Drale]

16. When they finally decide they can no longer fix the evil black hole

in Cheney's chest, there will be a line to dance on his grave.

[rfranklin]

24. They'll have to put a dance floor over his grave...

about the size of the Roseland Ballroom.

[Iggo]

17. 'When this fucker dies, it'll be front page news.'

[Doremus]

18. Those eyes reveal the evil in that soul-less creature.

They make my hair stand on end.

His demise can't come fast enough for me.

[Contrary1]

19. "He is old enough that soon he will no longer qualify for a transplant, doctors say."

Yeah, right. Like that would be the deciding factor in his case. :eyes:

They must have Cheney confused with the average 69 year old Amurkin with average or no insurance coverage.

[Cleita]

29. Many transplant doctors won't do an elderly

transplant because of the risk and if the patient dies because of a transplant gone wrong they are liable for lawsuits. I feel probably only a hardcore Repuke doctor might risk it all for the Dick.

[NYC Liberal]

20. He had a pulse BEFORE?

Don't believe it.

[Frustratedlady]

21. Actually, his coloring is quite good...better than I can ever remember.

Obviously, the machine is working.

[Mumble]

22. Cheney is the anti-christ.

Not quite as bad as Hitler, but close.

[panzerfaust]

23. Rolex on his wrist - is it not?

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God", Matthew 19:24

Doubt that he sits up nights worrying about that though - as likely he subscribes to Napoleon's view - "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich," and just keeps laughing at those who put the boot of totalitarianism on their own necks.


Most rightwing rednecks are ignorantly digging their own graves.

Being old and sick does not mean that he is not a heartless bastard.

[COLGATE4]

37. Can't argue with the content of your post - but do you think that

illustrating it with a photo of some unfortunates (probably Eastern European Jews) digging their own graves before being shot by the Nazi Einsatzgruppen is really appropriate to a political commentary?

[Angry Dragon]

25. The dick is asking for volunteers

Please step up you true republicans and give up your heart for the Devil Dick

[Generic Other]

26. I hear they transplant babboon hearts into pigs now

[Arugula Latte]

27. We don't need no water let the muthaf@#$%r burn

Burn, muthaf@#$%r, burn!

[lpbk2713]

30. I see buzzards circling above.

It's just a matter of time now.

[snooper2]

34. I give him 10 months..

[Orsino]

35. The greatest health-care system for millionaires in the world. n/t

[dmr]

38. Looks like they just propped him up in that chair

Question is why was it so important to attend this fund-raiser for Cino? What do they (newcons) have planned?

Everyone's been busy watching the teabaggers & not paying attention to the real dangerous & evil assholes in America.

We should keep an eye on Cino, whether she gets the position or not.

:hi:

[The Second Stone]

40. I'm a heart patient and the bad news is he looks good

He has lost a lot of weight. It looks like his congestive heart failure is cured by this device.

[lame54]

41. Lean Mean Killing Machine