Chinti's extraordinary care of me following a difficult cardioversion in 2005 has been replayed innumerable times over the years since it is she who I have interrogate my pacemaker on all my visits. She tended to me after three cardioversions, after my ablation, and after my third and fourth pacemaker implants. Because I run every day (average of ten miles when I first came to Emory and seven miles more recently), finding the proper settings (slope and reaction time) is imperative, and every new pacemaker implant requires new adjustments. As a result, I usually come in and do "road tests" so that Chinti and I can find the "sweet spot" which enables me to run fast, run comfortably, and push the pacemenker to its upper limits.

For years, I would run the hospital's parking deck (up and down), and, more recently, I have devised a course along Peachtree and Spring Streets and back to the hospital where Chinti will immediately interrogate me after each trial run so I can decide which settings are best. Not only have we done this for years, but, on my request, Chinti agrees to see me extra early in the day so that I can avoid crowded sidewalks on my runs. On the occasions I have experienced discomfort when running back in Madison, GA, Chinti has agreed to see me ASAP to address the concern. There have been a litany of instances over the past almost ten years, which have manifested the extraordinary personal care afforded me by Chinti Bali, who, as I tell everyone who knows I have a pacemaker, holds my life in her hands, and I trust her without reservation.