The Road to Recovery
In which I discover I have Heart Disease
It’s not uncommon.
In the UK, there are approximately 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory diseases, according to the British Heart Foundation. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death, with around 175,000 deaths annually in the UK. This represents about 26% of all deaths in the UK. While CVD mortality rates have fallen significantly since the 1960s, the condition remains a major public health concern.
My Old Man was one such a person. He first stroked out at the age of 64. Mine was at 58. The only time I ever beat him at anything. It left him very debilitated and not the man he was, at all. As time went by he had more, until finally he died. I was 27.
This affected me so very deeply that I avowed to keep myself fit and healthy. It didn’t start off very well. I still smoked and drank and ate the wrong sorts of foods most of the time. Every so often I would get all self-righteous and quit everything, go on a diet and focus on getting fit. At the age of 33 I brought myself up to North Wales to become an outdoor instructor. I quit the booze. Eventually I quit tobacco too. I became super fit. I ate mountains for breakfast. I was going to live for ever.
And then I wasn’t.
The wife and I wandered on up to Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan on the North Wales coast. It was a lovely drive into the rising sun. We had to be there for 8. I was nervous. It was an invasive procedure and I take Warfarin. It was the first time that my body would be invaded. I’d avoided anything like this all my life. I still wasn’t really taking any of this too seriously, after all this kind of thing was just routine and millions of people go through it. Bit like having a tooth pulled. After all I had shrugged off a Cerebellar stroke.
The procedure went fine. I was worrying for nothing. The consultant came through with the results. There was concern that my blood pressure had gone too high. That needed to be sorted asap. Then he explained with the help of a little diagram that my Right Coronary Artery was 95% blocked and my left 65/70%.
As I was laying there on the bed. Waiting for the blood seeping from my groin to clot I had plenty of time to think about things. How was this going to affect my life. I had been referred to the Angioplasty unit straight away and was ensured that I would hear from them pretty quickly. Knowing the long waiting times that affects most people in this part of Britain I wasn’t holding out much hope. After a couple of uncomfortable hours it was time to go home. All the staff had been fantastic, couldn’t fault them at all. Me, however. I was just a little depressed and imagining all sorts of things. I pulled myself together and told myself to not be such a child.
A few days passed and the new medications had begun to kick in and I felt my spirits lift further. Encouraged by friends and armed with my trusty Nitrolingual spray I began to test my limits. I’m taking Rosuvastatin, Isosorbide Mononitrate, Ramipril, Tildiem and Omeprazole. I’m a regular old Chemical Set. Still they all seem to be helping. I have been practicing Qigong and continuing my learning of Tai Chi most days (I certainly notice it when I don’t). I’ve been going out for walks daily. Some longer than others, I’ve been working in the Garden. I’ve been woodworking and decorating in the house. I’ve been off paddling a few times.
It was on one such walk up in Cwm Bowydd just below Blaenau Ffestiniog. I had stopped to chat with some folk, as you do, when my phone went. I made my apologies to the couple and took the call. It was the Cardio Unit. Would I like to come in on the 29th of August. I’m not ashamed to say that I whooped for joy. The clouds were lifting and the end of this phase was in sight. Soon I would be able to really get going. I had been making plans in my head for some time. The time had come to really believe in them and start transforming them into realities