About a year ago, my wonderful friend, Alexandra Evans, called me and told me her story. It was a sad story to say the least, but it has changed a few lives. Mine included. Her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer and Alexandra was prompted into action. She told me that she had thought and prayed on what it was she was compelled to do about this in her life.
She told me that it took a while, but she finally figured out what she could do. She was going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.
You can follow her blog at http://hikeforbreastcancer.blogspot.com/
Then she asked me to join her! Oh my! I don't know what my mouth was thinking that day, but I found myself actually comtemplating this. I brought it up to my husband and family and they were all for it. And before I knew it, I was telling Alexandra that I would help her with her goal. She was more than happy that I had made this decision. But, make no mistake, she was doing this for herself and her mother and her cause. I was along for the ride. I just didn't know what a ride I had signed up for.
It was about a couple of weeks later that I decided that I needed to consult a doctor about how out of shape I was. Let's be honest, the past 20 odd years, I have abused this body, but not felt bad in an overall sense. I knew I was too overweight, but I felt fine!
So, I made the appointment, went in and discovered that, in general, I was in pretty good health. I was not prepared, however, for the doctor telling me that there was a "blip" on my EKG that I had just done in his office. I mean, I was hooked up to a miriad of wires for all of a minute or so, what could be wrong? I felt fine!
He referred me to a cardiologist to get a better reading of the results. That doctor confirmed it. Something was amiss with my heart. I couldn't believe my ears. I felt fine! Does no one hear me when I say this?
The next couple of months were all about finding out what was wrong. He did a few procedures and discovered that my heart was enlarged and that I had a "Left Bundle Branch Block". Say that five times real fast!
He told me to lose weight, that would help with my enlarged heart by not making it work so hard. He told me to get in the gym and do cardio vascular workouts. But the LBBB will always be an issue, no matter what I do.
How could this be happening to me? I felt fine. Sure, I would get short of breath when I went up a flight of stairs or while out trapsing through the woods while hunting. It wasn't anything I had seriously considered might be a problem. Now I know!
I would love to be able to go back a year ago and start this blog from day one and share those daily experiences with anyone who is reading this blog. I would share my thoughts on what this meant to me, my family, my future, all of it. The best I can do is start now.
It was the toughest thing to tell my kids. They took it pretty well and all things considered, are very encouraging towards my goals.
I took a walk one night with my husband, Charlie, who is the rock in my life. He's a no fuss, no muss type of person and always lays it out like it should be. On this walk, we spoke about the hike and what my health issues meant in that regard. He said, "Well, if you die on this hike, then you'll be doing something you can be proud of." It struck me as kind of strange, the way he put it. Did he expect me to die? Could I die if I do this? Well, my cardiologist says that I am "good to go" if I start taking care of my heart. So, I took what Charlie said in the spirit it was given. It was a positive note from him that he was ok with this idea and doing what I needed to be doing to get healthy.
I will probably end up writing about the various people in my life as this blog goes on. But the main focus I want to pay attention to is Heart Disease.
What does this hike mean for me? For you? For all hearts? Well, I'll tell you. It means I want everyone to be aware that if you have a heart, then I am doing this for you.
Take care of your heart, it'll love you for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment