Another year has passed. Hard to believe it was 8 years ago on February 10, 2017 that I woke up still not feeling right...
You see, Walter, my cat, and I had been living the bachelor's life as Susan was in Florida for her annual visit with her parents. I share this information because the night before, I consumed a Pepperoni Pizza, Chubby Hubby Ice Cream, and washed it down with a diet Dr. Pepper - secret cheat dinner while the wife was away. Funny thing, I went to bed not feeling well.
That next cold morning, as I was trying to get ready for work I was nauseous and had a dull indigestion like pain in my chest. I usually power through such things but for this I needed to go sit on the icy cold balcony to get some fresh air. I knew together these were signs of something not good but didn't want to believe it was happening to me. When my wrists and hands became fatigued, I realized that ignoring this could be the last stupid decision I might ever make. It wasn't the last stupid decision, I had another one. I convinced my condo neighbor to drive me to the Emergency Room because I didn't want to create a scene that early Friday morning. Listen up...never drive or be driven to the ER by a friend when you're in the midst of a heart attack. No matter how awful you're feeling, the staff will reprimand you for not taking an ambulance. You put yourself and others in greater danger.
Why do I share all this? Because I can. I survived the "widow maker" and I want you to think about my experience and make sure you survive too. I walk every year to raise money for the American Heart Association so they have resources to educate and aid in the survival of Heart Events. I walk for the memory of my parents who both had open heart surgery, my brother Mark and nephew Rick VanHaste who both had heart attacks, my brother Charlie who has heart disease (which is monitored closely), and Tom Diesburg who survived a heart attack at a young age and so kindly reached out to me after mine to talk. I will never forget that or him. Some years later, still at a young age (in his 50's) he didn't survive his second heart attack. I also walk for me to remind myself how lucky I am to still be here. I admit, I've taken it for granted lately and let my diet and exercise relax a bit and motivation for this is not as strong as years past so it is more important than ever to have a successful walk.
If any of this resonates with you or you know someone affected by heart disease, consider helping me raise money to help others.
Thank you
