It was five years ago today, right about this time of my morning. I woke up feeling odd – cold sweats (which I thought was the PNW humidity) and muscle aches (which I thought was from sleeping in a weird position).

I went to the urgent care for some pain relief but left there rather quickly…in an ambulance.

Ironically, it was Valentine’s Day and I was having a heart attack.

Oh well…being single I really had no other plans for the day.

Needless to say my life changed drastically after that initial stent and the ensuing triple bypass a few months later. A new diet was going to be my new lifestyle and I was gaining a cardiologist for a new best friend. The Mediterranean diet is really easy to be on and I enjoyed the challenge of cooking delicious new things. I can no longer spend much time in my beloved mountain hot springs in Colorado, but I can still have coffee and do not need to give up some of my other “habits”. I get cold easier and faster due to my heart meds.

I have an appointment coming up with my cardiologist so I need to ask him about things to avoid since I will be heading back west soon. He will give me some guidelines for my new fitness activities during my check up. I got preliminary advice from them over email so I can at least keep after it but taking things easy. They also gave me some target heart rates to keep an eye on so my watch will be handy for that – just as it was in my heart attack and surgery recovery.

That is one thing about moving – it is hard to find good doctors in some areas and that is more important as you age to have access to great care. I am with what I consider the best medical system in this entire region. I would say it is the Kansas City equivalent of the Mayo Clinic. I know my doctors out west had different philosophies in some treatments which I welcomed. They are more open to alternatives and even Eastern medicine than most doctors here is the midwest. However, my healthcare team and facilities here are the exception.

I now have two birthdays. It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the second one already. I will never forget how lucky I was to get to a hospital even though I did not have any of the symptoms I knew (which I now know there are others). If you are having physical issues and are in doubt, get medical help – the ambulance & paramedics will come check you over for free; they only charge to haul you to a hospital.

Just don’t ask them if you can play with the lights and sirens. They would not let me do it! At least I am still here to write about it.

I’ll see you next time.

Shawn