Life is meant to be lived

Before I moved to Collingwood, made a lifestyle change and lost 125 Lbs,  I was a single parent who worked for a large publishing company in Toronto. 

It was a very stressful job with endless deadlines.

My life was also very stressful.

I had a young son at home who refused to go to school.

I did not exercise and had unhealthy dietary habits, very unhealthy as I learned years later.

My commute to the office every morning involved stopping at Timmys to pick up a extra large double double and a 24 pack of Tim bits for the trip.

Or sometimes it was a nice big muffin from Country Style.

That was after I had already ate breakfast at home which usually was left over pizza and some OJ.

Afterall, I needed energy for the eight hours of sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen that lay ahead.

So, I would spend up to two hours each day in my car driving to and from my job and then eight hours sitting in my chair working. 

Usually I would have a few more cups of coffee at the office drink a few cans of pop eat chocolate bars and pizza. 

Typically our office would hold pizza lunch meetings.

I couldn’t even go outside to walk because I had to work and sit during my lunch hour. 

That is a lot of sitting.

And to make matters even worse when I would arrive home I would open a beer and eat pizza or have a big t-bone steak.

One morning while I out for a walk before going to the office.

I started to feel a pain in my chest.

But I drove up to the office anyway, and had my coffee and Tim bits along the way too.

When I arrived to the office and sat myself in my chair to start work, the tightness in my chest got worse and was even having difficulty breathing.

I decided to inform my Manager that I was not feeling well and had to leave.

They were not happy to hear that and reluctantly let me leave the office.

My father met me at my home in Toronto and drove me over to the emergency department at Toronto general. 

I proceeded to admit myself to find out what the problem might be.

The nurses stripped me down and attached diodes all over my chest.

not long after that the doctor came to visit me.

He told me that my blood pressure was 300/220. 

That was more than twice as high as blood pressure should be.

I said “so what”.

He told me that technically, I should be dead, but I wasn’t.

I was lying naked in a hospital gown in a waiting room on display to everyone who entered the hospital.

I was even waving at the people as they entered.

immediately the doctor gave me a high blood pressure pill to lower my blood pressure. 

I told him that I didn’t want the blood pressure medication but he told me I had no choice.

They took chest x-rays and urine samples to examine.

I was finally released from the hospital 12 hours after being admitted.

It was not an experience I ever wanted to experience again.

That was the day I started to take blood pressure medication to lower my blood pressure.

It was also the beginning of a seven month long journey to find out if I had something wrong with my heart.

During the next seven months I had  my heart ultrasounded, had a heart stress test, an angiogram and a test that took images of my heart while inside a CatScan like machine. 

They slid my body inside the machine and rotated my body around to take pictures of my heart. 

Thankfully they did not need to insert any wires into my penis. 

The day finally arrived that I had my follow up appointment with the Chief of Cardiology to get results of all my tests.

He was a tall Polish man about the same age as myself but much thinner and fitter than myself.

I suspected that he did not drink double doubles and eat a box of Timbits on the way to the office every morning like I did.

He shook my hand and told me to sit down in a chair.

So , I asked him, “how’s my heart doc?”

He smiled and replied “Well Craig, you have the healthiest heart that I have ever seen!”

I was not ready for that answer. 

I asked him to repeat what he said just to make sure I heard him

correctly.

All the rock concerts I had been to  in my life had also caused my hearing to be less than what it should.

That was the best news I had ever received from a doctor.

His recommendation was to lose weight, a lot of weight.

I asked him how I will be able to lose the weight. He told me that it was up to me to figure it out.

He shook my hand once again and said it was nice meeting me and that he never wanted to see me again. Have a great life.

I certainly did not want to see him ever again either.