by Anonymous
As I woke up this morning and looked out of the window of my hospital room at the giant, snowcapped Vigolana mountain nearby, I took in the beauty of Trentino and appreciated being alive in a new way. My roommate, Ivo from the nearby vineyards of Mezzocorona and I had been awakened at 6:30 by the nursing staff who were lined up and ready with the round of shots, pills and blood pressure cuffs that are each mornings regimen. I had been operated on in an emergency surgery in the middle of the night on Tuesday and today, Friday it was Ivos turn
Two months ago while having lunch with my wife Monica, my little world suddenly went out of control As my vision distorted and the room started moving all I could say was: Help me But in a few moments, everything returned to normal and I thought maybe it was something that I had eaten. Then, a few weeks later I had another, much less exciting episode where my vision just became funny for a few moments. It was so minor that I didnt really think to connect the first episode with the second.
Last week the episodes became more frequent and much more severe and I sought medical help. The short story is that I ended up at the Doppler imaging (ultrasound) lab on Tuesday after having several very bad and longer lasting episodes and the tests revealed that my left carotid artery going to my brain had major blockage.
The doctor at the Doppler lab immediately called the hospital here and arranged for me to meet with one of Trentos leading vascular surgeons. I was told that he had mani del orohands of gold. When I arrived at the hospital a short time later, the surgeon with the golden hands did another Doppler exam which confirmed the results at the
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lab. The exam involved running a scanning device over my artery, but the pressure on the artery wasnt tolerated well at this point because of the amount of blockage and I collapsed in the hospital about 10 minutes later while waiting to be admitted. At that point everything kind of kicked into high speed movie modemy blood pressure had to be stabilized, I was given a CAT scan to assess stroke damage (none). I had my head and chest shaved, had IV tubes inserted and was then prepped and rolled into surgery somewhere around 12:30 in the morning.
Its kind of an odd feeling having people running all around you while trying to save your life.
The surgery wasnt one of those catheter through the artery things. Instead, they actually put a 4 inch incision in my neck and cut the artery open in order to dig out 2 inches of plaque that had created a 99% blockage (carotid endarterectomy). But the surgery was successful, none of the plaque was dislodged into my brain and my prognosis is good.
After 3 days in the hospital I was sent home today. As I deal with the aftermath of all of this, I think my disbelief that this happened is what I struggle with most. And thats why most of you are getting this letter. I had been a vegetarian for 25 yearsI didnt smoke, Im not overweight, most years I ride a bicycle between 8,000 and 10,000 miles, I hiked, ran, climbed mountains and walls of ice and I cross country skied. My cholesterol naturally runs a tad high, but my HDL to LDL ratio is a thing of envy. How in the hell could I have a loaded artery in my neck about to fire a bullet of life ending plaque into my brain??? In a moment, my Superman veneer had vanished. And there I wasmore than mortalI was fragilebroken, and horribly, irrevocably disappointed.
Im sending this to family and friends as an update. But to you, my friends who are athletes, there is a special message. You know that Superman veneer on at least some level. You wouldnt steer your car into a McDonalds if someone was in the backseat with a gun to your head. If youre like me, at least on some level you hope, maybe even expect that each heart healthy meal, each run, ride, hike or ski is going to earn a couple of live another day points. Maybe following all of those things youve read about the benefits of good diet and exercise makes you feel a little invincible. Or, perhaps less likely. But, it doesnt always work out that way. Heres a little tidbit to drive the point home The day after the surgery I was encouraged to walk around the vascular ward of the hospital. As I did I made friends with the other patients, most of who had just had the same surgery as me. At one point there were 12 of us standing around admiring each others neck bandagesnone of us had shaved for days, our hair was all matted down and I thought to myself: Christ, we look like the cast of Michael Jacksons Thriller video! But interestingly, out of the group there wasnt a single person that I could have called obese. In fact most of the guys were skinny… One of them had been a soccer player; another was a lifelong tennis playerand yet another was a runner. Athletes just like us. Athletes who had lived on the Italian/Mediterranean diet all of their lives.
So, if for some reason youre still asking yourself why Im sending this to you, it is this: The Superman veneer will not protect you. Eating well and exercising well are certainly wise life choices. But, those choices dont protect everyone. If you have symptoms that could even be remotely associated with your heart or a stroke, it is imperative that you seek medical assistance immediately. By not seeking help 2 months ago after my first episode I allowed myself to become a walking-riding plaque bomb. Even if you dont have symptoms, which most people in my condition dont, you should have regular cholesterol and blood pressure exams. I was fortunatenot everyone who makes the mistake that I made is.
Im just beginning to recuperate here at home and to assess what has happened to me. But as I look back over past few days I assure you that the loudest sound I have ever heard was my cape falling to the ground
and wish you all good health.