Listen to Your Body

[Keith Maidlow]

About a year ago my wife, who has been better than average fitness wise, had a couple of long, brisk walks where she felt she needed to sit down for a few minutes because of shortness of breath. There was no pain and this happened very infrequently. My wife is 68 years old and age does do that sort of stuff to a person once in awhile. The series of event was as follows: GP doctor's visit for routine blood work comes back with a bigger than normal uptick in cholesterol levels. Doctor orders a calcium scan which comes back a bit high which is an alert for artery blockage. Stress test shows some concern. Nuclear stress test show left side arterial anomaly. This all leads to a cardiac catheterization to see if there is, in fact, some blockage and repair if necessary.

March 31 she goes in for the procedure (about 3 months since all the testing started) and the results show 100% blockage in the left artery and 75% blockage in the right. The blockage on the left has been there for quite awhile, many months or even years and the right side has made new feeds to the left to help that side stay functional. Three stents were put into the right artery making it completely unblocked and decisions on the left side are a later discussion. Beta blockers, blood thinner, etc. to help going forward.

She could have come home the same day but the procedure was done so late that she came home early the next day, April 1, which was our 45th wedding anniversary. The love of my life and best friend was in a very physically dangerous situation and we didn't see enough signs to recognize it. Fortunately my wife believes in regular check ups for all her health needs and she has a doctor who is very thorough and cautious and caught the subtle signs of a possible issue. I don't think any of us thought it was all as critical as it wound up being.

Our bodies are amazing but scary, super durable but fragile. Pay attention, take care of yourself and don't wait to see someone if think you have an issue.

[Jon Xett]

Good morning Keith. You make a very important point: listen to your body and get seen regularly. I am in the medical testing field and I am amazed that anything ever goes right in the human body with all the intricate pathways, interactions and checks/balances. We are amazing organisms.
Congratulations on your anniversary. Many happy returns. Thank you, jX

[Stormy Peak]

Happy 45th !!!

And I'm so very happy for the both of you that she was proactive in checking into her physical health due to the signs she saw in her body that she felt were not right.

I'm also glad she has a doctor who listened to her.

Btw, as far as listening to one's body...

Back around 1991, my grandmother, (my dad's mom) and his dad, at around the age of 80, drove the 600 miles from their city to visit our little town and they spent a 3 day weekend here. The whole time, my usually energetic grandma, kept saying she felt tired...really tired. This was a woman who had a rowing machine and a treadmill and used them, plus kept her home vacuumed every two days and made sure not a speck of dust dare settle for too long anywhere. : )

They drove back to their city on Monday, and on Wednesday, we got a call that she was going in for open heart surgery!
Once home...she had called her doctor, telling him she was absolutely tired like she had never been before, and he got her in that afternoon...ended up doing some test...and was so alarmed by what he found that he made her go to the hospital to stay overnight so she could be monitored and he scheduled an emergency open heart surgery for her on Wednesday.

She hadn't had a complete exam in almost a year, and in just that amount of time she went from being ok, to having major blockage to her heart. She was, at least, in excellent physical condition and that helped with her recovery. She was shortly back to using her rowing machine and treadmill, but still not happy that in living a good, healthy, active lifestyle her whole life that she still had heart problems...lol. But she was smart at least, in once home, in calling her doctor and telling him about her unusual tiredness.

She was almost 98 years old when she passed away, due to the toll of Alzheimer's that hit her hard and fast, she passed about 3 years after the first signs of it appeared. My grandparents missed their 75th anniversary together by only 2 months. My grandfather passed away 2 years later at the age of 101. They both had a life together well-lived and deeply in love with each other.

That's kind of rare anymore, given the divorce rates...so it's always impressive for me to see couples who hit anniversaries that are 30 yeas and more.

Keith, I hope you and your wife celebrate many, many, more anniversaries. : )

Stormy

[Kelly Haggerty]

Wow Keith! Super thankful that this was caught and could be treated so that you guys have more time together.

[Carole Hanson]

Keith I hope the issue continues to be well monitored and under control, must have been terrifying for both you and your wife. Praying it’s all good news from here!

[Darcy McBride]

I'm so glad your wife has come through this very scary time! I pray there will be no more issues, and you can both look forward to your 75th Anniversary, and beyond!