Ride55
Rocky
As I see many of the people here are around my age, I thought I would share this story.
Last October I was feeling a bit light headed and coughing a bit. Neither was very severe so I pretty much ignored it. I caught a cold and thought that was it. After the cold was gone, i was still feeling the same way, so I went to the doctor. Mostly thinking I might have a small lung infection and I did not want that getting in the way of my skiing in January. He did his exam and sent me to the hospital for an Echo-cardiogram of my heart. It turned out that I had Severe Stenosis of the Aortic Valve. The aortic valve should be about 2 cm across, and mine was about 1/2 cm.
The long and the short of its that I probably had about two to four months to live, and then would have probably dropped dead while shoveling snow or skiing.
I was put on the short list for surgery. From the Echo to surgery was about 4 weeks, and I was back at work about 3 1/2 weeks after the open heart surgery. They replaced the valve with a Mechanical one.
I was in good hands. The surgeon regularly does open heart surgery on babies as young as a few minutes old. It was at the Mazenkowski Heart Institute in Edmonton.
What is odd, is that my excellent health is what saved me, and also what almost killed me. I have never smoked, drink very little, exercise regular and eat very well. My good health kept me going, but it also kept away any other symptom.
Of course, this kind of experience always causes one to stop and rethink what is, and what is not, important. Riding a Roadliner around town not important, riding a ST1300 to all the places I have said I would go, important. Hence, the selling of the Roadliner, and the search for the ST.
I like to say now that the volume of things that I no longer care about would stun an Oxen in its tracks.
Anyway, the next time you think you have a persistent cold, remember this story.
Last October I was feeling a bit light headed and coughing a bit. Neither was very severe so I pretty much ignored it. I caught a cold and thought that was it. After the cold was gone, i was still feeling the same way, so I went to the doctor. Mostly thinking I might have a small lung infection and I did not want that getting in the way of my skiing in January. He did his exam and sent me to the hospital for an Echo-cardiogram of my heart. It turned out that I had Severe Stenosis of the Aortic Valve. The aortic valve should be about 2 cm across, and mine was about 1/2 cm.
The long and the short of its that I probably had about two to four months to live, and then would have probably dropped dead while shoveling snow or skiing.
I was put on the short list for surgery. From the Echo to surgery was about 4 weeks, and I was back at work about 3 1/2 weeks after the open heart surgery. They replaced the valve with a Mechanical one.
I was in good hands. The surgeon regularly does open heart surgery on babies as young as a few minutes old. It was at the Mazenkowski Heart Institute in Edmonton.
What is odd, is that my excellent health is what saved me, and also what almost killed me. I have never smoked, drink very little, exercise regular and eat very well. My good health kept me going, but it also kept away any other symptom.
Of course, this kind of experience always causes one to stop and rethink what is, and what is not, important. Riding a Roadliner around town not important, riding a ST1300 to all the places I have said I would go, important. Hence, the selling of the Roadliner, and the search for the ST.
I like to say now that the volume of things that I no longer care about would stun an Oxen in its tracks.
Anyway, the next time you think you have a persistent cold, remember this story.
