Putting Life Into Perspective

When my dad became ill that last time, at one point, he told me he didn’t want to die. By then, it was too late. There was no magic pill, surgery option, or diet he could go on that would allow him to take care of his body.

When you are young, you don’t think about your mortality, as a human. Heck, my dad wasn’t young, proving most people don’t think about it until its upon them. You should, because sometimes the inevitable is preventable.

I got a reality check this week. At my latest doctor’s appointment, my Electrocardiogram showed abnormal activity. I haven’t had an EKG for about a year, and that last time, everything looked good. As someone with a muscle disease who also has a history of heart problems in my family, I’m conscientious enough to make sure I get my heart checked regularly.

I’ve been feeling fine lately. Other than being tired from my frequent physical therapy sessions, I haven’t had much illness. Every PT session I get my Blood Pressure taken and it’s always within a very healthy and normal range. I’ve not had problems with high/bad cholesterol nor have I experienced any chest pain, so I’m somewhat confused about the lack of symptoms when it comes to this abnormality.

My doctor told me not to worry. She would be getting additional tests as a precautionary measure. She didn’t want me worrying until she was worried and at this point, she isn’t. The problem is that my heart wall has thickened. It’s assumed I have something called Left Ventricular Hypertrophy. She has to rule out other things and make sure the Left Ventricular Hypertrophy isn’t serious.

The good news is that if it is a negative form of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy, its in the early stages. Also, a positive form of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy occurs naturally from working out, so I have to wonder if going from nothing to PT, which is really strenuous might be causing the irregularity. Regardless, I’m trying not to worry, but I am also thinking long and hard about my life. Whether everything is fine or whether I have another bump in my road ahead of me, I have thought about how delicate life really is.

I have realized that I can and should make changes in my life to keep myself healthy. Saying I’ll wait until tomorrow isn’t an option because we never know if there will be a tomorrow. I’m going to take this opportunity to make sure I do have a second chance and I think everyone else reading this should consider how fragile their life is, too.

Are you doing what you want with your life? Are you keeping yourself healthy? Are you happy? Can you honestly answer all of these questions or are you dissatisfied with something in your life, because now is your time to change it.

Now is the time.