Like many, I thought I was invincible.  Not in a Superhero manner, but in a lazy sense.  I thought I could eat whatever I wanted, could sit on the couch whenever possible, and simply do whatever “I” wanted or did not want to do.  Oh how that is not true.  I. am. human.

So after understanding the place that food, exercise and good habits are in daily life, I am happy to say that I have lost 32 pounds in the last six months.  I power walk between two to four miles about four days a week, and typically six miles on the weekend days.  So I average nearly twenty miles a week of walking.  It’s going to get harder as the weather continues to get colder, so I think a treadmill purchase might be in the cards soon.

I also have started a small weight lifting regime (very small) with a focus on toning right now, then perhaps going for some definition, but tightening up the flab is my first priority.  I think it’s pretty amazing that a little bit of toning goes a long way.  Now if I could just my head around sit ups…..that would be great!

Like is good.  I’ve got a better purpose in my life and I am really enjoying what I’m doing with it!  I’ve put the bad habits past me, and I see what is necessary to make this work.   In fact, I think I appreciate the occasional burger and beer even more now.  Heck, the harder I work, the more often I can have that combo.  Excuse me while I head out for some exercise….I’m thinking I need a juicy meal and beverage next weekend!

Love this stuff!

So the next step of my rehab has just started.  I’m undertaking an exercise program to drop additional weight, drop the medicines, and drop the bad eating habits.  Over the course of the next 12 weeks I plan to go from virtually zero exercise to some hard numbers of accomplishments.  Think of it as feats of strength.  I’ve got some lofty goals that I’m setting for myself, but I think know it’s all necessary in order enjoy my life.

Exercise or getting the time to do it is still an issue, but on the upside when I have walked it has felt really good and I feel a sense of accomplishement.  In fact, Saturday morning LInda and I went and I ran probably a quarter of the two mile walk that we do, and even that wasn’t too back.  You never know, I may actually become a runner!  It’s up for debate though and I’m still trying to decide which would be the best way for me to exercise.  A great deal of it will be how easy or enjoyable I find this activity.

So right now, here is what I am pondering.  Which form should I take for exercise?

A.  Walking/Running around the neigborhood - Easy to do, can be done in the AM or PM, is relatively inexpensive to do.  It would seem to be that it would be the obvious choice, but weather is often unpredictable especially in the spring.
B.  Treadmill - close in proxitity, more costly, and able to go at anytime.  Given my relatively frugal nature, and my desire to not buy a piece of junk, this could be a tough one as well.  I don’t want to get somethingthat won’t last, but spending nearly a thousand dollars on a device isn’t my nature.  An advantage thought is that it offers me the seclusion of sharing MY fat with me only.
C.  Whole different route, the bicycle - If I have ever spent anytime in my life exercising with any consistancy it has been on a bike.  Years ago, I owned a really nice Bianchi.  It was an excellent bike and I owned it for about twenty years.  Biking is something that I still enjoy, and in fact the whole family goes biking on the Katy Trail starting last Fall.  It’s something that does require a bit of a financial investment, but given my track record of riding and my new found commitment to healthy living….this might ge the right course.

Any and ALL ideas and comments are welcome.

Thankfully, this procedure was only about forty minutes long.  In that period they put another stent, my third one overall and in the right coronary artery which had 70% blockage.  I spent the night in the hospital as expected and came home Tuesday afternoon.  The Hospital staff was excellent and very caring

Post operation:

My experiences…..I am still sore from what I lovingly call the “garden hose sized plastic tubing” that was shoved up my femoral artery.  They beat the crap out of you to get that dang thing up there and thus I have a large amount of bruising.  So except for a slight limp and the expected groin pain I feel wonderful.  I really mean wonderful!!

Lessons learned:

Life is wonderful, live for each day, count your blessings….you’ve heard them all, but there is a whole lot of truth in those snazzy little sayings.  I know that I’ve been given a second chance or a warning that I needed to clean it up.  I’m not a very religious person, but perhaps I should look into it.  My fate has been changed.

Just yesterday afternoon I got a call from a colleague I worked with during my days in San Antonio.  Another colleague that we worked with had died Thursday morning.  Seems that he had a heart attack on the way to work, crashed his auto and died.  I believe Scott was 44.  Scott didn’t have a second chance like I’ve received.  Scott didn’t get a warning like I did. not that I am aware of at least.  Of all the people that I know, Scott deserved one.  Classic case of a really good guy, stopped short in his life.

So, since I did get a break I need to make the most of this chance that I’ve been given.  And you know what else….you do too.

Feel free to leave comments or send me an e.mail.

charlie [dot] magruder [at] gmail [dot] com

To be honest, I can’t wait for today to be over.  Actually, I can’t wait to get home tomorrow already.  The procedure isn’t fun and staying in the hospital is less than comfortable as well, but if you’re going to be down for the count, isn’t it better to do it in your own home?  Dorethy was right…there’s no place like home.

I also want to thank everyone for all the well wishes and for forgiving my debt’s to you.  Suckers!

There will be more later in the week after I return.

Charlie

I went to the Doctor last Thursday (March 12, 2009) to have it checked out.  After a review with my GP, he suggested that I get an EKG and a chest x-ray to see if anything was visible, but he also wanted me to get a stress test the next day.  So that afternoon I got a Chest x-ray, but it didn’t really show anything and the EKG was fine as well.  No problems found there, but the problem(s) were still there.  So on Friday at my Doctors recommendation I got an MRI and a Stress Test.  MRI showed nothing noticeable.  So on it was to the Stress Test.  I guess stress tests are done differently now than how they were done in the past.

First, I was put on a table and a apparatus came up over me from the side and took images of my chest.  It’s a resting heart “doppler” type test that shows you bands around the heart region.  They can also drape this over a 3-D image and rotate it around.  It’s a pretty cool technology and soon you’ll see why I like it so much.

I then went on to do the traditional stress test like you would think.  Suckerfish connectors all connected to be with wires, connected to a machine, and on a treadmill.  It was horribly painful, but it showed them and me exactly the problem I was having.  The only problem was that the EKG that they were running on me during the treadmill test showed nothing.  EKG was still coming out normal, but you see the physical problems I was having and I was definitely feeling the pain.

Next came the Doppler test again, and this time with an elevated heart rate and the same test.  The truth of the test was discovered….

I had blockage in my main artery.

The Cardiologist wanted me to have a cardiac catheterization to see exactly what the problem is and he wanted it immediately.  So Monday morning I went to the hospital, checked in and long story short they performed the catheterization.  In a nutshell, I had 99% blockage in my main artery but no damage to my heart.  No damage to my heart was key.  I was very close to a massive heart attack but I had adverted it.  I’m a lucky SOB huh?!  My Cardiologist said that not many people “walk in” in the state that I was in and I was very lucky.

The good news is that they put in two stents in my main artery and I am doing well.  The bad news is that I will probably need another one in another artery within the next few weeks.

So now I am on record with you and the whole wide world.  I have changed my ways and I have to do it immediately.  There is no family history of heart disease, so I have no one to blame but myself!  I accept that responsibility and unlike many I will not be suing anyone for my health issues so rest assured Red Robin….we’re still friends.   It’s just going to be Turkey burgers and a side salad instead of the A1 Peppercorn Burger and bottomless fries!

I have changed my diet and will engage in a whole new exercise habit after my follow up stent procedure in a few weeks.  It’s been a real eye-opener and a whole new design on my life, but as I have joked it beats the alternative.  So the second half of my life, Charlie 2.0 is underway and I am excited about it.

I welcome your comments and questions because I need YOU to keep me honest! 

Blah, Blah, Blah, Ginger, Blah, Blah, Blah

Via Flickr