August 8, 2006 - Day 7 - Week 18 - A Weakened Heart

Throughout my life there have certain people that I have learned not to ask the question How are you feeling?  The answer becomes a long drawn out description that defies reason and by the end of the explanation I do not ever want to engage the subject again. Now I am becoming one of those people.

If you ask me how I am feeling I will be honest and direct.  However, if I am really telling the truth it sounds like I have become the poster child for the American Medical Association.

Hey Peter, great to see you, you look great, how’s it goin'?  Common, daily, and what am I to say?  Oh, I’m fine other than the fact that I am a diabetic with mantle cell lymphoma cancer whose heart is now weaker and the larger chambers are pumping inefficiently, other than that I’m great.

Yes, my day at the hospital yesterday demonstrated conclusively that the doctors have no conclusive reason why I have a weakened heart that is not pumping regularly as it should. The angiogram demonstrated pretty clean arteries, but the bad news is that the irregularity has no direct cause.  I have been told that ventricular tachycardia can be fatal so medication is now part of the routine. If that does not get things back to normal I will be a candidate for a defibrillator.  The insertion of this device will now guarantee that I get singled out at every checkpoint at every airport.

Put this all together and it spells out clearly that the old adage that life is a balancing act applies to me.  Most of life I have balanced live work and play, service, sacrifice and sincerity, family, friends, and neighbors, and now diabetes, cancer and heart disease.  Same principles will apply, but the focus will be a little different.  Keeping each in perspective reminds one that success comes to those who value balance.  Now I will be working on balancing my internal eco system so that nothing else breaks down.  Keeping sodium levels, blood sugar levels, heart rate levels, exercise regimens, diet programs, sleep patterns etc. in balance is now defining my daily life.

However, it is not about me exclusively, but about us collectively.  I am one man who has agglomerated what many have to cope with in life.  Perhaps it is not fair that I have to adjust things disproportionately, but let’s use me to get at the root cause of why we are all being impacted by cancer, heart illnesses and diabetes.  Bottom line so far is that diet and environment, besides genes, is where to turn our attention.  Tomorrow’s generations should not be saddled with our legacy.

Back to Week 18