On the 11th month of my 50th year, I find myself in the emergency room at Providence Hospital, Hood River Oregon. I am surrounded by an ER doctor and his medical staff. Swarming around me like worker bees defending their hive. I am in trouble, my heart rate is 220 bpm.
The Doctor begins barking orders. I can see the concerned look on their faces as they race around assembling the tools necessary to slow my heart and hopefully save my life. I can feel my heartbeat everywhere, even in my toes.
Their first attempts are unsuccessful. Heart rate still 220 bpm. Although they try and hide it I can sense their growing concern that I am in deep trouble. They start an IV with expert precision and draw blood from the port. A lab technician scampers off with the viles of blood. One nurse holds my hand and looks me in the eyes and tells me it will be alright.
Nothing seems to be working, the Doctor requests Adenosine, the staff jump into action. I begin to realize how threatening my situation is when they roll over the 'crash cart' usually reserved for people in full cardiac arrest.
The nurse draws up a syringe of Adenosine, as the Doctor explains to me the serious nature of this 'cardiac episode' is what he called it. Adenosine is used to physically stop the heart and 'reset it' so that it beats normally again.
At this point my will to live is overriding the fear associated with the phrase 'stopping your heart'. Amazing how much trust you will put into a perfect stranger when faced with a dire situation. The staff steps into action inserting the needle in to the IV port, one nurse pulls out the paddles from the crash cart. I can hear the ECG machine beeping my heart rate, the Doctor injects the Adenosine quickly and then immediately raises my arm. All eyes are on me as the nurse with the paddles readies herself for action if the situation warrants.
I hear the ECG machine making its recognizable blip, blip, blip...my mind wanders to Monty Python sketch where John Clease as a surgeon says; bring me the machine that goes ping! Strange how the brain works in a crisis at least the male brain. Suddenly the machine flat lines, I feel the blood start to leave my face as the Doctor starts to rub his knuckles hard against my sternum and says the famous movie line; stay with me buddy come on stay with me! I start to blackout...then I hear in the distance, blip, blip, blip, focus returns to my eyes and everyone is smiling at me. The nurse states that my pulse is returning to a normal sinus rhythm, still a little tachy at 110 but much improved from 220.
I wish I could tell you that my life passed before my eyes or that I had come to some epiphany about my journey ahead, but quite frankly the only realization I came to was how did I fuck up my body so badly in just 50 years?
We often blame our bodies for betraying us as we get older but it is our life choices that have betrayed our bodies instead. The human body has a natural state called homeostasis and if we listen to our bodies maintaining our health is quite easy. But our minds are polluted with falsehoods concerning what is good for us and what isn't. These falsehoods are based upon greed and slick advertising, and have very little foundation in fact. Seek truths everywhere when it comes to your health but be leery of allopathic medicine as it is in close partnership with big business (e.g. pharmaceutical companies).
You'd be amazed at how little fuel the human machine needs to function properly, and with the proper diet and movement most maladies resolve themselves or can be avoided all together. If you are interested in a study that shows what a controlled diet can do for the human condition seek out information on Gerson Therapy, Max Gerson was a pioneer in nutrition.
There is also an excellent video online; www.foodmatters.tv that sheds light on the falsehoods I mentioned earlier. Keep in mind that all media has an ulterior motive and an element of propaganda embedded in it so do your research to confirm the ideas expressed.
So much for my soap box, I'll be blogging again soon.
