Three days after turning 38, a bloke in BA decided it was time to get a bit healthier. Eat better, lose some weight and start riding a bike.
His first ride was seven kilometres, mostly flat. Nothing too ambitious. By that night, he was in hospital having a heart attack.
He shared what happened with the group from his hospital bed, just 12 hours later.
About ten minutes from home, he’d felt pain in the left side of his chest. It started travelling into his arm and up his neck. He pushed through the last kilometre, got home and told his wife he reckoned it was muscle pain from riding.
She wasn’t having it. About 15 minutes later, she got him into the car and took him to hospital. Within two minutes of being put on an ECG, he says he was told he was having a heart attack.
Then his kids walked in
He was in an emergency bed with doctors and nurses around him, being given medication and waiting to find out what would happen. When his wife and kids came in, he broke down.
“I cried with my kids, trying to be strong for them while knowing in the back of my mind that this could be the last time I ever saw them.”
His in-laws picked the kids up so his wife could stay. He kissed them goodbye, then spent the next hour holding her hand, still in pain.
He was eventually airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital. He says doctors found a completely blocked artery and put in a stent to keep it open.
And there he was the next morning, writing to the blokes. Still in hospital, trying to get his head around having a heart attack at 38.
The bit that really stuck was what he said about seeing his family. In what he thought might be his final hour, the house, the car, his job and how much money he made didn’t matter.
“All I cared about was my family.”
“Do you need anything dude?”
The blokes got around him. Plenty wished him a speedy recovery. One said he’d had a heart attack at 37. Another spoke about stage 3 cancer being the thing that made him look at life differently.
Then there was the bloke offering to drop something in for him and his family. No big speech. Just asking what they needed.
You can see why this one hit home. A short bike ride, a pain he thought he could explain away, then kissing his kids goodbye in a hospital bed. At 38.
If you’ve been putting off seeing the GP, let this be the reason you finally book it. Tell them you want to get your general health checked. Ask about your blood pressure, cholesterol and anything else they reckon needs looking at for your age and family history. Mention the thing that’s been bothering you, even if you reckon it’s probably nothing.
And know when it’s time to call an ambulance. The Heart Foundation says chest discomfort, pain in your arm, shoulder, neck, jaw or back, breathlessness, sweating, nausea or dizziness can be heart attack warning signs. If you think you’re having one, call 000 straight away. Don’t try to finish the ride or drive yourself.
His message to the group was to hug your family a bit tighter, tell them you love them and spend the time with them. After the night he’d had, being alive was enough.
“No 10 today, just the fact I’m alive is 10 enough for me.”
Glad you’re still with us, mate.