I've been missing for a few weeks, and I promise I have a good reason, but first, some other stuff to add.
Lately, I've been thinking about life due to the issues I'll write about in a bit. How we live, why and how we survive, and what we can do to be better at life.
For me, right now, I don't know if there is an answer to living better. Maybe it should be living healthier or living to find a better way.
I'm not complaining about my life, but life can throw you curves, and you need to ab ready. You need to be able to make changes due to those curves. The odds are you don't want to make changes because, in reality, most of us don't want to make changes. I'm one of those.
Changes can sometimes complicate life. Then again, I think changes almost always complicate our lives, but we make it work. How and why we can do that is amazing.
Right now, I need to make some changes. It may be too late to make the ones I needed to make years ago, but they may help a little.
See, I have a blocked Vertebral artery. It's on the right side, and the issue is I have no left artery. It seems that after all these years, no one noticed that this artery collapsed, according to what the doctors believe, years ago.
They said it's kind of a miracle that I've lived this long without issues or it being found. Lucky me, I guess.
Now it seems at the ripe old age of 68, the issues have landed, and I need to not only accept these issues but make changes in daily living, which kind of ticks me off.
For background, I have a blockage in the right vertebral artery of 95-98 percent. It is an inoperable blockage in that it reaches up into the brain. It isn't stopping blood flow but slowing it down, and whenever a piece of the blockage breaks away, I have a TIA or mini-stroke.
While the effects of that stroke only last from minutes to 24 hours, it warns of bigger things to come, as in a major stroke. Yes, that scares me.
It scares me as much as these TIA or mini-stories do because they can turn right then and there into a major stroke. As the doctor stated, "you could be in the ambulance with a TIA and then have a major stroke." Great to hear!
So my outlook on life right now has changed. I'm optimistic about living and continuing what I do, the podcast, newsletters, and anything else I'm working on; only I need to compensate for the blockage. I have to remember that, technically, I'm a time bomb waiting to explode, but then again, aren't we all?
I'm not here to cry about this as much as let you know why I may be missing from time to time due to runs to the hospital or something worse.
I've been told that anytime I have a symptom of a TIA or mini-stroke, I am to call the ambulance and head to the hospital. I told the doctors and nurses that it bothers me to keep coming in for these little strokes when there is nothing they can do. They responded this way, "those mini-strokes can lead to bigger and worse things." I know this, but it still bothers me that I should go to ER every time I have a mini-stroke.
Right now, as I am writing this, I feel good, and nothing will stop me. I will listen to my doctor's advice and the advice from Patti, my wife. Through all of this, she's been my rock. If it wasn't for her and her family around, I don't know how I would make it.
Have a Great Day!
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Ciao,
Mark