HRT ATK

I vividly recall the conversation; it was one of those things where one believes he is gaining great insight and understanding, but finds out that the outcome is as nothing he has imagined. Such was the case back in early 1999 when I was talking with a fellow employee on the topic of heart attacks. He had asked me if I  had ever had one, and when I answered no he said, "Believe me, it brings on a pain you will never forget." I did not know then that by the waning months of that same year that he and I would share a common frame of reference; I had had my heart attack, and more importantly I had experienced the most unique, hurtful pain in my jaws than any other pain I had ever experienced--broken bones and surgery included. Four stents and thirteen years later the memory of the heart attack has endured, yes, but the pain in my joints, especially my jaws, never left me, which is why--on April 17 2012, at approximately 10:00 p.m.--I knew I was having a heart attack. My wrists and elbows had been hurting since around 6:00 p.m., and my chest felt fiery, painful, and to some extent numb. I had my mother take me to the hospital where, after extensive testing, it had been determined that I been symptomatic of a heart attack, so I was kept overnight for observation. At around 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning I had had another, and a heart cath determined that I had five blocked arteries. I was told I would be kept in the hospital until the 23rd, at which point I would undergo quintuple bypass surgery. I came out of the surgery okay for the most part--just sore from having my chest cut open. I took part in what little rehab was offered at Cardiac ICU, and I excelled. I was determined to get better and leave that hospital, which I did yearerday, April 29. So here I am now, at home and blogging about this experience. I have had a few people try to convert me to Christianity because of this, but as Dennis pointed out on my FB page "well my friend I wont waste any time prayin as I know you," and he is right. I have no newfound need for that in which I did not believe prior to this happening, no new insight into my spiritual needs, no ephipanies...nothing. The only thing I know is that I have to do away with butter, mayonnaise, and pork cracklins (all bad foods), I must exercise more, and I need to quit smoking. Being in the hospital for two weeks forced me to jump-start this, so continuing to adhere to it now that I am out will be the big thing. I am 46 years old; it looks like I would have understood this enough back in 1999 when I had my first heart attack, or 2008 when I had my second stent put in, or 2010 when I had my 3rd and 4th stents put in, but I suppose I held onto that belief that I would live forever. A quintuple bypass is the last option, and it does force me to realize that if I do not do this for myself, then I should do it for my children, all of whom acted like there was just a little too much going on in their lives these past two weeks to really give a damn if Daddy pulled through or not.

Respect Respect

I have always attempted to be respectful of others, even they who show no amount of respect for those around them. What makes me successful at this is my ability to assess, analyze, and reach a logical conclusion before offering commentary. I can easily sum this up by saying I am driven less by emotion and more by intellect. This is not to say I am without passion; on the contrary. My intellect is... driven by passion. Be patient; this is going somewhere. It ticks me off when I see someone wearing a shirt with an advertisement of one kind or another boldly emblazoned upon it for all to see, but the person feigns knowledge by stating, "Oh, I just picked something up and put it on," or "Oh, it's my (brother's/friend's/cousin's) shirt." There are people who wear Che Guevara shirts simply because their friends wear them, and once they are told the guy was a Marxist who murdered innocent civilians they (once again) feign ignorance, feign revulsion, or just come right out and say they do not care, as in "I don't care about all that, it's just a cool shirt to me." People are walking billboards, and whether it is something such as this or a shirt that reads "All bitches is hoes and all hoes is bitches" or something with racial overtones--or blatant racial slurs for that matter--people seem to believe they should not be held accountable for the beliefs they publicize on a daily basis. Over the past few years we have seen this trend move from the T-shirt to the home-or-profile page, and yes, especially here on Facebook it has become a disease, dark, prevalent, unrelenting. I have always attempted to explain to any who would listen that a public forum such as this is not the place to air one's dirty laundry; as far as that goes it is really not the place for sharing EVERY aspect of one's life. My reasoning behind this is that while everyone has the freedom to express themselves however they wish, it must be understood that the same freedom of expression works in the opposite direction: The RESPONSE to the Post. One person's opinion of Che Guevara may be that he was a great revolutionary. My opinion is that he didn't die quick enough. Who is wrong here? More importantly, how can one person get pissed off at another voicing his or her opinion? I opened this dialogue with, "I have always attempted to be respectful of others," and I shall continue to do so. I have sometimes defined that as not responding to a post I have seen, but henceforth that shall no longer be the case. If I feel the need to comment, please respect the fact that I am simply exercising the same right as you. I mean no malice nor ill will; I just wish to offer an opposing view. I shall always remain respectful, so please respect the respect I give you. Thank you. DUNCAN