NEVER Let ANYONE say "You Cannot!!

PXMike

Greetings from my suite at the Prebys Cardiovascular Institute in beautiful La Jolla, California. We've had a slight bump in the road, Pals. A you all know, I was dealing with an infection in my foot and leg. Well, apparently, my Cardiomyopic Heart wasn't happy with the situation, and early this morning, it began to go into failure. Let me stop here and say "Heart Failure" is such a misnomer. It doesn't mean your heart is completely failing. It simply means, as in my case, that the left Ventricle is failing at its job to keep fluid pumped off. I have Restrictive Dilated Cardiomyopathy with Systolic Heart Failure. It's actually a heart disease that strikes a number of athletes and the general population, alike. As I've said before, I simple view this as one of those hurtles that Krupa life interesting, and I refuse to give in to it! I vow to keep on fighting and LIVE this amazing life I've been so blessed with!!!

For those who haven't read my story, four years ago, when I was initially diagnosed, following a Left Anterior Descending Myocardial Infarction, a Widowmaker Heart Attack, I was diagnosed with this disease and, at that time, was told I had about four years left. Ergo, today, my ashes should be in the Pacific! Instead, the Cardiologists just shake and scratch their collective heads. You see, the 'torque,' or output, of your heart is measured by what is called the "Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction," or simply "EF." A healthy adult has an EF of 70 to 75%. Today's measurement has mine at 19%, not real great. The Cardio Team came to see me and said "this just doesn't make sense!" A person with an EF under 30% is usually "housebound" and on O2, 24/7, but not you, they said. You're out there Weight Training, Surfing, Rock Climbing, or God only knows what! They said, "Physiologically speaking, by the books, this just isn't possible!!!" I laughed and told them, you see docs, there are two problems...I NEVER allow ANYONE to tell me what I can and cannot do, and b, I don't read the same books as you! Ha

My good friends, ONLY YOU and The Good Lord know what you are capable of. Live your life by ONLY what your own, metaphysically speaking, 'heart' tells you. NEVER let your abilities be restricted or governed by the ideas of ANYONE but yourself! Continue to be the amazing and inspirational Pals who I've come to love and respect over the last 1,957 days.
Take care of yourselves, Keep up the phenomenal work, and as always...

Stay 'Healthy' My Friends!
PXMIKE Out

middlehaitch

(((((( )))))

dsboohead

You are a living testimony of the fighting spirit and how we are beyond our own bodies!
You keep chilling just as you are in your picture

KeepRunningFatboy

What a great post!