A YEAR AGO.. this is going to be a long post!

I know there are going to be people reading this post who have little if any knowledge of my personal history. They will know all about my dogs and the stuff we do together, all the little accomplishments we pull off together, and all the mistakes we have made along the way. These readers are in for what might be a bit of a surprise.

There are also friends and family who I know check in on this blog, usually only when they've had enough of me begging them to read it. They already know exactly what it is they're about to hear about yet again!

If you're hear looking for another funny dog post I'm sorry, but not today. The dog posts will return very shortly but this one is mine. I'm going to be selfish.. because today I'm allowed to be.

Now that I've said all that I already know that most readers of this post aren't here by accident. I have sent out reminders and requests to pretty much everyone I know hoping to generate enough curiosity that people would stop in. Glad you could make it!

August 11

This date didn't mean anything to me up until last year. It was a Saturday, and it fairly hot day. There wasn't much on the agenda other than attending a memorial service for a former coworker. I felt the need to pay my respects to someone who died far too young. I was looking forward to seeing some of the other people I used to work with as well. It had been over a year since I had seen most of them. A very somber situation made for a nice reunion with a lot of people.

The hour following the service was like nothing I've ever experienced before. I wasn't feeling great and asked a friend to follow me home just to be safe. Good thing I did as it turned out I was going to end up feeling even worse. I stopped on the highway once to throw up... all along thinking that I was having really bad indigestion. After that pit stop and once back on the highway something told me that to continue heading home was a bad idea. That was the second good decision in a row... and at a perfect time as I was less than 2 minutes from one of the best hospitals I know of. When I got to the hospital I had my friend carry on home and asked him to let my wife know where I was. I walked into the emergency room only to find out that the long waiting times don't apply to you when you could be dying! I was ushered straight into a room and had the undivided attention of 2 nurses and a doctor.

It took less than 5 minutes from the time I walked into emergency to get hooked up to a ton of monitors and have multiple needles just for the doctor to inform me that I was having a heart attack. I didn't see that coming at all. I thought I was just suffering through some very bad indigestion. I guess getting plugged into the heart monitor as soon as I hit the bed should have been a tip off, but apparently my brain wasn't working right then.

I must have gotten to the hospital at just he right time because within 15 minutes of being wheeled into the room and getting wired to all the monitors I was as good as new. They have some really amazing new drugs available now and when they can be used they work like magic.

I ended up having to have angioplasty a couple of days later and had a stent inserted. I'm stuck with that little piece of stainless in my chest forever now.

Now, this post isn't about me looking for sympathy from anyone. I'm over that.. life goes on. I wouldn't be upset if there were a few " glad you're still hanging around" comments left though!

Was this event life changing? Kinda. Was I scared while it was all happening? Oddly enough no, for whatever reason I wasn't worried about checking out at all. I knew it wasn't my time. I've had lots of time to think about it since... and I've had way more than my share of worries about what the outcome could have been.. about how things will turn out if there's a next time... about why I feel like crap so often and how I can get in better shape so I can try to ensure there isn't a "next time".

I don't know that this has been a life altering experience. If it was I sure haven't noticed yet. I'm still waiting on the "Live Like You Were Dying" mindset to kick in. I can't see that I'm ever going to go skydiving, but the rest of it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. There is no "Bucket List" yet either. There is a lot of stuff that I would like to do while I'm still able, but I plan on being able to for quite a while yet.

It hasn't been a picture perfect year either. There have been some setbacks. Getting all the various medications working in the proper doses has been quite an adventure. There have also been some other unrelated medical problems that have really thrown a wrench into the works, but they're starting to come around as well.

Tonight I'm celebrating my official "Beat The Reaper" anniversary. I've been looking after my diet fairly well over the past year. I haven't had a cigarette since I walked into the hospital a year ago either. I must be learning a little something along the way too... dinner is chicken and ribs. Not perfect, but healthier than the steak and shrimp I was initially planning on.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this post. I hope my thoughts were coherent enough to follow. If you have left a comment I will be in touch very shortly.

Take Care