Last Friday a good friend of ours went for a walk and returned home with crushing chest pain that landed him in the hospital.. He had been experiencing pain and burning for a couple of weeks but just figured it was indigestion or heart burn. On Sunday, he had angioplasty and it was discovered that he has 90% and 70% blockage in two arteries and 50% in both of the other arteries.
A stent was inserted in the artery that is 90% blocked and tomorrow one will be placed in the 70% blockage. This comes as a bit of a shock as he is in his early 50s and one of the healthiest people we know. He eats right, walks, swims, plays volleyball, doesn't smoke.
It makes you wonder.
We try to make the right choices but is that enough. Or maybe what we think is right isn't so right after all. Hard to figure out sometimes.
For lunch today I felt like a short order cook. Spicy tomato shrimp stew for Zack served over rice. For Yusef, a lemony shrimp pasta and spinach salad. And for myself, I sauteed fresh spinach in a little olive oil til wilted, added canned chickpeas, salt, pepper & garlic powder, squeezed in some lemon juice, heated through and served over rice.
Afternoons are reserved to spend time with my college boy. Starting to feel those heart strings tug as he only has two more days here.
Wishing you well,
31 comments:
I Tammy I went through these very same thoughts when I my husband had a heart attack-same think waited several days until I had to call 911 in the middle of the night. I asked the surgeon the same questions-I prepare healthy food, we exercise etc-he told me comes down to heredity in the end, and nothing we can do about that in most cases.
I still try to serve healthy food though, and we do enjoy treats on occasion-life would be no fun without them for us
as I am in my 60s now, I really do try to value every day I have and accomplish something each and every day
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Tammy. We had a similar thing happen with a friend about 2 years ago. He was healthy, ate right and exercised regularyly. In fact, he had just walked in the door after being at the gym exercising. It does make you wonder if all the things we try to do to stay healthy make that much difference or if a lot of it is genetic.
I'm so happy you're getting to spend time with your college boy. My prayers will be with you in the next few days as you face him leaving again. I definitely know how difficult that is.
Blessings my friend,
Betsy
Magnificent work with great beauty and great skill.
Thanks for sharing.
Warm regards from Gran Canaria - Canary Islands (Spain)
Good that your friend found out now before having a sever heart attack that would take their life. Hope they recover quickly. You are right, you never can tell about these things. Your photos are beautiful. I know how you feel about your son leaving. My son will be leaving in 3 days after his short visit with us. He will be deployed for 9 months. Love the beautiful sunset photo!
It's a scary thing to happen. I hope your friend recovers soon. Enjoy your son's visit. Take care :-)
Oh Tammy, I can only imagine how your heart aches to say goodbye, once again, to your boy. We bring up our kids, teach them to be independent, and when they leave, we weep.
At least he's in a nice state,perfect for young people.
Take care, my dear friend. Susan
So sorry to hear about your friend. Sometimes genetics really come into play in situations like this. Didn't know your son was visiting from school. I'm sure it'll be very hard when he leaves to go back to the US. {{hugs}}
That is scary about your friend. And how healthy he lives.. just crazy. Enjoy your next two days with your son. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Dearest Tammy,
Oh I can feel for you... saying goodbye is so tough! We have done that 64 times with my Parents!
As for living and eating healthy, there always remains the genetic factor that is built in no matter what. And in biology we often ought to look back at the 3rd generation; not our Parents. But most might no longer be around for getting a full understanding. Let's all do the best we can and hope for the very best. Life is precious; each single day of it.
Hugs and blessings to all of you!
Mariette
lovely post♥
Life really is fragile. I hope your friend recovers well. Enjoy your time with your college boy.
Oh my goodness, I do hope your friend does well now that his problems have been diagnosed and he is receiving care. It's always such a shock when these health issues appear out of the blue, especially when the person has been following a supposedly healthy lifestyle. He will be in my prayers.
Enjoy your time with Yusef before he leaves - I know it's hard on you dear.
Love, Mary
My best friend had heartburn She went to the doctor and they put her on meds and scheduled a stress test. since she got better she cancelled the stress test. She died suddenly at the age of 50. We did everything together. It was just shocking. So glad your friend found help in time.
Life is so very uncertain. We have a similar story of a friend who lives right, eats healthy, walks daily and is a wonderful person and yet he had a devastating heart blockage not long after his annual physical. Thankfully he is much better now. So scary! All your menu items sound delicious. Enjoy your son being home...
Unfortunaltely, living healthy is not a guarantee for a long life. I hopye your friend will be o.k., Tammy.
If you like chickpeas and spinach, you might like to try this recipe:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/517773288384252619/
I've made it two times already and it will be on the menu again soon. It's so yummy.
Julia
Poor man, I hope he makes a good recovery, and yes you are so right we do try to make the right choices but when someone has a healthy lifestyle and is ill like this it does make you wonder. If he hadn't been living a healthy lifestyle chances are he could have been dead by now, I think genetic factors have to be taken into consideration too. Your meal choices sound delicious I especially like the sound of the spinach and chick peas. My son goes back on Monday and chances are I won't see him again for a very long time but it's his birthday today and my daughter and I are going to take him out and spoil him rotten. Have a great day Tammy. :) xxx
I know the tug of those heart strings... savor. Just savor.
I'm so sorry about your friend. It does sometimes seem like it doesn't matter if you try to do the right thing or not... I always come back to this: regardless of outcome it is the quality of life that matters most.
Wish I had been there, too... I'd have had what you were having. ;) blessings ~ tanna
I'm glad your friend was treated on time. My husband's mother also had a stent few years ago.. Her artery was more than 90% blocked...
Enjoy your days with son!
so sorry for your friend Tammy.
Enjoy the company of your big boy, xxxxx Ale
I hope that you enjoy those last two days together, I am sure that you will, and there will be lots more days to come in the future! I hope that your friend is alright and will be back on their feet again very soon. xx
I'm sorry about your friend. I do think our diet plays a huge role in our health. Your diet seems so healthy. Your lunch today not only looks healthy, but delicious. I can relate with your child leaving in a few days. Although, my youngest has been out of college a couple of years now...she decided she needed to remain in and live in Denver. Ugh! Children! Not that Denver isn't nice, I just miss my baby.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he'll be okay. It's very scary when you think about the many people who do everything "right" and still have trouble. I felt that way in my pregnancies, which were very problematic. I did everything just like the books said to, but lousy things happened anyway. I think you can drive yourself crazy wondering about it too much, but it's an important thing to ponder.
I'm sorry about your friend and pray he will be alright! Yes, life is not guaranteed, it's a gift, and I do firmly believe that sometimes health issues just befall us no matter how healthy one tries to be, because I've seen those who seem to do everything right die early and those who seem to do everything wrong live to 100. I think we just have to do our best.
For me, I've never been a huge health nut, and for most of my life I was a skinny little girl who was never very limber but who was always active doing something. Then I returned to work in my late 30s, a desk job, and it's been virtually down hill since then, but not so much until I hit 50. The week I turned 50, all havoc broke loose in my body and I began bleeding heavily for a month. It was hard enough for me to be 50, then to suddenly feel like my body is out of control and now it just keeps getting worse and it's depressing. I received some troubling news yesterday after a series of tests and now have to have an endometrial biopsy on Jan. 27 which I'm of course not looking forward to. I'm very worried and it's hard not to be concerned. I want to feel in control of my body again, but can't.
So yes, life happens. If not for my faith, I would have no hope. As I drove home yesterday in tears, it was God's presence that filled my heart and helped me to calm down.
Hi Tammy perfect sunset , I wish a happy weekend..
Oh and are they going to tug! I will be thinking of you on Saturday. I got cancer at age 35, I did not eat meat, sugar, smoke or drink, I ran 3-4 miles a day, you just never know sometimes why things happen. Because your friend is in good shape he will recover a lot faster.
Hugs,
Meredith
Hope your friend recovers soon. It's difficult to measure how much we can control our life, some questions remain unanswered. My Dad had healthiest routine and no medical issues, yet I lost him at the age of 65 for reasons not known.
Enjoy time with your son.
Oh, hearts (and bodies!) can fool us sometimes. We can take responsibility for so much in terms exercise, eating right, etc...but there is always the genetic component that is out of our control. So sorry for your friend and I trust he will have a quick recovery.
Great post Tammy, it makes you wonder doesn't it. Just gotta live your life each day the best you can. I love the new look of your blog! Wonderful header.
Xo
Dear Tammy,
I don't wonder that you are shocked at such news! I believe that we can improve a lot with a healthy lifestyle - but we can not control EVERYTHING. My mother always ate healthy and made daily gymnastics. She was the fittest 80 year old, I knew. And yet she sits in a wheelchair now. The mother of my friend was never sportive and never paid attention to her diet - and now, at 90 years old, she's healthier than my mother. But perhaps the healthy life helped your friend, to survive the disease. My best wishes to him and my warm greetings to you and your family (with Jingles of course)
Hugs, Traude
Yes, we always wonder - are we doing it right. Glad you have your boy home for a couple more days, anyway. Diane
So glad your friend's problems were caught in time! Isn't it amazing how far medical care has come (in some directions, anyway...certainly lots more to do) just in the past few decades. I hope his recovery is swift and complete.
Enjoy your time with your college boy, Tammy. You are already very experienced at thoroughly appreciating the present moment, which is always a useful skill, and especially at times like this. Lots of good thoughts coming your way from a former Colorado-dweller, now in Massachusetts :)
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