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| Here's a little reminder. My arm is significantly thinner now than in this picture. From this post back in November 2021. |
My annual physical was delayed by a few weeks due to my stint of jury duty, so I waited until I finally had my physical before posting about that rather dubious anniversary. That being said, my physician is still pleased with my progress, and back in April my Cardiologist reviewed my ECG* and was happy with my current state of health.
I'd imagine that they'd be even happier if I were at a "normal" weight for my height, but my vitals are good enough, and there were no indications of any deterioration in my condition. Compared to where I was at, I've come a long way.
That being said, I'm also acutely aware that the average lifespan for a person who has suffered a bout of congestive heart failure once is five years.** Obviously, the younger you are will extend that lifespan by a bit, but basically once I reach December 2026 I will have beaten the average.
I don't mean to be morbid about it, but the more I've studied my situation I've decided I'm not going to sugarcoat this to people. I am quite aware that barring an accident (or war or something) I know what will kill me, and that it will likely be sooner rather than later.
Does that mean I've created a bucket list to go through before I die?
No.
And before anybody else says "But..." I'll stop you right there. No 'buts'. Just because I don't have a bucket list doesn't mean that I'm simply waiting around to die, like Kvothe from The Name of the Wind, and I'm also not some sort of monk who wants to retreat from the world. (No matter how tempting.) I will just continue to live my life as it is so far and continue to putter around with what interests me.
*Do you remember when an ECG required specialized equipment and a scheduled time to perform said test? Nowadays you can have a bunch of sensors taped to your body, hooked up to a laptop via a USB port, and running the software on the laptop takes a couple of minutes total. It was done prior to my meeting with my Cardiologist, and she had the data to review almost instantly. It's not just more efficient, but if you're wondering just how you're doing you don't have to spend days waiting for results. Yes, technology has created its share of problems, but this ain't one.
**People with multiple occurrences of congestive heart failure have a significantly shorter lifespan.
You can be proud of what you've achieved in regards to your health! And if comparing yourself to averages makes you feel better, you go ahead, though funnily enough that reminds me of how when I was a kid, I thought that I was going to die when I reached the age of 11, because that's what happened to my parents' first daughter... the odds just seemed against me!
ReplyDeleteAlso, a Classic guildie of mine had a rogue called Kvothe; never realised that came from a fantasy novel.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Shin. I realize that five years as an average is tilted heavily toward the elderly that have congestive heart failure, but I also know that if I don't take care of myself, my body will eventually shuffle off sooner than I'd want.
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