Facebook is great for telling you about people's birthdays! One of my high school friends popped up, so I sent a birthday message and hoped all was well.
The reply I got was.. “thanks for the greetings, but it is hell getting older!” Followed by...”Have had some health issues in the past few years.”
Of course I asked what was going on and got this reply...
“My health issues started a year ago with emergency quintuple bypass surgery and ended 2 months ago with spinal surgery for a ruptured disk in my neck that has left me with some diminished use of my left arm.
My cardiologist thinks most of this was genetic but also felt my failure to visit the doctor regularly, combined with my belief that I could out exercise genetics and sketchy eating habits were also contributing factors.
Lastly, in talking about recovery.. it has been slow and it's hard to embrace the lifestyle my cardiologist would like... I have to eat those vegetables!!!”
We are the same age-55. I was incredulous reading this from my friend. Many I believe think nothing can happen to them.
The takeaways from this... go to the doctor every year, pay attention to the signs your body is giving you, and eat mostly real food.
Recently I saw a quote that said something like this... take care of our health now, or pay for it with sickness later. Too many take their health for granted. It's the most important thing we can do for ourselves and our loved ones.