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| BLOOD, SWEAT and FEARS
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Life, reduced to its simplest terms, has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
When young, our life expectancy and longevity hopes are minor concerns because we see – and most of us have an expectation of a very long middle portion of life; with no end in sight or fear, and we are anxious to live life fully, work hard, play hard, and enjoy all the elements of life we taste.
If we examine our lives for physical skills, our optimal strength and capability are from puberty to mid-twenties, and it’s a life of diminishing returns after that …
Mental health is different – it can rise or fall at any age. Much like our physical prowess, we do better with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle involving exercise, diet and caring for ourselves.
These are necessary if we wish to avoid installing a toe tag and being the feature of a newspaper obituary advertisement.
I cannot take sole credit for my health improvements in the last year, for getting my weight down and blood pressure under control and for changes in habits – and by that, I mean eating habits, thinking habits, and the support of others who have stuck with me through lean times and difficulties. I’m where I am today, how I am today and rejuvenated today. So where is that credit due?
Patient creditors, mostly, have helped, impatient ones too – but not the kind of help that contributes to low blood pressure. Not all problems are solved, but all are works in progress ...
Patient colleagues and an understanding broker/employer, encouragement of friends, ‘new information about ADHD’ thanks to my daughter Carla for telling me and my new doctor confirmed my diagnosis with ADHD, steady support from Hazel, friends, and moral support/kind words from Musing column readers, understanding colleagues and supportive clients. Most of all, because I made a doctor change and that ADHD diagnosis. Real progress, as I’ve described, might otherwise be, at best, a far-off wish.
I fired my doctor.
It was a mutual disconnect in May/June 2021, but with emphasis on my side as I closed the door!
A happy hunt for a new one ensued (my criteria were – young enough not to retire before I expire, smart, recently graduated, born/raised/educated here, so that they will have long-standing relationships with local colleague/classmate specialists I might need at some point). Mission accomplished Aug. 2021.
F-fwd, this has proven to be a great choice. My BP is so close to, and often under the traditional 120/80 benchmark it’s a bit freaky after so many years of being way too high, weight is down and steadily declining (3-4 lbs/mth), and there are two in charge, my doctor and me. It’s not only Dr. Alexandra Smith’s direction and advice; it’s this patient trusting and following that advice. Yesterday my scale, post-morning-walk read a new low, 175.0 lbs., down 27 lbs. in less than a year while experiencing stress on many fronts (eating out the refrigerator like a 17-yr. old used my stress relief). And, perversely, without nearly enough exercise, as my time available was reduced considerably from the pandemic time frame.
Lowest weight in about 25 years!
Now, if I apply some discipline to my exercise regime, who knows …
Now, for the blood part:
But mostly, I want to emphasize something I began doing this past spring. My doctor commented my iron levels were higher than she liked and will be investigating that (referral to a hematologist for a consult – and an upcoming appointment). I asked, “What can I do?” expecting I’d be told to eat something different or stop eating some food groups. Her answer was short, simple, and unambiguous, “Give blood.”
That’s what some good citizens do, but not nearly enough of us do.
Not new information to me because everybody knows about the importance of blood donation as essential to our health care system. But that’s general knowledge, we all see and hear advertising, and we ignore it; I’ve known about it all my adult life but never gave.
Then I did.
I’ve donated three times so far and have my next appointment coming up. It’s short, simple, involves registering, answering a very detailed questionnaire initially and again each day you donate, being ‘well’ on the day of donation (extra hydration a couple of days prior helps a lot), and taking along a current list of medications/dosages – and taking less than 20 minutes of having a needle in your arm. Every time, you give something lifesaving to someone. It’s barely inconvenient, and it’s easy. Booking appointments is easy. And you don’t always have to be solving a problem where your doctor’s answer is, “Give blood.”
All you need to do to help a fellow Canadian who needs it is to - give blood.
Give because it’s a good thing to do. Give because you understand if/when you or a family member need some. The blood is available ONLY because someone else gave that gift of life. Give because it’s a good thing. Give because you can. Give because you’ll feel good. That last time I wrote about this, one reader wrote saying he was inspired to give.
I don’t know if he did, and I’m not asking for feedback from Dan in Toronto, on whether he did or not, but I recommend everyone to consider giving because they need the blood.
Donations are always needed, and donations are down, so if I tell two friends, and they tell two friends, ~ you know how it goes. I donate whole blood (essential for reducing my iron level); some people donate plasma – it takes longer on each visit, and you can donate more often because they remove what they need and don’t drain your blood – they just take some out to remove platelets and put it back. This is very important because people who need plasma, need lots of it (cancer/chemo patients, for instance), and they tell me family members of patients are frequent donors.
Go to https://www.blood.ca/en to learn more, to book an appointment and/or call 1-800-236-6283 – and, incidentally, these are the same folks to register with for organ & tissue donations. Their website is comprehensive, gives lots of evidence our Canadian blood supply is safe and to be trusted. They are really picky about screening and questions, as well they should be, so that the blood supply is absolutely reliable and to be trusted by all of us.
Give blood, not sweat, no fears. Tell them a friend sent you.
P.S.: news from the injection site; my left shoulder (a little sore, but no ill-effects) from my ‘next Pfizer NEXT COVID booster’ for variants on Thursday. The pharmacist told me they expect a booster every 4-5 months on an ongoing basis will be the norm, so I’m happy to get shot!
Reader feedback:
I enjoyed this story, and visualizing the scene and the moment. Nicely done, RH, Calgary, AB
Ah, Mark, that was delightful, I too will keep that in mind…so honest of you! Loved your cake analogies, too! The person who arranged that sure didn’t have his finger in the pulse of what his group wanted!, SF, Lethbridge, AB
Thoroughly entertaining musing, Mark, with a very sound and often un-adhered to message. Thank you. I once read if you want to be seen, stand up, if you want to be heard, speak up, and if you want to be appreciated, shut up, RT, White Rock, BC
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