When I was a teenager, one of my best friends shared the story of how his father pulled their car to the side of the road, getting out to capture the carnage from an automobile accident with his Super 8 camera. Robin, my friend, was outraged by his father’s behavior. I failed to understand why … [Read more…]
August 13, 2019 My sudden cardiac arrest left me feeling very betrayed by my body and, specifically, my heart. I wondered how it was possible that a healthy guy like me who competed in marathons, had healthy-normal cholesterol levels, had a high VO2 Max and a normal BMI of 22, ate veggies and fruits at … [Read more…]
January 29, 2019 After simply forgetting to do it for so long, attentiveness being a consequence of my event, I finally requested the medical files from the hospital to which I was rushed by ambulance after my sudden cardiac arrest. I’ve been very curious to know what information I might find in these records, that … [Read more…]
June 29, 2018 So, you’ve had a sudden cardiac arrest. For you and many of us, this marks the beginning of long-term medical interventions and therapies designed to diagnose and treat the underlying cause or causes of this traumatic heart-stopping event. But while the family doctors, pharmacologists, cardiologists and/or electrophysiologists are working to ensure our … [Read more…]
June 26, 2018 After I had a sudden cardiac arrest, I used to tell people that I died. It just felt right because the use of the term was commensurate with the gravity and significance of the event, at least to me. I was clinically dead for 15 minutes or so, with my heart not … [Read more…]
Something rather unremarkable happened yesterday; I forgot to take my medications. Every morning for the past 4 years, I’ve religiously downed half of an orange bisoprolol pill, along with a red and white Ramipril capsule, a white oblong atorvastatin and a blue baby aspirin. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve forgotten to … [Read more…]
November 4, 2018 It’s been 5 years since my runner’s heart let me down and stopped pumping, only 300 metres from the half-marathon finish line. It was my first DNF race, after running 26 marathons and innumerable half-marathons and shorter distance races. I was wearing my Garmin GPS-enabled watch and it shows the cardiac arrest, … [Read more…]
October 19, 2017 Surely no one would mistake a clogged laundry room sink with not having lights or power in the laundry room. Similarly, a heart attack is like a plumbing problem and a cardiac arrest an electrical problem. Simple, right? Under certain conditions, however, having a plugged laundry room sink drain can result in … [Read more…]
July 31, 2017 As a survivor of a sudden cardiac arrest, I’m a member of a group of individuals whose uniqueness is defined by beating the remarkably high odds of not surviving such an event. Since that heart-stopping day, I’ve adopted the cute conceit of telling people that I died. Left unsaid is the obvious; … [Read more…]
Requiem for a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (November 5, 2016) Amid the confusion and chest-thumping blows I silently slipped to where nobody knows I can describe it now as nothingness serene Like the space between words or a future unseen Then the lights turned back on and time re-started Though I returned not the same as when … [Read more…]
Hamilton Spectator, October 27, 2015 I didn’t know Richard Greidanus. We lived about 100 kilometres away from each other; he in Ancaster and I in east Toronto. And Richard was about 5 years younger than I. But we were both avid runners. In fact, we both ran Hamilton’s Around the Bay 30k road race in … [Read more…]
December 19, 2016 Sometimes I feel like I’m failing at being a good sudden cardiac arrest survivor. My story isn’t very impressive; I was just running a race — something I’ve done innumerable times — but collapsed near the finish line and had life-saving CPR performed on me by spectators and volunteer medical personnel. People … [Read more…]
The Globe & Mail, December 14, 2014 On Nov. 3, I drove to Hamilton’s beautiful Confederation Park to locate the spot where I died. Much like the weather on that day one year ago, it was sunny and crisp when I visited, with enough wind to rustle the leaves and make my eyes water. But … [Read more…]