hey all

just thought i`d share

i went surfing with my girlfriend last friday, as we do nearly every friday, at "The Pass" at Byron bay (my most favourite spot)

caught one wave & had just paddled back for another & felt a little tight in the chest,,, then tighter & tighter & a bit sick & then really sore & then,,, well it (the pain) kept multiplying out of control... like a semitrailer was driving over the top of my chest & wouldn`t get off & some idiot kept loading more & more steel pipes onto the back of it

soooo much pain, to the point where all i could do was clutch at my chest & i figured i was going to drown before the heart attack killed me

anyways, long story short, i indicated to another fella to help & told him i`m havin a heart attack & he called for more help & a heap of guys got me back to shore

& i`m needing to find all those guys when i can , i "Have to" thank them big time

anyways,,, a whole series of about 10x stupidly lucky & i mean weiredly lucky,,, uncanny-illy lucky events took place that even if one of them didn`t happen, then i`d be dead

anyways, i did die for a little while, My Girl Marly watched it all, from flat-lining at the Byron hospital & being jumped on & pounded (breaking all my ribs actually) with CPR & then getting the big zaps with Jumper leads etc

then off to the John Flynn hospital at 500 million miles an hour for the fitting of a stent in my hearts main artery was 100% blocked

anyways,,, there you go

anyone else die lately & live to tell the story?

Holy Moley! see any crazies or lights at the end of a tunnel?

Crikey, now THAT'S an experience! glad your still here! (did ya see Elvis?)

great to read u r still here green room brother
I'm sure ur gal would of flipped out
time for a life shake up n still u died while surfing so wasn't that bad
glad u r still here

if i could pick a place to get off this rock the pass would definatley make the list! glad to hear your still kicking, plenty more friday surfs left in you!

oh man!
glad your still here!...not your time yet!

.....great you're still here

Do you think you will change anything about the way you live your life?

Man! lucky as, glad to hear your still on the planet and breathing, was that your first (ond nearly only) indication of a heart problem ?

Holy shit, thank God you're still here. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and why did the artery clog up as it sounds like you are not an unfit person as you were surfing.

Now the recovery to get over the broken ribs

Glad you lived to tell the story, Kev.

Matt, thanks for sharing. Damn you big bugger, your one lucky cat!!!!!
As I said earlier, enjoy every day!

Every rib broken......wow, don't laugh !

Fuck...glad you're still here!! Hope you have a speedy recovery

Mate, thats a good ending. Better ending than for many people.

Very relevant for me recently, been having weird pains, thought the ticker was out of warranty, anyway it turns out it was the anti-inflammatries I had been taking on and off for a while. Brand name Voltaren. Seems they are well known to cause cardiac issues... Went off them, problems gone. But it had me pretty worried for a while.

Anyway, its related to the topic and I just thought I would share a 'maintenance tip'. Just in case someone else is out there in the same situation.

Here's another maintenance tip - Dont ignore warning signs, any pain, get it checked out.

The exact same thing happened to a mate of mine 20 years ago, he didn't make it, he was 28 years old. Do you think it was the exertion that triggered it or adrenalin of maybe just a coincidence? Sometimes when preparing to go out when it's big my heart feels like it's jumping out of my chest with adrenalin and I have to take a few deep breaths to settle down, I'm nearly 50 now and I worry more about heart attack when it's big rather that getting slammed or drowning. After reading this I'm of for a check up. Thanks for reminding us of our mortality and all the best for your recovery.
Ian

Yep, a checkup BEFORE the event is the way to go. back in 2007 I went to the docs for a very minor problem, he asked how everything else was and I commented that I get a bit puffed when doing hard physical work but I'm no spring chicken, he sent me off for some tests (making work and $ for his mates ) 3 weeks later I was in for a 4x bypass, lucky me, no heart attack but caught it B4 it became a problem. shortness of breath can be a sympton of impending seriouse problem.

Ouch, glad to hear your still ticking

Yeah, sh!t dude... glad worked out well and you're still with us !!!

Hope ya recover from the ribs and back messin with the wheels again soon.

yeah thanks Ppl

i didn`t have any warning, just whammed me in the surf,,, but my mum was a clotter & she died from this crap,,,, so it`s a bit of hereditary & i was a smoker to, so double whammy i spose

& no i don`t smoke anymore

i eat really well, all fresh fruits & salads & vegs & have done for years & years & ,,,well , my whole life really so they`re happy with my diet & they`re suggesting that because i`m so fit & healthy may be the main reason why i handled the pain for so long

But someone mentioned anti-inflamitorys--> get off them things if you can because they do tend to make the blood "Sticky-er" & clot easier

be very careful with what-ever pills you`re on

& yeah i spose the trick here is to go get an angyogram thingy to test how clotted up your arteries are

my main artery to the left side of the heart (LAD) was the problem here & was 100% blocked, how i survived is a joke, i`m the talk of all the cardio teams from 4 different hospitals now, & they`re all just bewildered as to how i`m still alive

they call this particular blocked artery "The Widow Maker" because it`s very rare for anyone to survive it,,, let alone out in the surf,,, most don`t even make it back to the beach,,, let alone get an ambulance in time,,, let alone be able to make it an hour away from a hospital that does the stents

if you can get a check up, then do it,,, now that i`ve gone through this i can say that i wish i had it checked before i did anything else

i`m pretty fit & eat well like i said before & i`m always active & always have been, 4 nights a week karate, 2 nights A1 fixtures squash for years, moto-cross racing, speedway cars & circuit racing & surfing & rallys & off-road racing & down-hill mountain bike racing all around the country chasing the state & national championships etc etc etc

so,,, don`t ever think it won`t happen to you

go get yourself checked out,,, please don`t be scared to do so

Trust me when i say that you really don`t want to be how scared i was when i realised that i couldn`t make it back to the beach by myself,,,, the whole time thinking that i`m soo about to die, & for the next hour or so trying to hang on & ,,,well,,, just go get yourselves checked out... it`s just squirt a little die in the blood & an x-ray & you`ll know how blocked up you are

i have another main blood feed artery that`s 90% blocked right now & i have to have that one attended to as well shortly & i can assure you that as soon as it`s safe, i will

thanks for all your good thoughts & wishes & yeah matty, i`m loving the fact that all my ribs are now broken from the CPR :-) (apart from the pain) , apparently if they don`t break your ribs then they`re not doin it right :-) so sh!t yeah ---> i`m glad they`re all busted :-)

i think i`m liking this "breathing" thing,,, definately not over rated :-)

Edit--> Oh & yeah i`m 48 (going on 22)

double edit--> & yeah there were big white lights that i was floating up towards, but watching the hospital room from above with everyone running around underneath as i was floating up & then saw Marly walk out with her hands in a certain position & say a certain thing & when they got me back i said "I just died hey"" & Marly said "Please don`t do that again"

& i told her about what i saw & she couldn`t believe it because all that happened while i was gone & i couldn`t have posssibly known that

Damn,

welcome back to the land of the living mate.
Had an ECG last week due to chest pains and fortunately for me it turned out to be bugger all to do with my heart.

Agree with you though on one big thing - breathing, it ain't ever over rated!

i work in the business...just sent one guy back to the ward with two stents in his left coronary artery and needing another in his right coronary artery.....33 years old !

Amazing story,All the best for a quick and complete recovery. Cheers Les

i had a hear attack about 20 years ago was in hospital at the time and my doc said trhat was very lucky anywher else i would be pushing up flowers now
when i asked what can be done he said nothing i mite live to 100 or be dead morrow i just have a faulty ticker not bad enough to get a transplant and arteries are ok

here i am reading this, eating two steaks fat and all, had three beers already and a fag coming up for desert, hmm... maybe time for a rethink I hope to go surfing on sunday.....

Judist preist i'm glad all is good and it turned out the way it did.

On a lighter note....I'd give up surfing.

That pretty much says it all........"Please don't do that again".

I wish you a good recovery, and many more runs in that fine little race car of yours.

Being 70, I am being confronted more frequently now, with the loss of 'old mates'. When No. 8 Beetle put me through some 'destructive testing' at Wakefield Park [Nationals Supersprints], I really thought that my number had come up. Getting another chance is precious.

Best Wishes,

Greg

Quote:

Originally posted by donn Yep, a checkup BEFORE the event is the way to go. back in 2007 I went to the docs for a very minor problem, he asked how everything else was and I commented that I get a bit puffed when doing hard physical work but I'm no spring chicken, he sent me off for some tests (making work and $ for his mates ) 3 weeks later I was in for a 4x bypass, lucky me, no heart attack but caught it B4 it became a problem. shortness of breath can be a sympton of impending seriouse problem.

...and you get to write your own obituary

Glad your ok man , as without you who else is left trying to make bricks fly

Christ what a dilemma, do I drown or stay afloat and have a heart attack!! Glad for the good outcome mate.Not a heart attack but about 20 years ago I worked as a wardsman at a little local hospital and there was a technician in showing the nurses how to use a new ECG machine, anyway one of the nurses asked me if I could be the patient as it required laying in bed with the shirt off job and they all being women and the tech being male etc. so being paid while laying in bed was right up my alley I accepted very quickly. To cut a long story short they found I had 'problems', now this wasn't in the script and I was beginning to get concerned but after a long study and sending away of the results and further tests it was discovered that my 'problems' were congenital and nothing to worry about. Needless to say I now think very carefully before volunteering for anything.