Last year I had a heart attack. I thought I was dying. When I asked the on duty surgeon at Sheffield Northern General hospital at 11:30pm on Saturday night if I was going to live he said he would do his best, but the important thing was to stop my pain, if that was all right with me and he slid a wire up from my wrist into my heart and put a stent in a blocked artery to open it up. Three days later I was back home.
Ten months later, eight tablets a day, I count my blessings and think carefully about the fragility of life.
The British Heart Foundation has been a great resource of helpful information and support, with publications, newsletters and their on-line web pages.
Although I have tried to “be good” to my heart and body, one thing has noticibly changed: I don’t walk as much as I used to. I probably never walked a great deal anyway, but after the HA , although I started off well, I didn’t really get going to the extent that would benefit my heart and lungs. So when the BHF suggested a Walk for Hearts – 28 miles over 28 days in February – I decided it was something I could do to help myself get a new healthy habit, and raise funds for the charity.
I’ve set up a JustGiving page for donations – I will put the link here and if you can sponser me I will promise to do my best. If it snows, or it’s icy underfoot, I’ll walk an extra mile on a different day or add an extra day at the end instead. I will update this page, and my Facebook page, with information of where I walked and how I am progressing.
I’ve not been writing much since my book launch last September. I’m hoping that walking more will inspire me to write some poems too.