This week
I gave my first talk for the year to our local cardiac rehab unit. July will be
ten years since my heart attack and triple bypass and have been privileged
since 2008 to have been invited as part of the education program to talk to
people who are now doing the rehab program as they start their journey after a
heart event.
I divided
my talk today into three areas: I started off talking a bit about my heart
event, the fact I did not have any of the classic warning signs or symptoms
which I later found out was not uncommon for diabetics (amongst other groups in
the community) - and mentioned that I am very passionate about spreading
information about this whenever I get the opportunity.
The second
part of my talk focused on my dealing with anxiety, depression, denial and the
emotional headgames I went through in the months after my heart attack and
during my recovery period. I talked about the positive role that cardiac rehab
played in my recovery and also mentioned how at a certain point I reached out
to one of the social workers from the program when I found things were a bit
too much for me.
In the
second part of my talk I also mentioned the importance of finding a hobby, an
interest and talked a bit about how I rediscovered photography whilst helping
my wife looking after injured wildlife (she was involved in Wildcare at the
time) - where we live we have lots of wild birds visit us daily so I had many
natural subjects of which to take photos. And I talked about how I have
progressed my interest in photography to taking photos of live shows and
tribute bands here on the Gold Coast.
In the
third part of my talk I concentrated on how and what I did to change my
lifestyle - stopped smoking, started exercising regularly, learnt how to deal
with stress and improve my diet. I mentioned that it was my opinion that before
anyone can begin their new journey after a heart event and make changes they
needed to first assess where they were when they had their heart event and
ascertain what parts of their lifestyle they needed to change or adjust.
All in all
was a very good session with 28 people in attendance including the group
co-ordinator, the unit's psychologist and a couple of university students doing
a placement.
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In 2008, a
year after my heart attack I was invited to give a “one-off” talk at the
cardiac rehab unit on the Gold Coast. This happened not long after I had given
a number of interviews for TV and our local newspaper in which I was asked
about my heart event and my experience dealing with 29
cardioversions/resuscitations and having three stents for a 100% blockage to
the right coronary artery and then five days later, a triple bypass for
blockages on the left side of the heart.
"29 Lives" - TV Interview with Channel Nine - October 15, 2008
Click on photo to see interview on You Tube
Click on photo to see interview on You Tube
