Maybe getting health insurance wasn’t the best idea?
I was blissfully walking around, thinking all was well in my world. I couldn’t have been anymore oblivious as to what was going on with my health.
The last couple years have been a bit brutal, if I’m being honest. Every ache and pain, I attributed to getting older. Having to sit down in the middle of a task. Pain in my arms and legs. Exhaustion that comes with being in pain all of the time. Naps. Lots of naps. Back pain that would send a mortal man reeling. Just getting older, right? Just the cost of living with scoliosis, yeah?
Apparently, not.
I’m a tough guy. At least I’d like to think I am. But the health issues I’d been experiencing were getting the better of me. It was time to take action. I had to do the adult thing; get health insurance and get in front of a doctor.
I was raised in the era of the tough guy, so being open about the pain I’ve been living with isn’t an easy task. For the sake of honesty, I will admit that I’ve been in some sort of pain for half of my life. Most of it was my own doing. For instance, just before the debut of the magazine, I learned that I had been living with a broken nose of nearly seven years. You’d think being sick every morning for seven would be cause for alarm. Not me. I did nothing about it. Just drudged through the days. My foster dad had a monster work ethic, I wasn’t going to let some discomfort stop me from doing my work. He wouldn’t.
Not the best use of my brain power.
They would fix my nose. It wouldn’t be the end of my discomfort though.
The early stages of this magazine required my constant attention. As the magazine and I grew, so did the time spent in front of the computer. With that came a lack of exercise, an increase in the bad food I was eating daily and a lack of movement that would adversely affect my health. My scoliosis issues began to become a daily struggle. Sleep became an issue as well. Then pain I was unfamiliar with began to takeover everything I did. It was a chest pain, but moreover and was a game stopper. I would be forced to sit in the middle of tasks. Walking any kind of distance became nearly impossible. The exhaustion from dealing with it all meant an increase in the naps I’d need to get through a day.
Fast forward to 2020.
The first indicator that my issues were out of my control came in the form of an innocent question from my new doctor. “How long have you known you have a heart murmur?” My answer was 10 seconds. I’d known for 10 seconds. A cardiologist’s tests would confirm that I have something called “Athlete’s Heart”. It’s got a fancy scientific name too, but I like the sound of Athlete’s Heart much better.
The long and short of it is; I take in blood at a normal rate but my heart walls are thick and the blood has a tough time leaving the heart. From what I gather, I’m to stay calm and not do too much to aggravate it. As someone with ADHD, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. A concise diagnosis, but doesn’t explain the constant pain. A neurologist would be needed to hopefully find an answer for that.
My wife works in that department of the hospital. I was given VIP treatment. After a battery of tests, I was found to be relatively healthy. Despite all the smoking, lungs were clean. Blood was good. Though I did test positive for Lupus, nothing from the tests answered the question of my constant pain.
I was given a myriad of vitamins and medications for my heart. That medicine led to an adjustment period of a few weeks. It’s hard to focus now. It was hard to get a window of clarity long enough to do my work efficiently. Through trial and error, I think I’ve found a good balance. While they continue to search for the proper medicine and a diagnosis for the pain that remains, I must get back to a normal work schedule. Been a rough few months but I think I’ve got a handle on it. Thanks for your patience while I figured it all out.
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski