Open Heart Surgery

Xanax has become my friend. It is wasn't for that I would be a nervous wreck.

For years I've had problems with acid reflux. It has been my catch all for any aches and pains in my chest area and a lot of times it probably has. But in the back of my mind I always wondered if that was really what it was. It was easy a couple of months ago to pass my stomach problems off as acid again. Even when going to the clinic my ekg's would come back clean.

But then the arm and shoulder pain started. Again, I went into denial, laying it off as arthritis. It's not hard to do. Most of us drivers have one dominant arm that does most of the driving. The constant movement of the shoulder joint. It had to be just wear and tear along with age all catching up. As we get older we've been taught to expect more aches and pains and being drivers, we learn to live with them and Tylenol or Ibuprofen. We're tough, we have freight to haul, we can't get sick. It'll go away in a few days.

How many stories have we all heard of drivers being found dead in their trucks at rest areas? How many times have we heard drivers and safety departments call in to Bozo, Nemo or Bill Mack asking drivers to be on the lookout for missing drivers? How many of those drivers had the same symptoms? How many thought that maybe a few hours resting in the bunk was all that was needed? How many of you have had these same symptoms?

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the foresight to check my bp before I left home. I know my history and that of my family. I knew the way I had been feeling wasn't right. One of my biggest fears has been to die alone out on the road and I knew that if I didn't do something right away, that is exactly what was going to happen. So I called my cardiologist. After describing my symptoms, he had no problem grounding me. He has very probably saved my life.

But all this didn't happen overnight. For me it has been 50 years in the making. Like a bullet shot from an unknown gun generations ago aimed directly for the hearts my family. We all know it's there. We all hope that we're not the targets. We don't like to think of our own mortality, so we use denial to keep on abusing ourselves with our work and our diets. And exercise is a dirty word to most drivers. Most of us would rather see how close we can park to the truck stop instead of parking farther away

Diets? How often do we give them more than passing thoughts? How hard do we try to find a diet right for us then stick with it? How can we when most of the major truck stop chains across the country are feeding us nothing but fast food?

Did you know that Loves is the single biggest franchisee of Subway in the US? We watch the Subway commercials on TV with Jarrod touting how he lost so much weight eating only Subways for a year. Is he fake or a fool? How many Subways can you eat in a week? Have you ever checked out a Hardees menu real close? How about Arbys or McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W or Chester's Fried Chicken? Even most of their somewhat healthy choices are loaded with extras filled with fats or preservatives not meant for the human body. Unlike the average person we don't have the luxury of eating at home most nights. We're forced to eat what's available. And although I know there are many drivers who have refrigerators and microwaves, the majority don't.

So what conclusions can we come to by looking at our lifestyles? First off truck stops are in business for one thing and one thing only, to protect their bottom lines. Get us in, get our money and get us out as quickly as possible to make room for the next herd of cash cows pulling in off the road. They can use fast food to kill us all off because there's a new crop of drivers ready to take our places everyday. We also need to realize that we have become our bodies own worst enemies. We've ignored them for so long and one by one we pay the price for that abuse. We deserve better for the service we provide this country. We are assets to our companies and our families and we deserve the respect and the care that everyone else deserves.

Please, take care of yourselves. Become proactive with your health and not reactive. Don't end up another statistic.

Rick

 

5 road closures detoured around and only 3 days in the hospital and I'M BACK!!

I got released yesterday morning. My surgeon said that I am an exceptional patient and that my heart is strong and in good shape.

The surgery itself lasted 6 1/2 hours then it took me 30 minutes to wake up and start fighting the trach tube. By early evening they couldn't keep my water glass filled fast enough and Thursday I was on to a private room in the cardiac step down area.

I'm as sore as all get out and in love with these pretty pink pain pills but at least I'm home. With all I've been through these past 2 weeks I can only come to one conclusion....GOD isn't done with me yet. Now it's up to me to change my lifestyle and eating habits. All of us in this industry know how hard that can be but I'll do it.

Thanks for the prayers,
Rick :smt109