Story That Scares the Crap Outta Me

[Poppy]

I have an old friend that I worked with for decades. He’s 54yo and transferred to another facility a year or so ago. He comes back for business occasionally and stops by my office to visit. I knew a few months ago that he had a heart attack.

He stopped last week and chatted. To set the scene…he’s either a major or ltcol in a army reserve infantry battalion. He’s over 6 foot tall and in great shape. Gym… running… passing pfts… doesn’t drink or smoke. He’s got a great build.

He told me the heart attack woke him up… didn’t know what it was… wife drove him to er…. 70% blockage and got a stint.

His doc told him he just doesn’t know what to tell him to quit/start/change… his labs were perfect. Biannual physical with absolutely no alarming markers. Obviously he hadn’t had any of “cardiac testing” because there wasn’t alarms to include fatigue or ongoing shortness of breath… nothing.

This scares the crap outta me.

 

[John]

Why,he was doin so good in life and yes it happened,but what else could he do right…if you think about it,might actually less stressful if you dont know its coming…if he knew it was coming and was livin a unhealthy life,he woulda been worried,his wife woulda been worried,kids,friends all the strees and worry for what?? Your doing the best you can,in a healthy manner…

 

[John]

Shit like that dont scare me…you know what scares,someone thats comes at me or my daughter and i cant do anything about it,not being able to protect what i love the most is what scares me.

 

[WillyCorbet]

Heart disease, cancer…. Silent killers. Never smoke. Get a bad cough. Dr says Stage 4 lungs….

My wife’s bestie got hit with state 4 melanoma at 40. Outta nowhere. Healthy to a grave in 2 years.

 

[Poppy]

Tomorrow is not promised for sure.

 

[WillyCorbet]

Not one bit. We all owe one debt we can’t escape.

I miss that feeling from deployments and combat. Feeling real real alive with death all around.

I lost that sense of amazement and gratitude in the rat race someplace

 

[Neuro]

Genetics are a helluva thing.

 

[Dirtnasty]

The friend u would meet in gvl after bloodwork dropped at golf course. He’s big guy not really. Obese or anything but just big. Taller than me and giant all around. Has covid right now so they are waiting on that for surgery with his heart.

 

[JB_rD81]

2 things in life are guaranteed… death and taxes, no way to avoid either one.

 

[John]

Just throwing this out there,Death isnt necessarily a bad thing,death is a part a life right,and i cant stop either.

 

[WillyCorbet]

You can dodge taxes…… for a bit!

 

[JLee]

This scares the shit out of me too. At my last physical I was asking the nurse practitioner about what we could do for preventive testing and the condensed version was she didn’t think it was necessary because she thought I was in good shape and my blood work looked good. She did send me a box to poop in so I guess it was better than nothing lol. But seriously! I have insurance what’s the problem

 

[Poppy]

Poop in the mail?

Hahaha I did that… once for the colon guard whatever and once cuz I didn’t like somebody….

 

[Dirtnasty]

I just did a spit take

 

[JB_rD81]

One of my grandparents went quietly in the night courtesy of a widow maker, when my mom was 7… I watched the other 3 suffer mercilessly in comas caused by heart attacks and cancer… I’ve watched my dad go from one of the smartest people I know to a fucking drunk with applesauce for a brain and suffer strokes, and my mom, well, I’m pretty sure she’s where my mental issues hail from… suicide by cop seems like the most logical way out to me if I ever get the damning news that I only have months or days to live… and I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough to go to bed and not wake up like my grandfather did 60 years ago