Day: March 23, 2015

Quick link to PART ONE – http://f3nation.com/?p=156979

PART TWO – The D.R.P.

My father’s desire for a “miracle pill” really did not surprise me. We live in a world where technology creates so many things in terms of instant results and instant gratification. We are spoiled by technology – too much sometimes. We want what we want – and we want it now! We shouldn’t have to wait for anything we desire right? Too bad that technology doesn’t allow us to be “instantly” physically fit! Or is it?

All of us know that healing does not take full effect upon ingestion of our first dose of any medicine. Our systems need to adjust to the introduction and our chemistry needs to find the balance needed for the medicine to take its maximum effect. For some that could mean days or even weeks to realize the full effect of whatever pill we are taking. The quest for an instant fix is a futile one and yet it is within that illusion that many still dwell. It is only when we are honest with ourselves and faithful in our daily dosage that the full and positive effects can be realized. It is only then that we can fully benefit from our medication. So is also true with our D.R.P.

One dose of the D.R.P. is not enough to cure what ails us. Nor is two, three, four, etc. It is not a pill of convenience nor of comfort. It is a pill not unlike others we have ingested – in the beginning it is harsh! In the beginning it seems too large to swallow, or to bitter to taste, and so like a petulant child we put up a fight! We find reasons why we shouldn’t take it. We make excuses as to why we don’t need it and we either discard it or we shelve it out of sight. We put off taking it because it doesn’t show instant results and the thought of continuing to ingest it makes us shudder. It is that type of thinking that will surely expedite our membership acceptance into the Sedentary for Life Club. It is that type of thinking that will increase our chances for being in a skilled nursing facility one day.

Please don’t feel I am writing that our D.R.P. is a way around all of the inevitability of our aging. I am not proposing it to be a new found “fountain of youth”! What I am writing is along the line of that old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. We control what we can – our bodies will control the rest. We take our D.R.P. as preventative medicine – not as a miracle healing drug. We take our D.R.P. to keep our bodies and minds strong. Strong to fight the battles of aging and the eventual breakdown that will surely come to us all. We take our D.R.P. because we want to live a longer, stronger, healthier life for as long as we possibly can. The more we take the pill the more we will get adjusted to its ingestion. That does not mean it won’t still taste bitter, or get stuck in our throats on some days. It does not mean we will all have a dramatic restoration to our glory days of high metabolism with a side of Spartan-like chiseled features. What it means is this – we are giving our bodies and minds a better chance. We are giving them the chance to be FIT TO FIGHT! We take the D.R.P. so we can take the fight to the enemy without fear or excuse.

Our fight ultimately will be lost. Yes we all know this to be true but that is not a good excuse to skip our D.R.P. My father never took a D.R.P. and in that inaction probably expedited his demise. I wonder what he would change now if he could? His mind is so far gone that he can’t even remember much about the last 30-40 years. I would bet though that he would make some changes if he could!

F3 Brothers – don’t let this be you! Do yourselves a favor – if you haven’t already. First take a look at the people in your life – family, friends, etc. Ask yourselves what they mean to you and how they would adjust to your not being in their lives. Second take a look at yourself in the mirror and in your mind – ask yourself – AM I FIT TO FIGHT? Lastly imagine yourself not being around or being confined to a place such as my father for the remainder of your life and then ask yourself this – Would you be willing to trade all the days from that point backwards just for the opportunity to get FIT TO FIGHT? I THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER! Take the pill. Take that oft bitter, oversized horse pill and make yourself swallow. As often as you can and even double your dosage. Its no miracle cure, its no fountain of youth. Its a tool to help you get and stay FIT TO FIGHT.

Your choice with no excuses – THE SEDENTARY LIFE VS THE D.R.P!

AYE!

For all of my F3 brethren. It is a little long but has been on my mind for a while now so please bear with it. I hope it brings you some good reasoning for what we do together!

PART ONE – THE SEDENTARY LIFE

Today I made my one of my routine visits to the Veterans Victory House in Walterboro, South Carolina. I have been making the trip 1-2 times per week for the last three months. When asked about the reason for my visits I usually state it is due to an incident that occurred in the later half of 2014. Truth be told it is because of a path that was taken starting in mid 1967. A path that was embarked upon shortly after my birth. This was the time when my father retired from the United States Army.

My father like many others joined the military and had a career of service. He worked hard and did whatever his service required of him – including staying “fit to fight”. He was never in a combat role but he still stayed fit – because it was required. My father was never one that was physically active prior to serving save his time as a Western Union telegram messenger! He was not interested in sports of any kind not even as a neighborhood kid playing with others. Therefore the Army kept him physically fit for twenty plus years. Sure he smoked – about a half pack a day, and even indulged in the social beers of western Europe but he stayed pretty fit overall. He did his p.t. and passed all of his physical tests. This came to pretty much an abrupt halt the summer of ’67.

Once my father retired from active duty he began a journey on the sedentary life. As he transitioned into civilian life he was no longer required to participate in the routine fitness workouts and physical fitness tests. He worked his job, came home, ate dinner, watched a little television, and played his music. His only hobby was buying old record albums to add to his collection, and then make recordings to cassette tapes. He would sit in his studio for hours upon hours playing, listening, and recording his music. On occasion he would take the family on bike rides! He and mom had a 10- speed tandem bike and we would go for an hour long ride sometimes with all of us in line behind them on our bikes. Like a bad prequel to a National Lampoon’s Vacation movie! So he would do that once or twice a month in the summer only and that was the extent of getting his heart rate above 65 bpm. And so it would go for the next 40 years of his life.

The biggest stride my father took towards improving to a healthy lifestyle during this time was to quit smoking. Cold stop. Something most people cant seem to do these days. He stopped one day and never picked up another cigarette again. What he did pick up was 50 pounds of fat from overeating. He compensated for the craving with food and combined with the lack of exercise went from a 34 waist to close to a 50. Not a good combination either for a man with a family history of heart disease – his father died of a heart attack when my dad was only 17. So here is the outcome of that lifestyle. 1994 diagnosed chronic high blood pressure. 1996 diagnosed med. dependent high cholesterol. 2002 diagnosed major arterial blockage in heart and triple by-pass performed. 2002 – major carotid artery blockage detected and repaired with endarterectomy and stent placement. 2005 diagnosed as insulin dependent diabetic. This has been the way of life for his last 20 plus years. Then in the last part of summer in 2014 I received a phone call from my mother asking advice about a prescribed drug my father was currently taking. They had seen one of those bad drug commercials about that particular drug and wanted to know if I thought that he should stop taking it due to the mentioned risks. My reply was simply this – keep taking the pill and call your doctor for a consult about your concerns. That fell on deaf ears and my father decided he would stop taking his pills and the end result was not a pleasant one. Within a month my father had experienced several T.I.A.s (transient ischemic attacks) which are also called mini-strokes or strokes in evolution. These gradually build up and worsen until a full blown stroke is inevitable. In my father’s case he did not speak to anyone about the T.I.A.s so we had no warning. When he finally had the full blown stroke my mother was clueless to what was going on and waited until the next day to get help. It was too late.

Once my father was at the hospital and all the tests were completed the verdict was in – a full blown stroke on his previously repaired right side carotid artery. He was completely paralyzed on his left side. Decades of sedentary living had come to fruition. As I sat with my father listening to the doctors diagnoses I knew what was coming next. My father barely let the doctor finish and he asked “is there some sort of pill I can take to correct this?”. I nearly lost it. My father’s new home would be a skilled nursing facility.

Now each time I visit my father at V.V.H. I sit and wonder how differently it could have been. I wonder how his life might have been different today if he had not lived a sedentary life. Would we be out playing a round or two of golf right now? Maybe some tennis? Or maybe we would be at the beach, swimming and drinking a beer. Instead I am visiting him as often as I can and helping to feed him dinner or engaging him in conversation to help trigger some memories. Who can say for sure but what I am certain about is this – my father should not have been waiting until the eleventh hour to reach for a non-existent “miracle pill”. My father should have had the foresight to embrace the pain and the suck. He should have sought out and embraced the D.R.P.

PART TWO – The D.R.P. quick link – http://f3nation.com/?p=157125