I was talking to a local friend of mine on Sunday morning and he was telling me about how he was feeling tired for a long period of time and went to go get some bloodwork done only to discover that he has rather serious kidney problems. Another friend of mine is going through liver problems and yet another one of my friends recently died from liver failure.
In all of my life I wouldn't say that I have been terribly dedicated to health. There have been some periods here and there where I would go on a health kick but for the most part I kind of just did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I would diet every now and again but only because of wanting to lose weight, not because of any sort of bloodwork or internal organ maintenance reason.
I'm actually a bit afraid to go to the doctor for blood work because sometimes I feel as though these docs are actually trying to find something wrong with you when in reality, having the knowledge of the problem could actually manifest the problem itself. I say this about a friend of mine that was having headaches for years and once he got back to the UK he went for what he considered to be "good" health care as opposed to Thailand - which honestly might be better health care. I thought it was really good there. Anyway, my friend who had headaches periodically finally went to the doctor and they found out that he had brain cancer. He was relieved to find out that it wouldn't have mattered if he had found out about it earlier because it is the inoperable kind.
While they didn't tell it to him they did tell it to his wife after he died, which was just a few months later: They said it was a mystery and a miracle that he had lived as long as he did as advanced as the cancer was.
Now, I am not saying that people shouldn't go to a doctor. The opposite is probably the case. I'm afraid to go is what I am saying.
My friend with the kidney problems here locally has been taking the meds they gave him, severely altered his diet, is in the gym regularly, hardly ever drinks alcohol, and his situation is getting worse according to a recent re-visit to the doctor. Maybe his time is just coming up and that must be something that is a very tough pill to swallow. He is doing everything like they tell him and he isn't getting better. I think that a part of it might be the fact that he was ever told what the problem was in the first place. This goes against everything that we know about science and medicine, I know.
I take care of myself, make sure to eat fruits and vegetables, and recently started seriously curbing my alcohol intake. I have also been reasonably active almost all of my life. There was a period there for a few years where I rarely got exercise but for the most part, it has just been part of my life for as long as I have been alive. Perhaps this is where I end up not having massive issues and my friend is getting really bad news.
I've basically put my internal organs through hell since I was 17 with the drinking and fatty foods, yet I am not overweight, can run 5-10km without much issue, and other than the fact that I experience great difficulty in getting to sleep at night without chemical assistance, there isn't really anything wrong with me.
Am I just genetically lucky? This guy that I am talking about with the kidney issues is more than 10 years YOUNGER than I am.
I think in a way that it probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to go and have a checkup because I haven't had one for 20 years. I put this in stark contrast to the way that I manage my dog's health because if she so much as isn't interested in her food for half a day I start to watch her very closely and will take her to a veterinarian if it happens 2 days in a row.
I guess you could say that I care about her well-being more than I do my own.
I should just count my lucky stars I guess because as someone who smoked cigarettes for more than 20 years (I don't anymore) and has been hungover more often than not since I was a teenager, I don't understand how it is possible that I don't have any sort of serious health issues and just like the meme says.... "at this point, I'm afraid to ask."
Anyone else out there have this phenomenon happen in their lives? I don't deserve the good health that I have.