A week or so ago, I was reminded of my own arrogance very graphically. How I am using the “A” word is a “narrow point of view.” It is the moment we stop paying attention to something because we “know” how it is already. What happened to me was a shock because I thought I was paying attention.

Three weeks prior I had an incident while making my morning run. I don’t run far (2+ miles) and I don’t run fast, but I do run often. Okay for an 81, soon to be, 82 year old is how I see it. In mid-run I suddenly felt like I was going to fall on my face. I, of course, kept running, but a after a few more steps I stopped and walked the rest of the way home.

The next day I had a scheduled appointment with my chiropractor. I related my bad experience and she immediately had my blood pressure taken. 185 over 100. Wait a minute. My reading had been 140+ over 80+ for 25 or 30 years. What’s going on? So, I decide to schedule an appointment with a neurologist since my balance was an issue. She did some tests. Nothing startling except with some balance tests and my blood pressure was still high.

Still, I felt bad and couldn’t really run. And, yes, the BP, so I scheduled my yearly physical a couple of weeks early. Everything was great except for my BP. The doctor wrote a prescription for a blood pressure pill which should now take care of things. WRONG!! I still didn’t feel any better. Okay, let’s try a cardiologist. I scheduled an appointment.

My appointment was a week ago this past Friday. After a battery of tests were completed I sat down with the doctor to get the results. A man of few words, he said “You need to go to the hospital, NOW! I’ve arranged for your admission and the surgeons will install a pacemaker.” He also let me know that my heart rate was 37 which is a couple of points higher than a dead man. Admitted Friday, surgery Saturday, home Sunday.
So, where does arrogance fit in this scenario? I didn’t communicate from the beginning that I normally have extraordinary health for my age. No urgency on my part. To the doctors my results probably looked good “for my age.” I didn’t take responsibility for my health. How were they to know that the way I was feeling was “way off.” My health is amazing. And, can be that way in the future with the aid of my little electronic pal.