Given the historical significance of yesterday, the 22nd anniversary of September 11th 2001, my ‘little’ anniversary thing certainly doesn’t compare. But it’s important to me to make this post considering the promise that I made to my God. To make it my mission to spread awareness of the risk factors of a AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm) as a payback for His giving me a 2nd chance in life.
To everyone that doesn’t know ‘my story’, I’d like to share this picture of me and my friend, my Angel, my hero, the vascular surgeon who, by divine intervention, was on duty the night of my ‘episode’, Dr. CJ Lee. ‘My Story’ is not so much about me, but my God and the 3 Angels that brought me back to life, not once, but twice exactly 10 years ago today. My intent is to honor these individuals and to thank them again for their efforts and to hopefully ‘spread the word’ of the risk factors of AAA, the silent killer that is in the top 10 causes of deaths for folks 60 years old and older. It befuddles me that the general public isn’t educated by the government, AMA, Medicare, CDC, etc. of this deadly affliction, a blatant dereliction of duty. It’s for this lack of caring by them that my daughters and I created a video uploaded to YouTube strictly as a PSA (public service announcement) in an attempt to fill the void created by these bureaucrats. Please click on the link in my signature below to view the video. This video is non-monetized and is for educational purposes only.
My story, if truth be told, is really not about me, but is used as a vehicle to show the seriousness and danger of living life with an undiagnosed and untreated AAA. My original primary care doctor, who shall remain unnamed, when I asked him about the throbbing in my abdomen, said he thought it was just a strong ‘pulse’, no further testing or investigation was considered. My point in mentioning him is to let you know it’s extremely important that we SELF ADVOCATE for our own health. A simple sonogram would have detected the ‘grapefruit sized’ (9.2cm) AAA that was growing in my abdomen that I was completely unaware of. My aneurysm could have been electively repaired with a relatively simple, non-invasive procedure requiring only an overnight stay in the hospital. Instead, it went undetected and untreated until it ruptured. When it did, I flatlined 2x, was administered 17 units of blood, endured a 5 hour emergency surgery requiring 87 staples to close the 14” incision, was put into an induced coma for several days followed by extensive rehab. A high price to pay for not having a simple 30 second sonogram.
It’s my hope that each and every one of you share this video/information with family, friends and acquaintances to educate them on said ‘risk factors’ of a AAA so they don’t experience the same fate I did, as there are no warning signs or symptoms. Hopefully they will be motivated to ‘Self Advocate’ with their doctors and medical professionals. Believe me when I say these professionals DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING, this responsibility is ours.
To sum things up, please do yourself a favor and click on the link below to watch our video for this potentially lifesaving information. My girls did an incredible job laying out my story and Dr. Lee was kind enough to participate in this production as his contribution in spreading the word as well. Hearing his version of the events that night is chilling.
I hope you enjoy watching or re-watching the video. Any and all feedback is welcome.
Alright I’m getting off my ‘soap box’ now. Remember the ‘gift’ you’ve been given, it’s on you now….
Check out my You Tube videos:
Angels, Anuerysms and Advocacy
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