2. Background

How did I get into this condition? No idea. I had my share of games, even did exercises sometimes. It could have been the lifestyle, the food, and other factors I’m not aware of. My mother died of leukemia, my younger sister succumbed to a heart valve malfunction – not related to coronary disease.
I was working with the public sector when my previous boss invited me to join this company as a manager and consultant. I had only two more years to go, and there was nothing much to look forward to, to support retirement. Well, retire means changing your tires. So I didn’t require too much persuasion, and immediately tendered for early retirement.
I was placed in Bintulu, and I stayed there for four years. The job was challenging, looking for customers, providing the services, facing outside competition, developing new products. I travelled all over Sarawak and Sabah. It was only on the fourth year that we managed to exceed our target, thanks especially to my right hand man, who happened to be a woman.
And then I was called to back to West Malaysia – Bangi. I have a new boss here, and I accompanied him on 3 of his work travels. We spent 3 weeks in Sri Lanka, 2 weeks in Japan and 4 days in Brunei. Whilst in Sri Lanka, we were up by 6 every morning, and the agenda was the same : half an hour jogging (I was just walking all the time) by the sea, followed by another half hour in the gym. I found myself gasping for breath half the time. On the trip to Brunei, we were invited to Temburung to see the canopy walk high above the jungle floor which involved a climb of over 1,400 steps, according to our guide. I collapsed halfway and missed the experience. I know my limits.
I did not have a chance to go overseas during the tenure of the next boss, but I travelled extensively in the country. I started feeling discomfort around my upper back on flights, and the effort to carry a laptop and luggage to and from the plane became increasingly burdensome – especially when I noticed bigger people with extra luggage walking past me seemingly without any effort.
I used to drive long distance, alone, and I have to stop regularly as I always feel sleepy. People with heart problems are in danger of suffering from nano-blackouts, and I had one while coming back from Segamat. Luckily for me, I woke up in time to avoid a disaster.
In my classes, I used to tell my students that if you have problems climbing a flight of stairs 3 storeys high, chances are you have a heart problem. Don’t force yourself, or it could be the last thing you’ll ever do on earth. That is why when I have a class on the 2nd floor, I always take the lift … I already know that I have a problem, but I have been procrastinating. I keep telling myself : its gonna be okay. But the surgeon had a different opinion. He says I was a walking time bomb : I could collapse any time …