MY youngest daughter Keesha is as radiant as the sun. She’s active, loves dancing and is just 13 years old. Just looking at how she goes about her day, you would never be able to tell that there’s something wrong.
But around June this year, while she was sitting around, I noticed her T-shirt acting funny—as it turned out, her heart was pumping too hard.
My wife and I wasted no time and had her checked by Dr. Maya Dorotan Guevarra and Dr. Karl Reyes at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City. They found out that Keesha needed an operation to repair her mitral and aortic valve—the same health issue that plagued my mother. She is now scheduled for surgery on the first day of December.
The news greatly humbled me and made me realize that no matter how active or fit one may appear to be, he’s still not cleared of risks. That shows of endurance and strength may mislead us into thing that we’re ship-shape. Nothing must be taken for granted and the best way to be healthy is to be sure of one’s health.
If there’s something positive that I can pick up from the ordeal, it’s the wake-up call. Immediately, I had my wife Melissa, my eldest daughter Trixia and myself checked, as well.
We underwent a cardiac stress/diagnostic test, one that measures the heart’s ability to respond to external stress, induced by exercise, measured by an echocardiograph in a controlled clinical environment. Pre- and post-exercise echocardiograms are compared to see structural differences, and to assess any abnormalities in wall motion of the heart, and to detect obstructive coronary artery disease. Thankfully, we were all cleared.
Since then, I’ve been sharing the word and a lot of my clients and cocoaches are taking the rather-be-safe-than-sorry route. Indeed, prevention is always better than cure.
It’s about time we realize that being healthy does not end at proper diet and regular exercise, but it greatly extends to routine physical check-up and lab work. Also, by knowing the results of these tests, we can alter our diet and adjust our workout routines and lifestyle to custom fit our body’s capabilities and needs.
This is also a call to my colleagues in the fitness field that we must always be in optimal shape inside and out. We should continue to strive to be models of good health not only for our clients but to our family and everyone else, as well.
To my daughter Keesha, stay strong, honey.
(With JT Nisay)
***For fitness training and lifestyle coaching, contact Jonnel Cruz at 0917-8414848 or e-mail beyondfitness.befit@gmail.com.