I suppose it all started in December 2010. We had taken a short break early that month and spent a week at the Champagne Sports resort in the Drakenberg Mountains. I was feeling a little less energetic than usual and not really on top of my form. Normally in a situation like this I'd be anxious to be on the go, walking, exploring and seeing the sights in such a glorious setting. But that week I was definitely firing on only three cylinders. I also noticed, I was short of breath and all I wanted to do was sit around.
At the end of the week we returned to Johannesburg, with no sign of the lethargy lifting. Eventually after some urging from my lady Shireen, I somewhat reluctantly went for a check up to my own doctor. After the usual battery of tests he decided there was definitely something not right and suggested some further tests at the local medical clinic.
In the past I had some trouble with a hiatus hernia and felt it could possibly be acting up again, so I went to see a specialist in that field who very quickly decided it was not a hernia and it looked like a heart problem to him. As luck would have it, directly across the corridor from his rooms was another specialist, this time a cardiologist who immediately carried out a battery of tests, before informing me that I had a blocked artery or two and I would require an urgent angiogram, which he quickly scheduled for the next day. He further explained in the case of a blocked or occluded artery the normal procedure would be to fit a stent which would free up the blockage.
Having an angiogram is an interesting procedure as the patient is awake and can see the progress of a metal tube inserted in the groin as it makes its way towards your heart, all in glorious technicolor. When the tube is in situ beside the artery a coloured fluid is emitted which shows the extent of the blockage or as in my case the blockages. At this stage he told me it would require a bypass operation as a number of the heart arteries were blocked and could not be repaired by the insertion of a stent or stents. He very quickly introduced me to one of his colleagues, a heart surgeon who told me that I would urgently require by-pass surgery as there was an imminent possibility of a fatal heart attack.. After a three way consultation between the cardiolgist, the surgeon and myself they advised me that urgent surgery was required and as the surgeon was not planning to go away for Christmas, I could be admitted within a couple of days, have the operation and spend Christmas in hospital and a few days more to recuperate..
It is a sobering moment when you are presented with a set of circumstances like this...delay the procedure and you stand a good chance of having a stroke or a heart attack. It certainly focuses the mind. So it was on the 22nd December I was admitted to Olivedale Hospital for by-pass surgery which turned out to be quadruple in nature. In terms of by-pass surgery this is the big league and represented one hell of a Christmas present.
There is nothing that brings you to such an abrupt full stop, than the prospect of a serious session of being sliced and diced. While waiting to be admitted to the hospital for this procedure the thought did occur to me that this might be my last hurrah. This is especially true if you have reached the fairly advanced age of 74. An age I had attained in August of that year. Another thing that bothered me was the fact that my grandfather, after whom I was named, had died from a massive heart attack at about the same date in December in 1932. Also makes you wonder about coincidence and karma and a whole host of other things that invade your morbid mind.
This is by way of a preamble to the setting up of a 'bucket list' which as you can imagine has tended to become a little important with the advancing years. So at the not so tender age of 75, I started looking around for things to place on my list. Someone once said 'at my age I haven't time to drink cheap wine of kiss ugly women' so I have become somewhat focused. After due consideration I decided the Camino might be a good goal, with a reasonable chance of success, especially if I did some serious walking beforehand and limited myself to the last 100 kilometres. In order to receive a certificate it is a prerequisite that you walk at least that distance.
Recently , a young family friend undertook a section of the "Camino" which is the old penitent's pilgrimage way to Campostela in Northern Spain. As some of you probably know, in the old days a sinner in order to obtain forgiveness, had to undertake a pilgrimage. In the middle ages, depending on how serious a sinner you were and this being a religious matter , wealth was also a big consideration. The main places of pilgrimage were in order of importance...the Holy Land, Rome, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the shrine of St. James in Compostela. If you were a minor sinner you may only have to go to Canterbury using the Canterbury way.
As I consider myself possibly a minor type of sinner and my advancing age, the one hundred kilometres should do the trick, consequently I have started my training program by walking three times a week. So far so good !!!
