Health Story
Mother Mary: A bike ride that saved her life
The Event
In 2001, my mom had been experiencing hip pain on a consistent basis. Walking, gardening and doing farm chores had been compromised and she was set to get a hip replacement soon. One day, when she was riding her bike up the long gradual hill to the farm, she was so winded that she couldn’t make it one more meter. She fell to the side of the road. There was no strain on her hip, as
she had no weight on it when she rode that bike. So, what in the world was happening?
The Medical Explanation
Having recovered from this bike incident, the next day she went to the hospital, and was referred to the Cardiologists who performed a stress test. She failed, miserably! Then doctors did a procedure called an “angiogram,” where they inject a dye in a vein in the groin and track its travel through the blood vessels in the heart. Two completed blockages were found. Part of my mother's heart was at risk of not receiving vital nutrients and oxygen – better operateright away!
The next week my mother underwent “double bypass heart surgery,” where surgeons cut her sternum (breastbone) and opened her like a book. They hooked up a heart-lung machine, so they could re-route a mammarian artery and re-supply heart tissue with essential blood. This method was described as the best possible match for her, compared to taking a vein from her leg or inserting a stainless steel stent. When they completed the operation, she was stitched back up and was able to slowly recover with her bad hip (still needed replacing) and her newly mended heart.
Statistically Speaking
According to Statistics Canada, the incidence of coronoary artery bypass surgery among Canadians aged 20 and over occurred at a rate of 63 per 100,000 in the year 2010-2011. (1) The same source indicates it's more common to be in hospital for a hip replacement, with 100 persons per 100,000 undergoing hip surgery the same year in Canada.(2)
Meaning Making – it’s about control
I am humbled by mom’s courage, clarity and “no nonsense” approach that she has
brought to her (and our) life! She can control what she eats in terms of fat/salt and how much exercise she can do per week, but she is not able to control her family history of cardiovascular issues and herein lays a sizeable issue. I see the parallel in my life. Given I cannot choose my genetic lineage, what I can do is be sensible about my diet and embrace the notion that the bike ride might save my life too!
1. Statistics Canada. "Health Profile, January 2013." Table. Statistics Canada. January 29, 2013. Accessed February 27, 2013. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/ health-sante/82-228/details/ page.cfm?Lang=E&Tab=1&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Rate&SearchText=Cana
da&SearchType=Contains&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom.
2. Ibid.
The Event
In 2001, my mom had been experiencing hip pain on a consistent basis. Walking, gardening and doing farm chores had been compromised and she was set to get a hip replacement soon. One day, when she was riding her bike up the long gradual hill to the farm, she was so winded that she couldn’t make it one more meter. She fell to the side of the road. There was no strain on her hip, as
she had no weight on it when she rode that bike. So, what in the world was happening?
The Medical Explanation
Having recovered from this bike incident, the next day she went to the hospital, and was referred to the Cardiologists who performed a stress test. She failed, miserably! Then doctors did a procedure called an “angiogram,” where they inject a dye in a vein in the groin and track its travel through the blood vessels in the heart. Two completed blockages were found. Part of my mother's heart was at risk of not receiving vital nutrients and oxygen – better operateright away!
The next week my mother underwent “double bypass heart surgery,” where surgeons cut her sternum (breastbone) and opened her like a book. They hooked up a heart-lung machine, so they could re-route a mammarian artery and re-supply heart tissue with essential blood. This method was described as the best possible match for her, compared to taking a vein from her leg or inserting a stainless steel stent. When they completed the operation, she was stitched back up and was able to slowly recover with her bad hip (still needed replacing) and her newly mended heart.
Statistically Speaking
According to Statistics Canada, the incidence of coronoary artery bypass surgery among Canadians aged 20 and over occurred at a rate of 63 per 100,000 in the year 2010-2011. (1) The same source indicates it's more common to be in hospital for a hip replacement, with 100 persons per 100,000 undergoing hip surgery the same year in Canada.(2)
Meaning Making – it’s about control
I am humbled by mom’s courage, clarity and “no nonsense” approach that she has
brought to her (and our) life! She can control what she eats in terms of fat/salt and how much exercise she can do per week, but she is not able to control her family history of cardiovascular issues and herein lays a sizeable issue. I see the parallel in my life. Given I cannot choose my genetic lineage, what I can do is be sensible about my diet and embrace the notion that the bike ride might save my life too!
1. Statistics Canada. "Health Profile, January 2013." Table. Statistics Canada. January 29, 2013. Accessed February 27, 2013. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/ health-sante/82-228/details/ page.cfm?Lang=E&Tab=1&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Rate&SearchText=Cana
da&SearchType=Contains&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom.
2. Ibid.
