A return to health

During my life I have been invovled in a lot of sport, held big jobs with a lot of stress, moved about and not managed some relationships as well as I could have. I guess I have always been busy and lived a lifestyle that was not as healthly as it could have been.

I did a MBA in 1989-90, Ironman in 1992 tried it again in 1994 but failed to finish, North Island Coast to Coast, a lot of run marathons, round Taupo bike rides 10 times, marathon kayak races and many triathlons, my favourite was Half Ironman at Mt Maunganui.

Confronting a heart attack was difficult, I was confused and dismayed, why did it happen to me, why not to someone else who was not fit, I don't understand. I was invited to take part in a heart rehab study run by Auckland University. It invovled going to the gym 3 days a week and following a set program that steadily took my fitness back and allowed me to get healthly and fit again.

We went to classes to understand about heart attacks and how to live in a manner that would reduce the possiblity of it happening again.

During the testing for the rehab they identified ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) which is a type of regular and fast heart rate that arises from improper electrical activity in the ventricles of the heart. Although a few seconds may not result in problems, longer periods are dangerous. Short periods may occur without symptoms or present with light headedness, palpitations, or chest pain. Ventricular tachycardia may result in cardiac arrest and turn into ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular tachycardia is found initially in about 7% of people in cardiac arrest.

This was raised as an alarm, it did not happen again, however I was put under closer observtion and had to visit the heart clinic more often. I thought I was getting better, I began swimming again and looked forward to summer and entering into the events as normal. I returned to work as a lifeguard, I struggeled a little with some of the heavy lifting but generally was OK.

I had started doing the Kohi Summer Series (https://www.summerswim.co.nz/) in 2010 when it started, when I returned from Wellington. I had won my age grouop in the first year and was one of a handful who did every event, that is 16 swims on a Thursday evening over summer. Again in 2011/12, 2012/13 & 2013/14 I did all the events, in 2014/15 I missed one as we went to the South Island to do a 10km event at Lake Hood. The sumer season had finished by the time I had the heart attack. I wanted to do 100 without missing one, however if I did all the 2015/16 year I would hit the 100 by the end of the 15/16 summer.

I started swimming again, being able to do 1 length at a time, the first time back I managed 3 lengths or 100 metres. I slowly built it up and toward the beginning of the summer I could manage 500 metres in the pool. I had a few small swims in the open water to see if I could manage it. They went OK and I didn't have to get out. I would get breathless, I thought due to a lack of fitness and getting the body back right again. Hmmm it was a symptom of serious heart failure, but i didn't have any pain and I was able to do most things OK.

I also got a new job and returned to my passion of people and helping them through issues. I was employed at MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment).

So I would turn up on a Thrusday evening and do the 500 metres, at first I could swim all the way, I would stop and do breaststroke, it was taking me as long as it had taken to do 1km before. I slowly improved and could swim the whole distance. I managed to get to the 100 by the end of the summer in 2016, only missing that one Thursday event.

I entered a few of the Ocean Series give it a go 300 metres and did OK. I would swim them with escorts, Pauline Mills, Roger Soulsby, Martyn Southall, Hana Wolzak and Susan Sherwen, I thank them for their support. They kept me safe.

During this time the doctors had been monitoring me, adjusting my medication and performing various tests and scans, they finally called for a MRI scan and following that decided to insert a ICD, (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator). If the ICD detects ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, it sends out a controlled burst of impulses (called "overdrive" pacing), is is for those that are at risk for sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.

Goodness I was getting better wasn't I, what does this mean it may never activate, they told me, it is a safeguard, "you have symptoms that makes this something that will help should anything happen" they said. That happen in April 2016 one year after the heart attack.

Will it restrict me at all? No it shouldn't do. So we went about planning the trip to the UK, Pauline had decided she wanted to swim Lake Windermere and raise funds for the Heart Foundation. I had entered with her in the hope of doing it along side as we did so often before. Lake Windermere is the longest lake in England, Pauline's homeland. I decided to withdraw and concentrate on doing smaller events and enter a couple while we were away.

Work was going well and life was looking up, we went to the UK for 6 weeks Pauline did 4 marathon swims, I was her supporter and feeder, coach and driver. We hired a camper van and had a wonderful time, going to Dover for a visit and seeing Pauline's family. My swims were sucessful with one being 750 metre, the other 800 metres in Loch Lomond, which might have been a little cold for me. Pauline did Lake Windermere, I paddled and feed her, she was amazing in the swim, it was as good as Ironman.

We came back to New Zealand and back to normal life, in a routine. I would swim behind Pauline for a few lengths, have a break and then do some more. In October I jumped in the pool and got on Pauline's toes and hung on for more lenghts than ever before. Something odd happened that I coudn't figure out. Pauline was coming back down the lane and I was confused. I got myself together and carried on. The next day I got a call from the hospital to tell me I had a cardic arrest. The ICD had worked and I was gone for nearly a minute with no-one seeing me floating in or under the water.