We're all in the same boat

Vibrant Life, July-August, 2004 by Richard O'Ffill

Some things just seem to have snob appeal. Know what I mean? For instance, someone might tell me something about themselves and I think, Wow, I wish I could do that. Well, what I'm about to share with you does not have snob appeal because I can't imagine anyone saying, "Wow, I wish I could do that, too."

I take five milligrams of rat poison a day and seven and one-half milligrams on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mind you, the words "rat poison" don't appear on the medicine bottle anywhere. Instead, the label reads "Warfarin." Warfarin is a blood thinner. Strangely enough, the first time I purchased this powerful toxin was for its original purpose--to kill rats. It degrades the clotting ability of the blood, causing massive internal hemorrhaging and--for rats in this case--death.

Now this blood thinner is a necessary part of my life. Why? I have atrial fibrillation, I don't know all the physiology of the problem, but my particular condition might be compared with the old saying "Too many cooks spoil the broth." Seems there are rogue cells in my heart that are sending out spurious signals, causing that organ's atria chambers to beat so fast there's no time for them to empty. As a result, a blood clot could form. My cardiologist informed me that, if left untreated, I'd have about a 1 percent chance each year of suffering from a stroke. "Therefore," he said, looking at me with kind and under standing eyes, "you need to take a blood thinner for the rest of your life."

To be honest, the whole idea of taking rat poison grosses me out. And it's a nuisance. But that's not all. I have to take a test every month to make sure that my blood isn't too thin or too thick. If for some reason it becomes too thin, I could suffer a hemorrhage (like the rats).

Since a 1 percent chance doesn't sound terribly threatening, there've been times when I considered Dust taking an aspirin every day and forgetting the rat poison and the blood tests. After all, I don't feel any different one way or another.

However, let me tell you why I finally decided to follow my doctor's advice faithfully. If the day should ever come that I suffered a stroke, it's not just my life that would be ruined; it would also put a pretty good-sized dent in the life of my wife. She'd be the one who'd call 9-1-1. If I survived, she'd have to push me around in a wheelchair, bathe me, and perform all of those simple, mindless tasks I do for myself now. Her life would never be the same again.

I came to the conclusion that my health doesn't belong to just me; it belongs to the entire family.

Some say, "Hey, it's my life. I can live it any way I want." Not true--at least not for me. If I love those who love me, I can't live any old way 1 want. What ever happens to me happens to my entire family.

Recently my wife and I were in a pharmacy. "I think I'll buy some chewing gum," she said, heading down the aisle. I asked if she intended to buy sugarless gum. "Well, not really," she replied.

"Oh, I wish you would," I said with a twinkle in my eye, "because your teeth belong to me!"

She hesitated, smiled, and then nodded. Later that day, we shared a piece of sugarless gum.

Another powerful incentive for living a healthy lifestyle is to reduce the time of our disability. For some so fortunate, the process of dying lasts only a moment. For others, it can take years. My father-in-law passed away almost immediately from an aneurysm. In contrast, my father suffered a stroke, lost his ability to swallow, and had to be tube-fed for three years before he slipped away.

To illustrate the inevitability of death, I sometimes joke, "I was looking at my birth certificate the other day and noticed it has an expiration date!" Then I read a Bible text found in Hebrews 9:27. It said that man is "destined to die once." Seems the mortality rate for the human race is hovering right around 100 percent.

"What's the big deal? You've got to die someday." True. But there's much we can do to slow the process and reduce the time of our disability. We owe it to the God who created us, to those who love us, and to ourselves to live as healthfully and as long as we possibly can.

Our Great Physician inspired the apostle Paul to write these words: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV). I believe that we should eat, drink, and live to the glory of our loved ones as well.

Richard O'Ffill writes from Longwood, Florida, where he lives in a house filled with love that's also completely devoid of rats.