See Wayne Run Campaign

New Year’s Resolution

                It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again, we are about to roll over to 2015.  Many of us will make resolutions, to break bad habits or to create new healthier habits.  Unfortunately, for the majority of those well intended individuals, it doesn't last through the coming year.  I have definitely fallen victim to this myself with several failed resolutions.  I have a feeling that this year will be much different, by using our blog to create accountability for the upcoming year.  I’m going to lay out my resolutions for the 605 to see.  But first I’d like to give you a little background on myself.

                This time of year, brings me back to the toughest year of my life.  It was New Year’s Eve of 2010 about to roll over to 2011 when I was living in Kansas City.  I was at a friend’s house for a typical bring in the New Year party. We all had a great time, some KC BBQ and hanging out with some close friends. As the night rolled on, I remember feeling my heart beating in this crazy rhythm.  The only way I could describe is, the feeling of a fish out of water in my chest.  I chalked it up to the drinks I had that night and didn't really pay much attention to it.  A few weeks passed by, I would notice the same feeling, especially at night when I went to bed.  The typical male in me, didn't give it much attention.  Finally it couldn't be ignored anymore.  I woke up one morning, and as soon as I stood up I was very light headed, my heart was racing, and after several seconds it went away.  That was the theme throughout that day.  Anytime I would go from seated to standing I felt like I was going to pass out.  Again, I’m stubborn, so I’m off to work. I was working as a personal trainer at that time.  That is a very up and down job, so you can imagine how that was going.  I finally decided to go to the emergency room.  I told the doctor my symptoms, and he diagnosed a sinus infection that was causing my light headedness.  I went round and round with him asking to check my heart out.  I think based on my age at that time, he didn't see any reason.  I finally won, and they hooked my up to an EKG. Well needless to say, the machine was going crazy, and I was admitted to the cardiac unit right away.  The first night was really scary.  I couldn't really get any answers, and at one point my heart rate stayed above 200 bpm for 5 minutes while I was sleeping.  I was in Atrial Fibrillation more than I was in a normal rhythm.  After several tests over the course of 5 days, I was eventually transferred to St. Luke's in Kansas City which is outstanding heart hospital.  I was introduced to one of the best Electrophysiolgist in the country.  He wasn't much older than me, and it felt like was on an episode of Doogie Howser.  We started with medication, and I was released 3 days later.  The meds sort of worked, but the side effects were terrible.  I was exhausted all of the time, and I was sleep walking and talking like a crazy man.  There are several funny stories there, for another day.  A few months later, I had a follow up appointment with the young Dr.  I asked how long I had to take the meds and it was basically for the rest of my life. I couldn’t imagine feeling like that forever, so we opted for surgery.  In September 2011, he performed a left atrial ablation on me.  They basically go in through the femoral artery to reach the heart and cauterize the tissue around each pulmonary vein.  The idea is that a scar forms and it blocks any extra electrical impulses from getting in and confusing the SA Node of the heart.  The surgery lasted about 7 hours, and it was a huge success.  I haven’t had any issues since and I’m medication free.

                So back to resolution time.  As many of you know from some very comical blog posts in the past, and the seewaynerun campaign. I have an aversion to distance running.  I grew up playing basketball, and was a long jumper in high school and college.  I always really struggled with the endurance side of things.  Despite being one of the best athletes in my high school, when it came to the running in gym, or the basketball coach making us run.  I was going to struggle.  I asked my Dr. about this in one of my follow ups.  He thinks I probably had some issues with AFib my whole life and it was never diagnosed until it was really bad, and that probably had a huge impact on why I always struggled in that area.  So, no excuse now, my heart is healthy and beating normally.  SeeWaynerun campaign is in full effect.  For those of you that know me, I’m one of the most competitive people you’ll meet, so I would like to have a respectable time.  I know I probably won’t ever be anywhere close to our elite team guys, but the goal is to break 20min in a 5k in 2015.  Hopefully, I can find a course that’s a little short.  No resolution is complete without a consequence if it doesn’t happen.  Alright 605 community, this is where you come in.  Suggestions and a vote on the consequence will be up to you guys.  Happy new year and let’s get the resolutions going.


-Wayne

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