The Fragility Of Life

My brother-in-law had a massive heart attack yesterday. He was brought to the hospital in the nick of time and this saved his life. He is in his early 50's.

My brother-in-law was fortunate on several counts. The heart attack occurred only when he reached his worksite and not whilst he was driving. He was surrounded by caring colleagues who took quick and decisive action. He was not caught in a traffic gridlock which was prevalent in this city during the morning rush hour. This particular worksite was located in a neighbourhood with a top-class private hospital. Finally, he was tended to immediately by medical professionals on arrival and an angioplasty was done within 3 hours from the time of the arrest.

Near brushes with death affect not only the person concerned. It is a grim reminder to all of us of our mortality and the fragility of life.

Over the past 12 months, I have been in and out of hospitals more than any other period in my life. Three other immediate family members have had life-threatening calls. One year ago, my brother had a heart attack. Over Christmas, another brother was admitted to the high dependency unit for chronic asthma. In April this year, a sister-in-law had a stroke. They all survived, thank God.

The doctors who attended them all had this remark to make: because they are young, the prognosis for recovery is high. My four siblings/siblings-in-law are in their 30's, 40's and early 50's. Is that a comfort, I wonder? It begs the question why is it that we need to watch out for our health at a younger age now?

To me, survival is neither contingent on the state of health nor the person's age, though both factors obviously help.

To me, survival is really contingent on a fortuitous combination of circumstances that enables the person to get medical attention as soon as possible. It is the fight against time, more than anything else.

Ten years ago, I lost a sister who was in her late 30's. She had endured a difficult pregnancy and childbirth. Resting at home during the confinement period, she had continued to be plagued by high blood pressure. When she collapsed, the ambulance took some time in coming and was later caught in a traffic jam. Sure, she was not in the pink of health, but if she had got to the hospital in time, who knows how the course of events might have turned?