Absolutely appreciate the hug, thanks Sean! It's all so new, so much to get my head around but in an odd kind of way I genuinely think this diagnosis might have been the best thing to happen to me! Now, I *have* to level up and really look after my body, and fuel it rather than push it into decline mode, doh.. . I feel your anniversary, I didn't have such an epic moment but my life changing moment was the blood clot and Pulmonary embolism in 2015, it shook me to my core because by rights, it was very close to not being a happy ending, couldn't breathe etc. Someone 'up there' has got my back, so with this, I'm not wasting the opportunity to live life to the fullest and get my body working right. I can relate to the phoenix life methodology.
Can I ask a question, when you were involved in the accident, did you have a moment of clarity at all, as in, did it change you in any way? Make you more determined to achieve goals etc? I find this fascinating because I had a kind of mindset change when I was in hospital back with the blood clot nonsense, made me so much more grateful for just being able to be around another day..
24th October 1986 - a Friday.
The night before - my then girlfriend who was T1 fell into a coma at a student disco. Everyone else was drunk. I called an ambulance got her to hospital and stayed with her until I had to go - it was a toga party. I did not want to hang around a central London hospital and travel back to New Cross on a rush hour train in a pink toga.
24th mid afternoon. Students Union. I get a call - pop up. We found your girlfriend's bag with keys, wallet, insulin etc. Mystery solved. Around 4:30 in the afternoon., I was walking from the university main building to her hall of residence with her bag. Two guys thought I was an easy target. next things - in the middle of the road dancing with a bus and then getting run over.
The next 3 weeks:
Internal fixing in the leg (one of the earliest - Barry Sheen had just been done 80+ nuts and bolts. I had 11
Within days my girls friend got bored visiting me - too emotional apparently. I called her one evening - she was out at a night club. By the next morning she had a new boyfriend - They're still married or so I 've heard.
My confidence is based on being big. I lost three stone in the summer to become runner up in the West of Britain championships and lost another 3 stone in hospital, plus about 10 stone of girl friend!!
But here's the change: three weeks in a private room and very little on tv gave me a lot of time to work out who my real friends were and why the not so real ones had disappeared.
1986, 21 years old, very into body building. Me me me me me and sod everybody else. Problem: found it. I needed to change and grow up a bit. The stroppy teenager thing needed to be parked.
A lot of it happened immediately and some took a while to work out but it was a game changer.
Here's a brilliant example. I had a girlfriend at university - prior to the other one. It didn't work. It didn't last. (it wasn't going to help with my body building career so the relationship got shelved. (Me me me me me) She didn't talk to me for years. In fact she even wrote a letter to her very big brother (who was living in Tenerife) ranting on about what a nasty piece of work I was.
I know this because the letter surfaced one day when I was at my very big brother in law's house - yes - we ended up getting married. We have two amazing daughters and we all lift weights.
I'm a STEM Ambassador - I volunteer to put on science shows at schools.
Between us we have raised a large enough sum for Macmillan for my kids to receive an award at the Houses of Parliament. My kids are the driving force, but I have appeared (as Santa) about 100 times over the last 15+ years and all donations to Macmillan. In the winter, I creep out in the very early hours and sweep the drive ways for all our elderly neighbours etc
Achieving my goals:
I knew I was never going to compete again. I have two ugly scars - one each side of my knee and my tear drop still hasn't grown back.
But I did realise that I needed to be a nicer more considerate person. I'd like to think I've done that. I still have the occasional moment - I don't like being taken advantage of , and I don't volunteer for everything, not by a long shot, but I think I'm a million miles away from the stroppy teenager I was at the age of 21
Diabetes objectives:
It's a war. It doesn't take a day off - not even on Christmas Day. I fight it every day (Except Christmas Day, because Christmas!) I don't think I'll kick it into remission, but at my age now, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I feel better than I felt at the age of 35. It's hard work, but when you wake up the next day and you know you can handle it................................... with bells on, that's a great feeling.
I also had a heart attack in 2006. I have asthma (since 23) diverticulitis and a dead thyroid. I take meds for blood pressure and cholesterol................and I can wipe the floor with most 30 years olds in a gym and I walked the Loch Ness Marathon in 2012 in 7hrs 24...................I'm winning (but nicely, I hope)
but an embolism and a blood clot would scare the life out of me. You've come back from worse. Don't stop.