Sports, Family, and Heart Attacks

Chest pains.

Pressure.

Anxiety.

Rapid and irregular heartbeats.

Shortness of breath.

Tingling in the right arm.

High blood pressure.

 

…

 

Dude. I exercise on a daily basis. I take a Vitamin B Complex and that CoQ10 from the Costco. It’s supposed to be good for your heart. But in truth I don’t know if it was working. I didn’t think I was gonna make it tonight. I’ve never needed an EKG or CPR before. I was really freaking out.

And then it happened …

 

Holy Crap!

 

SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!

 

Go Kings Go!

 

Instantly … the blood rushed back into my veins and pumped life back into my heart. I took deep breaths and felt the muscles in my face relax. The tension melted away and the pounding in my chest subsided. But in truth there was nothing I could do about the ten new gray hairs that sprouted during this episode.

Those would stay with me.

I earned those. As a sports fan they’re my badge of honor. As a L.A. Kings’ fan I acquired my first series of gray during the first round of playoffs and by the end of this double overtime winning streak, I must have aged at least 15 years. I should have gotten used to all that stress by now … the world of sports does that to you. I should have known better.

However, The Quest for the Stanley Cup is a whole new level of danger. And nothing can prepare you for it, although they try. The PSA announcement before the game warned me that watching the Kings could be hazardous to my health … and if I ate red meat, drank excessively, or smoked the risk would be three times greater. I don’t smoke and I don’t drink excessively, but I’m a Tyrannosaurus Rex kind of carnivore. So I knew I’d be in trouble.

But it was something I was willing to risk.

 

🙂

 

My Dad would want me to … he was a big fan. Loved those Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille days. And it was fitting that I’d be watching the L.A. Kings beat the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup wearing my Dad’s hockey cap. Father’s Day is coming up and I’ve been feeling his presence all week long. Thinking of things we’d be doing together and of the cake I’d be baking in his honor.  Yeah … I was thinking and I was grateful for his Kings’ hat. I had a piece of him with me still. And we were  high-fiving each other, screaming, and nearly passing out from all that intense excitement. He was a great couch sidekick and I was definitely missing him this evening.

Yeah … sports and family. They both give you heart attacks but you love them for it.

 

 

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