THE BUSINESS END of the doctor’s appointment, the part I was really stressed about, happened as the doctor was already at the end of his assessment. We were assuming the appointment was over; or at least one of us was, and Doc was saying all the right things: your numbers are tracking well, your BP is looking good, and just keep doing the things you’re doing, no problem with that daily glass of wine or cerveza. But I was still waiting.
In the end, Doc said what he said when he was already leaning on the doorway of his office, almost out the hallway.
You have a 20% chance of needing surgery to either repair or replace a valve in your heart in the next three years.
There is no getting around that, no way to make my condition better, and no way to make it worse either. As a notorious politician said recently, it is what it is.
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Physiologically and functionally, my heart is 90% as healthy as it was when I was a teenager, or a young dad at 22, or even as an unfit dad of three at 30. I’ve slowed down a bit, but because of physical activity and manual handling necessary to my work, I’ve actually been more fit now than at nearly any time before.
I only use the 90% number because first of the normal wear and tear my body (and anybody) faces through the years, and secondly, well because of a heart murmur common enough in some people but enough to cause concern in my GP (general practitioner), who referred me to a cardiologist.
Soon after it was first discovered, the cardio booked me for an ECG and an echocardiogram, and asked to see me after the results of the tests. Outside of the regular visa medicals and annual physical exams, I had only one other experience with heart-related tests or an interaction with a cardiologist before (see below). It was a new and unsettling experience.
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The doubts and fears started creeping in. Heto na ba ang magiging bunga ng aking mahahabang taon bilang OFW? Was getting a step slower going up the stairs (no elevator in our factory) due to normal tiredness or something else? The tightness in my chest, something I thought that was normal at the start of an afternoon run… was it really normal?
I already considered myself lucky, in two ways: first, during a visa medical three years ago, the GP (general practitioner) actually told me: You may have to consider going home, if your life is more important than your stay in New Zealand. ( I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic, but I had hoped he would sound more sympathetic after I had been consulting him and paying his doctor’s fees for so long.) The cardiologist he referred me to was kinder, more understanding and diplomatic, and in the end he cleared me for another visa.
Secondly, the cardiologist who billed me around a week’s wages for his tests and fees was kinder than I thought: he told me that if I had held a visa for at least two years, then I was eligible for free services and consultations through the public health system. I would have to wait in line like everyone else, but I wouldn’t have to pay around $200 for tests and $400 for his fees. I told you he was kind.
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In the end, I as I told you earlier, it was anti-climactic. The years and years of work and physical labor I had put in had worked in my favor, after all. Although there was a slight irregularity in heart, the exercise and moderate living I had subjected it to had kept my heart lean, efficient and durable.
Durable for another three years, at least. I’ll take the 20% anytime.
To all my brother and sister OFWs, you may be living the good life and saving for your twilight years, but always remember that you only enjoy the fruits of your labor if you are healthy in mind and body.
Thanks for reading!
