Life after Bypass Surgery: Living it to the fullest
Life after Bypass Surgery: Living it to the fullest
As I recovered from CABG +4, trying an extreme sport is something I thought was beyond my ability. In fact, I saw myself as a sixty year old broken human being, never again able to try things that piqued my interest.
Practically two years to the day after my surgery, I attempted a new extreme sport that I had only witnessed on YouTube. Flyboarding involves a 3X1 foot board with a pair of boot bindings on top and a pair of water jets below. A long hose attaches the FlyBoard to a powerful Sea-Doo watercraft. When the SeaDoo is throttled up, the jets on the board spew out huge streams of water, propelling the rider upward, sideways, or downward according to the orientation of his body. I managed to get airborne about three feet on my second attempt and dive in head first from that height. After several more attempts I was able to reach a height of fifteen feet or more. I also did some power swimming; repeatedly coming out of the water, diving forward, gliding underwater and emerging to dive again, much like a porpoise does.
The whole experience was great. There IS life after CABG. Initally, you feel like your active life is over and that is very depressing. Just hang in there. You will regain your ability to do things and enjoy life, just give it time.