@batesTopher

Over the holidays I saw and caught up with some of you on campus during the young professional’s event back home.

All of you know of my lifelong cardiac issues. The last decade has been less than kind. And a good handful know I underwent some major cardiac surgeries in the last few years.

For those of you that don’t know, things drastically failed in 2012 and I’ve been managing my care since. As of this writing, I’m now on my third pacemaker and second set of leads, this is a recent change as I just underwent emergency surgery on my return back to my current home of Colorado. I had been back in Hawai‘i since mid-December for other (unexpected) family illnesses, along with stops in Japan and NYC before arriving the 3rd of February.

Dealing with mortality is a tough subject. However, I like to take the time to say to these things to those whom I’ve known; especially when there is a tie-in:

The evening I saw many of you back in December the main atrial lead (and only operable one at the time) from my heart to my pacemaker fractured and stopped passing current. Due to the last decade and prior surgeries, my native heart rate is insufficient to support long-term human life. I doubt any of you noticed a thing; I didn’t. I continued to work, play/travel, pushed harder than normal because life threw opportunities. There were never any signs the lead and I were barely hanging on. 

After my return to Colorado on the 3rd, I was pre-scheduled for standard cardiac appointments due to other pacer issues/heart health on the 5th. My amazing cardiovascular team here noticed the issues; I was immediately admitted and subsequently scheduled for the aforementioned emergency surgery on the 9th. This procedure was only nine hours and five days postoperatively in the hospital; nothing compared to the sixteen hours and twenty-eight days I’ve done a few years ago.

I’m finally home, just about back to normal for recovery; hence the novel. I got lucky, more times in the last few months than probably all the crazy times I have been before.

It was a crazy scare, nothing I, my family or friends was prepared for like years prior. The road ahead is long and arduous, we’ll get there.

So why do I share this?
Don’t take things for granted.
If you can do it, do it.
Tell those you love, you love them every chance you get.
Stay hungry, stay foolish.
This is all a cliché, and something I’ve known for decades with my history.
And you’ve all heard versions of it before.
However, here is one person you know, some saw not long ago; that looked fine, and thought they were when they weren’t.
Embrace your now, love who you have, while you have them.
Not trying to paint a dreary picture here; I just get these ‘wake-up calls’ every now and then, and generally, try and take a moment to remind others.

Cheers gang, happy fifteen!
I’ll likely be (stuck) in Colorado for the year; if you’re around, we’ll show you around or something.

Thanks for everything.
Aloha,

-cb

ps: thanks, CJ Smith for the photo!