By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
It is a typical Friday. The layout artist of this paper is badgering me about my column article. After doing what I had to do the whole week, am just so stressed out already.
Well, my blood pressure has always been on the high side since this paper was put up as that was the time when sleeping soundly became a luxury. Of course, there were the deadlines any practicing lawyer had to contend, but my attention and time shifted to this paper. Every week, from Monday to Sunday the burden and stress of contending with innumerable factors to get this paper out by the weekend would bear down on me. These would be killing me. And once you are over an issue, the ugly head of the next one would be looming up the horizon.
I must confess that my law practice suffered bigtime. Preparation? Nothing much anymore when one is stressed out everyday.
While I groggily managed, things were miles away from the ideal.
So things have been piling up inside me. Thus, it was not surprising when I googled the cause of “thick blood,” which appears to be my problem, and it said such condition is usually developed over so many years.
I would say, it must be due to an imbalance lifestyle. When there is no difference between night or day in one’s life, it will take its toll. While coffee got through for decades, the bad effects had accumulated.
Well it’s easy to say that balance must maintained, but not when you have taken such a big bite regarding goals which make chewing it in a regular manner impossible. You sort of get choked, yet you have to keep on going. Normal health becomes elusive. Doing it for decades and decades means the effects have to endured also that long. So gain the balance? You bet. There is no quick fix for something that had been brewing for a very long time.
Things got into a head after I had the two doses of Sinovac covid vaccine. My blood pressure reached up the stratosphere. Well, it had always been high the past many years, but one strong pill easily got it down to reasonable levels. Post Sinovac, I really got scared. A stoke or heart attack could have happened anytime.
After about two months of living with that danger that the strong pills used only for emergencies could not even affect, my BP started responding just a bit. During those times, I was always groggy due to the pills. Eyes were always a bit bleary.
So the doctor now prohibits stressful situations. Meaning, rest. Well, how can that be when I have to work? It is finding myself between the immovable rock and the deep blue sea. But the hard choice has to be made. Take an extended leave or live with Sword of Damocles hanging over my head. It could fall anytime.
Then I saw “create communities around your interests” on Facebook. It dawned on me, why not. I can just work on my junk cars everyday at a pace I could manage. It would give me the much-needed exercise I have long denied myself, which got me bloated and caused me the health vagaries I now have to face.
I could easily create a community around that of people who don’t have the word tetanus in their vocabulary. Discovering a rare rusty part would always be like finding gold. So many stories would revolve around it as we would relax and sip coffee, or tea for me.
In sum, the vagaries I now endure revolve around the two words “thick blood.” Developed in a long time, dealing with it will also take a long time. Taking short cuts would result in problematic side effects.
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