The other day I got this letter from a man that is responsible for helping so many people achieve success in their life he’s probably lost count.
With his permission I’m sharing his letter with you and I pray that if it’s you that needs to see this not only will you see it, I pray that you will also change your habits and lifestyle as needed.
If you need any assistance learning how to implement some of his suggestions, by all means call my office right away.
Doug
From The Desk Of:
Ron LeGrand
9799 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257
August 11, 2009
TWC Members
All,
I’m writing to you shortly after returning home from a quadruple bypass surgery on July 31st. I’m okay. Please save the flowers and for God’s sake, no candy.
I didn’t intend on having open heart surgery. It never crossed my mind as I opted in for a heart catheter.
I had no idea 24 hours later I’d be in recovery with my chest cracked open and metal staples where I used to have chest hair and it would be 5 days later before I’d breathe fresh air again.
Sometimes life has some nasty surprises in store for us and things change with the blink of an eye. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worst, but change is inevitable.
So what are the lessons here?
There are several that I’ll note and I’m sure some I didn’t.
- Could you be down for 30 – 60 days and survive financially? Perhaps even longer. If not, what can fix it? The answer is cash and/or cash flow that doesn’t involve you much. You know, the kind we’ve been discussing ever since we met. What are you doing that has a chance of succeeding?
- To whom do you listen? Are you a heart attack waiting to happen and know it but refuse to address it head on? You may not get a second chance. To be honest, if I weren’t pushy and unwilling to listen to advice that doesn’t sit right with me, I would have listened to my old cardiologist who suggested I have another stress test after I complained of chest pains.You see, I had one last year and passed, so I knew that wouldn’t help and may even kill me with the exertion. Walking across the airport was becoming an obstacle.I insisted on a more conclusive test and agreed to a heart catheritization, which is a camera in your arteries and if necessary stints to prop open the plaqued areas.Listening to advice I knew was wrong for me could have easily killed me even when it came from someone as qualified as a cardiologist.
- Can you accept major change when it comes (and it will) and deal with it? It will take a strong person to navigate through life’s mine fields. Some things you control and some you don’t.
Some would say my heart problems were not my fault. I’d say that’s bullshit. It’s all my fault and I know exactly what caused it and knew it well before it happened and chose to basically ignore it. Who else is there to blame but me?
The crap you eat will kill you. We all know this, but choose to continue because to someone who lives to eat, not eats to live, it’s a major change to eat right consistently. It’s hard, very hard. Good food is one of those things you look forward to and build your day around.
Well, my doctor made it crystal clear on my way out the door. He said you have two choices…and only two.
One – Do what I ask you to do from today forward and probably live.
Two – Do it your way and most certainly die.
Then he followed that up with “I appreciate your business and would like to keep you around awhile, but rest assured I have no short supply of self indulgent, overweight people with heart problems to operate on. Business is booming.”
Now I must confess that left me very little room to negotiate. In fact, I didn’t even know how to respond, so I simply said “Yes Sir!”
By the way, you’ll never know what truly bad tasting food is until you’ve been hospitalized. It’ll certainly make you appreciate all non-hospital food. One of my nurses told me it was their number one complaint, yet there is no intent to fix it. I truly ate nothing rather than the foul smelling stuff they called food.
The next time someone you like gets hospitalized, here are a couple tips:
- 1. They do not want to talk with anyone during recovery. Visiting them may be like using a baseball bat on them. It may be unpleasant and downright punishing to them. Think of their suffering, not your guilt. Stay away! Trust me they won’t miss you.
- Don’t send flowers. They can really stink up a room to the point of nausea. Besides, the room is small, no place to put them. Here’s a tip…send fruit instead. A nice fruit basket has no odor and may be just what the patient needs to combat hospital food. I lived on it for two days. It’s all I wanted and became a welcome guest, not an unwanted pest and there was nothing to lug home when you leave.
- Don’t call the patient and expect a return call. You might say they don’t have to answer, but then you’d be forgetting most people’s cell phone controls their lives and they will answer and even if they don’t, it’s something else for them to worry about.
Send a card, stay away and don’t be a pest. That’s my advice, which I probably would have challenged prior to being a patient. Do with it as you will.
The good news is I’ll have 30 days to catch up on my reading and writing which started before I left the hospital.
If you want to know anything about sharks, I’m now an expert after spending two full days watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I’m also pretty good on the reign of Egyptian Pharaohs dating back to 3000 B.C. All valuable information I’m sure I’ll use someday.
I do intend to be at the September 1st – 2nd meeting. Maybe we can compare scars.
Peace,
Ron LeGrand
******************************
Again
If you need any assistance learning how to implement some of his suggestions, by all means call my office right away.
Doug
9799 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257
August 11, 2009
TWC Members
All,
I’m writing to you shortly after returning home from a quadruple bypass surgery on July 31st. I’m okay. Please save the flowers and for God’s sake, no candy.
I didn’t intend on having open heart surgery. It never crossed my mind as I opted in for a heart catheter.
I had no idea 24 hours later I’d be in recovery with my chest cracked open and metal staples where I used to have chest hair and it would be 5 days later before I’d breathe fresh air again.
Sometimes life has some nasty surprises in store for us and things change with the blink of an eye. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worst, but change is inevitable.
So what are the lessons here?
There are several that I’ll note and I’m sure some I didn’t.
1. Could you be down for 30 – 60 days and survive financially? Perhaps even longer. If not, what can fix it? The answer is cash and/or cash flow that doesn’t involve you much. You know, the kind we’ve been discussing ever since we met. What are you doing that has a chance of succeeding?
2. To whom do you listen? Are you a heart attack waiting to happen and know it but refuse to address it head on? You may not get a second chance. To be honest, if I weren’t pushy and unwilling to listen to advice that doesn’t sit right with me, I would have listened to my old cardiologist who suggested I have another stress test after I complained of chest pains.
You see, I had one last year and passed, so I knew that wouldn’t help and may even kill me with the exertion. Walking across the airport was becoming an obstacle.
I insisted on a more conclusive test and agreed to a heart catheritization, which is a camera in your arteries and if necessary stints to prop open the plaqued areas.
Listening to advice I knew was wrong for me could have easily killed me even when it came from someone as qualified as a cardiologist.
3. Can you accept major change when it comes (and it will) and deal with it? It will take a strong person to navigate through life’s mine fields. Some things you control and some you don’t.
Some would say my heart problems were not my fault. I’d say that’s bullshit. It’s all my fault and I know exactly what caused it and knew it well before it happened and chose to basically ignore it. Who else is there to blame but me?
The crap you eat will kill you. We all know this, but choose to continue because to someone who lives to eat, not eats to live, it’s a major change to eat right consistently. It’s hard, very hard. Good food is one of those things you look forward to and build your day around.
Well, my doctor made it crystal clear on my way out the door. He said you have two choices…and only two.
One – Do what I ask you to do from today forward and probably live.
Two – Do it your way and most certainly die.
Then he followed that up with “I appreciate your business and would like to keep you around awhile, but rest assured I have no short supply of self indulgent, overweight people with heart problems to operate on. Business is booming.”
Now I must confess that left me very little room to negotiate. In fact, I didn’t even know how to respond, so I simply said “Yes Sir!”
By the way, you’ll never know what truly bad tasting food is until you’ve been hospitalized. It’ll certainly make you appreciate all non-hospital food. One of my nurses told me it was their number one complaint, yet there is no intent to fix it. I truly ate nothing rather than the foul smelling stuff they called food.
The next time someone you like gets hospitalized, here are a couple tips:
1. They do not want to talk with anyone during recovery. Visiting them may be like using a baseball bat on them. It may be unpleasant and downright punishing to them. Think of their suffering, not your guilt. Stay away! Trust me they won’t miss you.
2. Don’t send flowers. They can really stink up a room to the point of nausea. Besides, the room is small, no place to put them. Here’s a tip…send fruit instead. A nice fruit basket has no odor and may be just what the patient needs to combat hospital food. I lived on it for two days. It’s all I wanted and became a welcome guest, not an unwanted pest and there was nothing to lug home when you leave.
3. Don’t call the patient and expect a return call. You might say they don’t have to answer, but then you’d be forgetting most people’s cell phone controls their lives and they will answer and even if they don’t, it’s something else for them to worry about.
Send a card, stay away and don’t be a pest. That’s my advice, which I probably would have challenged prior to being a patient. Do with it as you will.
The good news is I’ll have 30 days to catch up on my reading and writing which started before I left the hospital.
If you want to know anything about sharks, I’m now an expert after spending two full days watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I’m also pretty good on the reign of Egyptian Pharaohs dating back to 3000 B.C. All valuable information I’m sure I’ll use someday.
I do intend to be at the September 1st – 2nd meeting. Maybe we can compare scars.
Peace,
Ron LeGrand
