Worzels World - Lessons from the nearly dead

 

As a young man there were many things I thought I may get from this one-time adventure called life – fame, happiness, wealth perhaps, and maybe even other precious commodities such as love or wisdom. These are the thoughts of a naive youth who somehow believed, contrary to all available evidence, that he was bullet proof and would live forever. Or at least if not forever then for such a very long time that it may as well be forever.

A heart attack and a quadruple bypass were not within the mental framework of that youth. Neither welcome nor expected, he eventually got them nonetheless

Now I am surprised at how much of this young and bullet-proof attitude had survived into my aging vulnerability. The idea of my own sudden demise as a result of blowing a foo foo valve had not been a consideration until it actually occurred.

It is a sobering experience being snatched back from the doors of death – although I have no memory of it. It seems that as I tripped and plunged headlong through the doorway of death there were friends on hand to clasp me firmly by the ankles and haul me back into the living room. Of course it was not sufficient or even a particularly relevant factor that they were friends and not altogether poorly disposed towards me. To do what they did required cool heads and a practical ability not always common in the contemporary world.

Told later by specialists who know about such things, only 20 percent of those who have a cardiac arrest under such circumstances survive. Indeed only a few months earlier a squash playing mate in Wellsford suffered a similar event. He slipped through everybody's grasp and is no longer among us. Thankfully Maungaturoto can boast higher levels of practical ability than most places on the globe, and as a result you may have to put up with a few more columns of Worzel's World yet.

I owe these friends a greater debt than they could guess. I am thankful for their saving, or more accurately the extending of my earthly sojourn, but far more important are the lessons I have learnt and the new understanding of the reality in which I live.

Having so recently heard the jaws of death snap harmlessly shut so close behind me I feel, in spite of post-operative weakness, a younger man now than I have ever been. It would be a shame if such an experience did not leave me a wiser man also. There is much to learn from such an experience and like a once-in-a-lifetime New Years transition it would be appropriate that a few resolutions be made. There was much that I had left undone which should be attended to before life’s end simply because they cannot be done later. I offer a few to you my readers.

Make a will. Regardless of the extent of your worldly estate it will save the courts and those left behind a great deal of unnecessary work.

If there is something I want to do or believe I should do then I have decided to do it with the least possible delay. Life on earth, regardless of the number of years, is short and second chances are rare.

Due to my previous time in the public service I have been well schooled in the techniques of administering CPR, but I wouldn't have a clue how to use the defibrillator that was necessary for my recovery. I will learn how to use this life saving device as soon as possible and maybe one day I may be in a position to do for someone else what was done for me.

Don't sweat the small stuff. I will not lose a moments sleep over anything trivial, which in the context of my recent experiences is just about everything. I think we all overestimate the impact we have upon the world. The truth is we are none of us indispensible and, with or without us, the world will turn and the sun will shine much as it has always done.

Whatever I do and whatever is my lot for the remainder of my days I plan to live without fear in the knowledge that every day is a bonus, an unearned gift I will enjoy each one as much as I am able. And as far as the naive expectations of youth are concerned I cannot care at all for the possibility or realisation of fame or wealth but have decided to be happy no matter what and to treasure what little love and wisdom come my way.

n prof_worzel@hotmail.com


Having so recently heard the jaws of death snap harmlessly shut so close behind me I feel, in spite of post-operative weakness, a younger man now than I have ever been. It would be a shame if such an experience did not leave me a wiser man also.

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