To all my readers, I will just let this letter speak for itself. It is a necessary lesson for us all. 

~NEO~

Neo,

 All the advice you’ve given me over the years has finally downloaded itself into my consciousness after my recent hospital scare. My ears/eyes are wide open. I just left grocery store, bought foods that you have been trying to drill into my head.

I thank God. And I thank you for being who you are. Trust me, your many lectures, and sometimes chastisements weren’t in vain – I am AWAKE. This ordeal scared me really bad, especially since I had no idea my blood pressure was dangerously high. But that is why they call it the silent killer.

Don’t ever underestimate how much you mean to me and how completely I love you.  I don’t know what I’ve thinking. Or perhaps the problem is that I haven’t been thinking at all.

My heart is full, just went on Facebook. My sister posted about me being in ER. Neo, over 140 people were praying for me. Wow! Right now I’m kinda stunned. I am really touched that so many folk prayed for me.

I really feel the need to reach out to them even if it’s just a simple “Thank You”, especially since I wasn’t praying for myself and was totally confused from the way my head felt and I didn’t even realize I was in such harms’ way.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Which is for me to speak my truth. I have enclosed my article for you to post.  My thought is learn the lesson then pass it on, so I’d like to pass it on to anyone who needs the information.

Your dear friend,

Cynthia

“ONE SILENT KILLER: Lack of Discipline: By Cynthia Alliece Utley

The Silent Killer is said to be Hypertension, but the killer can also be our own lack of discipline in certain areas of our life, especially when it comes to our health and wellness. One of the most dangerous aspects of hypertension is that you might not realize you have it because you feel fine, which is why it is labeled “The Silent Killer.”

The only way to know if you are hypertensive is through regular checkups with a doctor. I know I have hypertension for which I am on medications, but lately, I haven’t applied common sense when it comes to my eating. In the sense that most of my meals have been overabundant portions of foods rich in fat and sodium. Plus, there have been times when I skip a meal, which means I miss taking my medications because they are to be taken with food on my stomach.

Wednesday, Sept. 7th my blood pressure rose to a life threatening level. And what troubled me most was that I had no idea my blood pressure was even high. And more troubling is the fact that for several months I’d been experiencing signs and symptoms but missed them because I either explained them away or misdiagnosed every sign that my blood pressure was high.

I’d been experiencing: Severe headaches, fatigue, confusion, vision problems, chest pain, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeat, and a pounding in my chest, neck, and ears. One sign that wasn’t present, which is a symptom of high blood pressure was blood in my urine.

As I so often do I wrongly self-diagnosed myself, insisting that I was experiencing symptoms associated with allergies, lack of sleep, and a number of things, never once realizing that my blood pressure was at dangerous life threatening high levels. One reason I didn’t know is because I don’t check my blood pressure as I know I should.

I went to the Emergency Room on Wednesday morning, covered in sweat as I had been the day before. As I entered and almost blacked out from lightheadedness, I explained that I may have food poisoning probably a result of having eaten bad potato salad and also dehydration because of the many trips to the bathroom and the profuse sweating where I’d lost a lot of water.

I felt horribly sick, as I’d heard food poisoning can cause. They immediately did an EKG, and then checked my blood pressure, which I was stunned to be told was 225/103. Readings above 180 systolic pressure (the upper number) or above 110 diastolic pressure (the lower number) usually indicate a hypertensive crisis – I was in the highest risk category for heart attack, stroke, and other acute life-threatening problems, like organ damage, damage to the kidneys and also it can increase the risk of blindness and dementia.

I was of course shocked since I’d come there regarding what I thought was food poisoning. Over the course of time I was there, it went up to 246/114. Later, a dear friend of mine, who’d had a Medic training, not only told me I could have died, but he’d been warning me for months to take better care of myself with regard to my health.

But all too often we fail to adhere to the voice of reason, which can be our own voice, or voice of reason from that person who recognizes that we are doing something dangerous or dumb, and rather than placate us in order to spare our feelings and thereby keep the peace, he or she cuts right through to what is best for us and boldly confronts us by telling us that what we are doing is wrong, and that we need to change.

Often times we know what is best for us but our habits, which can be any number of things, like food, overshadow our common sense. I had a habit of eating poorly because I lacked discipline.

Well, now, after having been diagnosed in the Emergency Room, I was scared, especially since the problem with my blood pressure had completely blindsided me. And all I could say to myself, was: Oh My God, what have I done to myself.

For instance, by skipping breakfast and therefore skipping my morning medicines until much later when I’d finally eat, and then it often being something full of fat and sodium, which clearly lacks common sense, especially since I am also Diabetic, with Cholesterol issues. I couldn’t even plead ignorance because I knew better, so should have been doing better. Especially since I want to live.

Other than Hypertension Urgency, I was also diagnosed with an Entroviral virus, which is one of the many viruses going around. It’s signs and symptoms are: Fever, Nasal congestion, Sneezing, Muscle aches, Cough, Wheezing, Trouble breathing. Which, much to my surprise are some of the same symptoms for high blood pressure. I don’t know which came first, the elevated blood pressure, or the Entroviral virus. But what I do know for sure is that God, who is all-knowing, knew, and His knowing led me to seek help by going to the Emergency Room immediately instead of later or not at all. But the truth is, God’s leading had already come by way of my own common sense and the words of those who cared about me long before this incident. I just wasn’t following.

If the high blood pressure had gone untreated, it’s possible that instead of riding to the Emergency Room, my ride, could have possibly been to an undertaker. I will never forget the words “You could have died.” Once home I googled BP 246/114, and the medical article stated: “246/114 is extremely life threatening. Also it is quite IMPOSSIBLE to have since the person would be most likely dead, while on their way up to that pressure.”

But I know: Nothing is impossible with God. He is a God of POSSIBILITIES. And I am trusting Him by listening to the many ways He speaks- including through people who sincerely love me. I have learned that not everybody has to be an expert at something just to care. And if I can’t find a reason to heed their words, I should at least pay attention to their care and seek a professional opinion because all love comes through God.

WARNING: Untreated hypertension can lead to serious diseases. Please, I beg of you, get routine doctors check-ups, If you are diagnosed with Hypertension, apply common sense which means taking your medication as prescribed, eat right, exercise if you can, and purchase an in-home blood pressure device so you can routinely monitor yourself, which I now do each morning.

I’ll leave you with a text my sister left me: “Take your LIFE SERIOUSLY PLEASE! I’M not worried, I’m MAD, cause you help everyone else NOW help yourself. Take Care, lovU.”

After reading her text I was left with a question to myself: What is it about so many of us that we tend to take better care of others then we do our own selves?

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for those of you who prayed for me. Your prayers were answered. I survived. I Live. And I want to continue to live so I have changed NOW for the better. I Love and appreciate all of you. Thank you God, for being a Father who Loves and Cares about us.”

~Cynthia