MINUTES OF THE NATAL BYPASS CLUB HELD IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM OF THE ENTABENI HOSPITAL, DURBAN ON WEDNESDAY 3 MAY 2006
1. WELCOME:
55 People as per attendance register. A special welcome to the members who came from Pietermaritzburg, Hilton, Botha’s Hill etc.
2. APOLOGIES:
Piet Schabort, Muriel Adams, Pat & John Rider, Carol and Stuart Mackay, Vernon Wilson, Harold and Yvonne Milan, Mary Leslie, (Matatiele) Ronnie Naidoo, Dave & Carol Parry, Doug & Betty Paul, Roy Craze, Shirley & Athol Willet and Chris O’Flaherty.
3. TESTIMONIES FROM FIRST-TIMERS:
B.D. SINGH (Bodasingh) (57): An outstanding example of genetic heart disease. His grand father and his father and his brother all died of cardiac arrest at the age of 42. Another brother had bypass surgery at 36 and Bodasingh had a heart attack at 42 in 1990 and 3 weeks ago he had bypass surgery. He is doing well now.
BHARATHLAL WARSAI (65): His symptoms were breathlessness and fatigue. A check up revealed nothing untoward but later an angiogram revealed a blocked artery which was opened by angioplasty and a stent in November 2005. Another attack in February showed a blockage in the main stem of his heart which required a bypass.
ANGUS DOUGALL (65): Could only play 7 holes of golf after his chest “felt funny” and he became very tired. He was referred to St Augustine’s where it was diagnosed that he had suffered a heart attack. The offending blockage was bypassed and he is back playing “18” holes.
ALAN MURPHY (66): His symptoms started in July 2003 with breathlessness and chest pain. A treadmill test indicated blockages which were confirmed by an angiogram and he had a double bypass. Fine now.
NORMAN PILLAY (49): Apart from a tightness of his chest he had no serious symptoms but decided nevertheless to have an examination. An angiogram revealed 5 blockages which were bypassed the next day in a 5 hour operation. His mother died at 54 and his father at 61 from heart failure once again indicating genetic factors.
FAY MILLER: And for those of us who are feeling sorry for ourselves because of bypass surgery, then spare a thought for Fay. In 2004 she was suffering from angina and was found to have not only coronary artery blockages but also a leaking valve and an enlarged heart. The operation was successful but last year in December she had further surgery for bowel and bladder prolapse. And now in 2006, 5 weeks ago Fay had to have a kidney removed. Says Fay: “I’m grateful to the surgeons who have successfully performed all the operations and I am smiling and happy and feel positive about life.” Fay we salute your indomitable spirit!
4. MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCE:
Jack thanked the generous response from members to his appeal for the 2006 subscriptions. Members are paying the R25.00 subs by cheque, and many are putting R30 cash into envelopes which all seem to reach Jack safely. He was aware that certain members joined toward the latter half of last year and many feel opposed to paying again. For this he apologised but due to the cost of postage and stationery Jack does not send out accounts and apologised for this. Will members please advise Jack of address changes! Recently 6 envelopes were returned marked with “address unknown”. Thank you.
5. SNIPPETS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION:
(a) Grapefruit and Lipitor. Pfizer which manufactures Lipitor have conceded that taking grapefruit with large doses of Lipitor can increase the efficacy and cause muscular disorders as a side effect. This phenomenon was comprehensively and scientifically covered in a report which Jack read from the “Sunday Times”.
(b) Actiplus and Heartbeats. Following Doug Jones’s terrifying experience when he took Vicks Acti Plus for a cold and subsequently was admitted to Cardiac I.C.U. with a serious heart condition, Jack spoke to Dr David Gilmer who said “Some of these cold remedies contain substances such as ephedrine which can cause tachycardia (fast beats) or arrhythmia (irregular heart beats) and should be avoided”. His advice to us is to avoid these preparations and rather take Paracetamol or Disprin. Please also refer to the attached article on “medication warning”.
(c) “The Art Transplant” Jack read out the intriguing report in the Saturday Independent (29 April) how the recipient of a new heart, suddenly was gifted with the ability to produce beautiful drawings of wild life and landscapes. The recipient approached the mother of the son whose heart had been donated and was told that her son was an artist. The report concludes that 70 cases have been documented where transplant recipients have inherited the traits of their donors. Interesting!
6. VISITATION REPORTS:
Nothing of note reported from the counsellors at the 3 hospitals. Patients are grateful and nursing staff are courteous and appreciative. A rehabilitation gym at Westville encourages post-op to attend. One member reported how beneficial he found the exercises.
7. BYPASS VIDEO:
The Heart Foundation is selling a video detailing the operation at hospitals for R70. Jack will buy one and report on its content and how it compares to the British Heart Foundation videos which we have seen.
8. RAFFLE:
This realized R157, 00. Thank you for your generous participation.
9. GUEST SPEAKER:
Anand Jithoo better known as ‘AJ’ gave us an interesting, entertaining, thought provoking and amusing talk entitled “Live your Life Now”. On being introduced and presented, he appeared in full cricket regalia with cap, pads, gloves and bat and proceeded to give an account of the turning point in his life:
In 1975 AJ captained the Olympic Cricket Club and played in a match against greats such as Barry Richards and Mike Procter. The opposition scored 620 runs for 2 wickets and AJ’s team, 19 all out! AJ was terrified in the first innings when facing speedster Mike Procter whose 2nd ball broke a wicket stump in two. AJ showed this to us as an exhibit. His other exhibit was the bat which he used. This humiliating defeat in front of 15000 spectators made AJ adopt a positive mental attitude for the second innings and resulted in his scoring 88 runs and thereby making a substantial contribution to the total of 259 all out. This led AJ to conclude that life is all about ‘winning and losing’. We have the choice. A positive attitude yields positive results and a negative attitude results in a negative outcome.
The important approach which AJ kept referring to was “Live Your Life Now”. The question is how we can really drink from our own positive streams of life when our lives have been so full of negative elements. We have to change from negativity to positivity. We must think positive and not only keep our words and minds positive but also our actions and habits. This will result in your destiny being positive. For a “bible” to assist you in achieving this, an excellent book has been written by Joel Osteen entitled “Your Best Life is Now” and outlines 7 steps to bring your life to its full potential.
These are points to ponder:
God judges us by the size of our heart and not by the size of our bank balance.
When is enough, enough? It’s all about having the right thoughts in your mind. The more you give, the more you receive. Give unconditionally. Try to do 3 good deeds each day. Laughing promotes Longevity. Endeavour to make good friends. Have a daily routine. Enjoy leisure time. Conquer your fears. Enlarge your vision and develop a healthy self-image. Be proud of who you are and be yourself. Let go of the past. Find strength through adversity. Live to give. Live your vision. Relish the moment in your Life NOW! Never fear to-morrow. Set your goals realistically.
To re-in force AJ’s philosophies, he has given us copies of “The Station” and 30 “Stress Reducers” which I have included in the minutes.
From the prolonged applause it was evident that members and guests left the meeting with many thoughts and ideas for a more meaningful and positive attitude in their daily living.
Thank you
Jack Piek
(Chairman, Secretary & Treasurer!!)
Tel: 031-5633200
LATE FLASH!!! After an undue delay due to the lack of raw materials Impilo has delivered a consignment of Anti-oxidants, Vit C and Spirulina to me, these are now available from me.
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