Be Super Positive & Never, ever give up!
Find YOUR inspiration and use it! Mine was and is my family. My dad ( who passed away at age 59/ i was 26) instilled in us the belief that anything is possible, if you truly believe. As kids we believed OUR dad could do anything.And he sure did some amazing and wonderful things, both with us and on his own. He instilled Positivity and optimism at every turn in our lives – like a slow positive potion, i think we infused his belief . Little did he know, that this would not only allow his one son Chris, to go on to Conquer and WIN the 2010 Mavericks Invitational Big Wave Surf Contest, in the biggest surf ever ridden , against the best big wave surfers in the world , BUT it would also help Save the lives of Conn and myself. Conn, 18 months my junior, was diagnosed at age 35 with one of the most aggressive Brain Cancers known to man. Against all odds he destroyed it both mentally and physically.
I awoke in ICU empty, broken and suffering. I was 30 years old, I had been fit and lead a healthy lifestyle. I now lay in ICU suffering and in pain after complications during open Heart Surgery. I had tubes and lines snaking out of my body, machines attached to my veins, chest, legs and arms and a “kreepy krawly ” like pipe down my throat. I looked to my right and saw an 80 year old man lying next to me. Same situation, same deal. I started to feel so sorry for myself. ” Why me?” I asked myself. Then i looked to my left. next to me, with the same amount of tubes and lines, looking sickly grey was a 3 month old baby! It all fell into perspective. And then and there , I realized how lucky I was. I realized that no matter how bad it is and how much you are suffering, there is always someone worse off than you. So be thankful and believe in whatever little glimmer of hope there is. Find the positives, use this power & belief and inject it into your mind, your body and your being. I promise you it will improve your situation and your recovery. Your own IV drip of adrenaline , positivity and belief!


There are a number of things I want you to get from my Menshealth All Heart Article and my experience.
1. It can happen to you!! No matter how young, good looking and healthy, wealthy, connected you think you are ( not that I was or did) ), and no matter how many times you’ve been to church. Shit happens! In Life, we play a game of chance. We draw cards everyday. From the Decision Pile , we have a say in the card we draw. But from the Chance Pile, the decision is not ours. But, the way we handle and play that card we draw can make all the difference to the rest of our lives.
2. Don’t wait to pull a card like I pulled. Hopefully you never will. But remind yourself every day, that that card may come. So look at your life, look at your priorities. Yes, there are all these clichés, and for good reason. “You only live once”; ” seize the day” etc. These are no longer just clichés to me, but more like ingrained systems for my very being.
3. Be positive, with everything you do. IF, God forbid, you are facing a life threatening event or PERCEIVED insurmountable challenge or hardship, Go in with a great attitude and belief in your self and what YOU can do to positively infect yourself with an attitude and desire to change perceived reality, and survive and thrive!
If you do this, everything will go so much smoother. (I had a “Hearty Party” for all my friends, the night before I went into hospital). I set myself goals, and never doubted that I would recover – and recover better and faster than anyone else. I set levels that way exceeded the doctor’s prognoses. I knew that I would be fitter, stronger and a better person after my op. Although the doctors first told me it could take over a year for my heart to shrink to normal size and recover. 13 days after my op I checked out of the hospital. My heart was already the size of the average man’s.
4. Remember; “don’t sweat the small stuff”- Life isn’t that serious, your problems, fears and worries, are generally not as big as they seem. Make a smile and a laugh your daily medicine, and go out an infect others with this.
Now, when someone asks me how I am, I will rarely say I’m just ‘fine’. Because when you are sick, hurt, dying or even just in a terrible situation, you realize how just being fine ( normal), is actually FANTASTIC! “Realize that today is the most important day of your life. That’s why we call it the present.” – Wise old man .
-Anyone interested in more information about Heart Surgery; and on
how to deal other big operations or Life Changing Events, for yourself, family or
friends Click Here.