911 - Wisdom
I returned, and saw under the sun,
that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong,
neither bread to the wise,
nor riches to men of understanding,
nor favor to men of skill;
but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
The New York times carried a story about this famous author who wrote a best seller on running (Jim Fixx (b.1932), author of the seminal 1977 best seller "The Complete Book of Running). Prior to taking up running seriously, Jim was 214 pounds and addicted to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. However Jim became devoted to running in 1967 at the age of 35. A decade later, The Complete Book of Running (on the best-seller list for 11 weeks) was published by him. He was 60 pounds less and smoke free. His book inspired many people. He extolled the benefits of physical exercise and how it considerably increased the average life expectancy of people in the book and in television talk shows.
But he collapsed and died suddenly at the age of 52 of a massive heart failure in Hardwick, Vt. He became the father of a running revolution in America. In memory of the legacy of the running guru a carved granite book with an inscription to him now stands in Hardwick Memorial Park, Vt . He had three partially blocked vessels (95%, 85%, & 50%). The medical experts say "Exercise helps reduce heart disease, but it's not absolute protection." Jim had a family history of poor hearts and his early unhealthy lifestyle caught up with him. His running may have extended his life by a few years, but could he have prevented the inevitable? It is true, life is unpredictable and whatever we do cannot protect us when the time comes for us to move on.
In life all of us are not equally endowed with all the gifts. To some although they may have been the fastest runner, strongest warrior, wisest person, or competent person, they are not always the ones who finally are the most successful. Overtime, due to various factors some become successful or victorious. Some become very rich and lead prosperous lives. The most important goal in our lives as Christians is to live our lives loving, trusting, obeying, and serving God. Paul says in Philippians 2:3 do not try hard to make a good impression on others, but be humble and think others as better than yourself. Paul further exhorts us to work hard and cheerfully as if we were working for the Lord rather than for people (Ephesians 6:7). We must learn to treasure each day that we live with gratitude and appreciation for God's presence in our our lives and the promise of the gift of eternal life with Him.
5 comments:
Life of Jim Fixx is very inspiring.Shows how you can win over adverse situations.Also it teaches that external improvement should not be relied on in the matter of health principles.Did he have a cardiac evaluation after he stopped smoking and reduced the weight? What matters is to follow health guide lines.
Also thank God for each day given to us as a gift.
The article says "Even common heart disease, such as atherosclerosis — hardening of the arteries — can be hard to diagnose in a fit athlete. Atherosclerosis is by far the leading cause of death among older athletes. Intense exercise can cause fatty deposits to rupture, forming clots that block coronary arteries and stop blood flow. Jim Fixx, author of the seminal 1977 best seller “The Complete Book of Running,” died that way. “A very fit, middle-aged athlete can harbor severe, asymptomatic atherosclerosis,” Thompson says. “Exercise helps reduce heart disease, but it’s not absolute protection.” A fit athlete could pass a stress test despite having arteries that are larded with plaque. “Then a week later, he has a heart attack,” Thompson says. “This happens far more often than we would like to acknowledge.”
NY Times June 3, 2007
The Not-So-Tell-Tale Heart
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
In a related search EDITH CALMENSON has written to the editor of NYT saying Jim Fixx probably made a value judgment on how he chose to live, and how he chose to die. He died with his jogging shoes on, running free. EDITH CALMENSON New York, Aug. 1, 1984
That's why we call it 'the practice of medicine".You get better at it with more and more practice.The ultrafast heart CT has simplified several of the issues presented here.A combination of static(UFHCT) as well as dynamic(Treadmill Stress Testing) approaches is believed to be the way to go.In non genetically transmitted conditions, risk factor(BP, cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, smoking, lack of exercise)reduction is the way to go...so much so that the recent COURAGE Trial showed that risk factor reduction is as good as PCI(Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) or stenting in terms of death and heart attacks as the end point.
The comments from anonymous shows the importance of having all the information.It is one thing to have knowledge and another to make the right response to knowledge.May be need wisdom to apply knowledge.Sometimes it is procastinations which spoils the future.
We make our own plans,
But the LORD decides where we will go.
Proverbs 16:9
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