Hi Deanne, I can relate to your experience or at least in the unexpected way in which I myself was hit with a major heart attack.

I will begin at the beginning so that you can realise how out of the blue it hit me, I am 54 years of age and pretty fit for my age "or so I thought", I have always worked manually and take long walks with my dog daily and generally keep very active.

In September 2004 I went with my family on holiday in Cornwall on the UK south coast and enjoyed a fantastic two week walking, sight seeing, fishing and generally having a great time, then I returned from holiday to begin work again and on my very first morning back at work delivery bread and cakes etc to our local shops and I felt very hot and in fact sweating heavily, after leaving the first shop and on my way to the second I opened the windows in my lorry and felt better for the breeze blowing accross my face.

I arrived at the second shop after about ten minutes driving and proceeded to deliver their bread and again began sweating which I could not understand at all because each tray of bread was not particularly heavy, so once I got into the rear of the shop I went to their sink and poured myself a glass of water and stood still for a few minutes pondering why I felt so warm, I then placed the glass on the counter and began to walk towards the door, it was then that I began to fall over and did not seem to have the energy or strength to stop myself, I laid on the floor wondering what had happened and tried to get up again and it was then I realised that I was completely paraliysed from the neck down.

You have to know at this point it was 04:00 am on a Monday morning and no-one to help me, I looked up on the shop wall and could see a telephone but could not get to it and began to wonder if these were to be my last moments on earth, It was then that I rembered that I had my mobile phone in my pocket which was connected via blue tooth to an ear peice, so at this point I began trying to slide my arm up my body to reach my ear and my blue tooth device, at the time this seemed an impossible task but after what seemed like an age I managed it and raised the alarm with my work mates back at the bakery who instantly contacted the local ambulance service and came with them to my aid, I OWE THOSE WONDERFUL PEOPLE MY LIFE.

When the medics arrived and lifted me from the shop into the ambulance they asked me what I was feeling and I replied "stupid and foolish for falling over" I had no pain, no symptoms of illness, no shortness of breath, just feeling a bit warm, they stuck wires all over my chest and then told me that I was in the middle of a heart attack.

At this point I should have been panacking but to be honest I felt nothing except tired and wanted to go to sleep, they rushed me to the local hospital telling me that the next 30 minutes were critical, on arrival into the emergency theater they told me about a drug named stryptakase and the risks of using it, they asked for permission to use it on me, I asked what are my options and they said without it I will die within 20 minutes and so obviously I agreed and they injected it into my left arm.

For a while I felt strange sensations travelling around my body and also lots of blood began to run down my face because Unknown to me when I fell down I had struck my head on a cast iron safe which now that the drug had thinned down my blood began pumping blood out at a very fast rate, This took three days and four stitches in my head to stop it bleeding.

To cut a much longer story short I spent three or four weeks in hospital and underwent angia plasty having four stents fitted into arteries around my heart that were inserted via my groin.

After about six months of resting at home and gradually learning to walk and then jog and swim I was once again feeling fairly fit to work so against the advice of my doctor I returned to work which for several weeks was going very well indeed and I was feeling on top of the world having survived a major heart attack and got over it both mentally and physically which as many who have had a similar experience will know sometimes it can be very hard to move forwards mentally once it happens.

Anyway one night some eight weeks after starting work again I was feeling a bit tired so I went to bed early but I was woken up by severe cramp in my left leg at about 01:30 am, I imediately tried to jump out of bed to overcome it but realised that my complete left side was paralysed, I woke my wife and she told me that the left side of my face was also twisted and I noticed that my speech was slurred and I was blind in my left eye, Again I was rushed to the local hospital where they confirmed that I had suffered a stroke.

Again cutting a long story short I spent many months mentally getting a grip of all that was happening to me and mentally fighting it untill I could walk again, then got use of my left arm again and my face gradually straightened and my sight returned.

Now some three to four years on from all of this I look back and often ponder how I regained use of all my limbs and pretty much all back to normal, I am told by many that my sheer will to continue contributed much to recovery but also I radically changed my eating habits, I eat lots of oily fish along with lots of fruit and veg but along with all of this I also use olive oil in just about everything I eat, this I am told has increased my good cholesterol and radically reduced my bad cholesterol.

Yes like thousands of others I have drugs to take every day but mainly due to a very healthy diet I have returned to a normal life and feeling great, thankful for every day that I see the sunrise, I have read many stories of similar events in peoples lives and know that a good mental attitude and a healthy diet can right so many ailments and I also now have items on my blogs relating to healthy eating that many reading this today may also want to view at http://njpbusinesshome.com/busy/?cat=6 .

I am also happy for anyone to contact me if they want to ask any question about my experience because I know this can help many going through similar circumstances.

All the best to everyone

Nigel J Pearcey

I want to wish you health and happiness