Health and Gratitude, A New Opportunity

<div class="text-justify"> <p dir="auto">When I was 21 years old, with my newly purchased used car, I went to get my medical checkup and driver's license. I was very excited. It was my first experience with this, and I was a little nervous because the day before, I had had an excessive amount of drinks, and I felt that this could have caused the doctor to get in the way. <p dir="auto">When I went to the doctor's office, everything was going very well until I saw a strange gesture from the doctor. I asked him what was wrong. The doctor replied that my blood pressure was elevated. That was what I didn't want to happen, something that could prevent me from getting my driver's license. <p dir="auto">The doctor put the blood pressure cuff back on and remeasured the values. They came back high again. He then asked me if I was hypertensive and I told him I was not. He also asked me if any of my parents or relatives were hypertensive and I told him I did not know. His last question was whether I suffered from kidney disease and I replied that as far as I knew I was a healthy person. At that point, I confessed that I had had a few drinks the night before and he assumed that might have been the cause of the high values. He then approved everything and let me go happily. <p dir="auto">20 years later, at age 41, I suffered a severe headache that made everything around me irritate me. I could not stand upright. I could not open my eyes, the light bothered me. My relatives took me to the emergency room and there I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I was married at the time and my sister-in-law was a doctor. The next day she arranged for me to have a thorough health check-up. It was determined that I was hypertensive. I told Dad about all this and he said that I must have inherited this chronic disease that had been in the family for generations. <p dir="auto">I did not give any importance to the matter, I only listened to the doctor and told him that I should take some pills in the mornings and lower my salt intake. But he didn't say anything about alcoholic beverages. So my alcohol consumption did not decrease. What a fool I was! Many years went by and everything was fine, I did not feel bad and I took my pills every morning. Until a hypertensive crisis appeared at the age of 60. <p dir="auto">I was taken to the emergency room with a severe headache and the urge to vomit. The doctors found that my values were exaggeratedly elevated and decided to put me on intravenous medication to stabilize my blood pressure. I remained in the hospital for 24 hours. The medication was slow to take effect. <p dir="auto">I returned home and within two hours, I felt worse again. I went immediately to the emergency room and this time they found that the values were much higher. It seemed that the medication I had been given earlier had had a rebound effect and caused my values to go up. The doctors acted promptly and stabilized me and made me feel fine. I was then prescribed the medications I was to take for life, plus a diet of zero salt, zero alcoholic beverages, zero soda, zero watching the news no strong emotions, and lots of physical activity. <p dir="auto">That last crisis I have told you about happened last August 28th. Today, November 12, 2024, the date on which I am writing this text, I can tell you that I have rigorously followed what the doctor recommended, and that has been my best life decision. From being 93 kilos I am now at 81 which is my ideal weight and I feel jovial and energetic, my sexual life has changed drastically for the better and my love for life has grown significantly. I am now a new man, grateful for this new opportunity and it is up to me to take care of my health; that is my priority. I would not forgive myself for being bedridden or dying if I did not get to see my first granddaughter grow up. <p dir="auto">Life is one, you have to take care of it, magnify it, and enjoy it, with your family, your partner, and your friends. There is no reason to be irresponsible with our health when love and joy are so easy to have. It is never too late to be reborn, to start a new and better life. <h4>Author's notes: <p dir="auto">For days now I have been looking for a community to write this that I have told you and the universe has been so good that it put this beautiful community in my path. Thankful to all those who have read this far. May your health reign in your home along with success and prosperity. <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><code>All rights reserved. © Copyright 2024 Germán Andrade G. <p dir="auto"> <p dir="auto">Own images edited using <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">CANVA. <p dir="auto"><code>Caracas, November 12, 2024 <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><em>It is my responsibility to share with you that, as a Spanish speaker, I have had to resort to the translator <a href="https://www.deepl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Deepl to translate my original Spanish content into English. I also state that I have used the grammar-checking tool <a href="https://app.grammarly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Grammarly. <p dir="auto"> <p dir="auto"><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/EowF9h6y3EmAXNfBVvWwcPEJqdUspEFVL4exCpqFTbMmdqpH71sUwe2YTh84UB7NnpP.jpg" alt="Sticker Peq.jpg" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/EowF9h6y3EmAXNfBVvWwcPEJqdUspEFVL4exCpqFTbMmdqpH71sUwe2YTh84UB7NnpP.jpg 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/EowF9h6y3EmAXNfBVvWwcPEJqdUspEFVL4exCpqFTbMmdqpH71sUwe2YTh84UB7NnpP.jpg 2x" /> <div class="table-responsive"><table> <thead> <tr><th><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23vshb6PpFYnihMdt6GxL8DSofTLzbZAMoVTTJfNke6iG3Uz9PDdh5wbBGpVf1qaZEdxA.jpg" alt="Stickers Varios.jpg" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23vshb6PpFYnihMdt6GxL8DSofTLzbZAMoVTTJfNke6iG3Uz9PDdh5wbBGpVf1qaZEdxA.jpg 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23vshb6PpFYnihMdt6GxL8DSofTLzbZAMoVTTJfNke6iG3Uz9PDdh5wbBGpVf1qaZEdxA.jpg 2x" /> <tbody>