Advice From the Last Person His Friends Expected

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September 26, 2014
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(/users/becomeFan.php?of=hp_blogger_Nancy Brown) CEO, American Heart Association
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Advice From the Last Person His
Friends Expected to Have Heart
Disease: 'Listen to Your Body'
Posted: 09/22/2014 10:32 am EDT Updated: 09/22/2014 10:59 am EDT
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36
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/201409-18-Brianandfamily.jpg)Early Friday
14
morning, in the quiet of his home office,
Brian Curin will power up his laptop, click
Tweet
open a special folder and launch a file
(https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
0
(http://www.zergnet.com/i/261306/23132/0/0/8861326)
11 (http://www.zergnet.com/i/245638/23132/0/0/8861326)
2
called "My Life." Then he will watch the
lang=en&text=Advice+From+the+Last+Person+His+Friends+Expected+to+Have+Heart+Disease%3A+%27Listen+to+Your+Body%27+http%3A%2F%2Fhuff.to%2F1rhGZYq)
15 Words & Phrases
Here's Why You Should
images and hear the words that his wife
Women Need to Stop Email Never
Wash Raw
Comment
Saying
Chicken
and three daughters thankfully have never
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In the roughly eight-minute video, Brian -wearing a hospital gown and sitting in a
hospital bed -- says his goodbyes to each of
them. He shares his thoughts and hopes
for their futures without him. Emotions
start to overwhelm him several times, but
he somehow remains composed.
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Brian recorded it early on Sept. 26, 2012, hours before a quadruple bypass operation.
The only person he told about the video was his younger sister; someone had to know,
just in case.
Brian is fully recovered now. He's resumed both his career as president of Flip Flop
Shops (North America's authentic retail chain exclusively dedicated to flip flops and
casual footwear) and a wildly active lifestyle that made his heart condition such a
stunner to all who knew him.
Last Sept. 26, the first anniversary of his operation, Brian watched "My Life" for the
first time to remind himself of how precious every moment in life is. Then, as a show
of his renewed vitality, he went out and did -- for the first time -- the Grouse Grind, a
1.8-mile hike up a 2,800-foot mountain near Vancouver.
This Sept. 26, Brian will do it all again -- a solemn, solo viewing of the video, then the
energetic burst up Grouse Mountain. Only this time, he's bringing a group of family
and friends along for the hike.
Since becoming a heart disease survivor, Brian and his company have become
involved with my organization, the American Heart Association. He's become a
wonderful volunteer and a powerful example of the saying, "If heart disease can
happen to him, then it can happen to anyone." I'm proud to turn this space over to
him to share his incredible story.
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--(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-09-18Brianmediashot.jpg)If you'd asked me in the
summer of 2012 what a heart patient looked like, I
would have said someone old and overweight who
smoked. Not in a million years would it have
crossed my mind that a 38-year-old guy like me
would've fit that category.
I weighed about 155 pounds, ate healthy and have
been active all my life, generally in the water, on a
board or on wheels. I swam competitively through
college, raced motor cross and have done every
imaginable watersport.
Yes, I had a bit of a family history of heart disease
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(http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/FamilyHistory-and-Heart-Disease-Stroke_UCM_442849_Article.jsp) with my mom, her
sister and their mother. But they all had different eating habits than me, weren't
active and smoked at some point in their lives. Plus, all were in their 60s when their
problems began.
I had just started a new workout program when I started feeling something funny. I
went to the doctor and all tests came back with flying colors. Just to be safe, the
doctor sent me for a stress test (http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heartpublic/@wcm/@hcm/documents/downloadable/ucm_300453.pdf).
I was shut down after only three minutes. An angiogram
(http://watchlearnlive.heart.org/CVML_Player.php?moduleSelect=angiog) was
scheduled for the next morning.
I showed up wearing flip flops, a T-shirt and a cap, with a demeanor that matched my
casual attire. When the nurse asked if it was my first angiogram, I smiled and said,
"Yes. Is it yours?"
The mood remained jovial as the procedure got going. Then, every face went white.
My cardiologist soon explained, "You're 100 percent blocked in one artery, 90 percent
in three others."
I needed a quadruple bypass. Had my heart muscle not been so healthy -- had I been
overweight, a smoker or both -- I probably would've already been dead.
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My body needed about a week to recover from the angiogram. While the care I
received was terrific, the waiting was hell. I was afraid to blink the first two days.
When I asked my surgeon whether he considered my procedure routine, he said,
"Yours isn't, Brian."
"We don't get a lot of young, healthy guys with three beautiful girls and a family they
need to be around for," he said. "We're going to take as much time as we need."
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The night before, I cuddled with my three little girls and my wife. After they left, the
nurses wanted me to sleep. I pretended to be out so that I could record my video in
peace. That was probably the most sobering moment - being in the hospital room,
telling my family things you should say every day but knowing it might be the last
thing they ever hear from me.
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-09-18Briansscar.png)I came away with a healed heart
and a tattered body. I've since told people I was
attacked by a shark... and they totally believe it.
My big scare hit a lot of people hard, right
between the eyes.
Really Just Need Some TLC
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"Dude, you're the last person we expected this to
happen to," a buddy said. "You took the bullet for
us."
Another buddy began riding his bike to work.
Another went for a stress test. One of my
brothers-in-law said, "I just bought a gym
membership and I'm using it because of you."
Others emailed to say they went for physicals,
sometimes getting prescribed medicines and making lifestyle changes
(http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Getting-Heart-Healthy-OneSimple-Step-at-a-Time_UCM_447728_Article.jsp).
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My No. 1 message is listen to your body. You only have one heart, and it's what keeps
you going. So take care of it. Get a physical every year. If something doesn't feel right,
get it checked out. (I had a stress test last month and my cardiologist told me that
based on my stellar results, he is very confident that I will not need any type of
reversal procedures for heart disease in the future!)
As hard as I've played, I've also attacked my professional life pretty hard. That means
taking on a lot of stress
(http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/StressManagement/HowDoesStressAffectYou/FAQsAbout-Stress_UCM_307982_Article.jsp). Research is still being done to connect the
two, but it only makes sense to cut back on stress when you can. I tell people not to go
a full day without laughing. I'm also a big believer in simplicity. Take work breaks.
Leave your cell phone on your desk and go feel the sun on your face for five minutes.
It's unfortunate that I had to go through this, but I also kind of feel like it's the best
thing that's ever happened to me -- next to my wife and kids, of course. This
experience has been a game-changer. Little things don't bother me. I have a whole
different outlook on life, and it's a good one.
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-09-18-Brianwithpaddle.jpg)
Healthy Living
Get top stories and blog posts emailed to me each day..
I hope sharing my story can impact more lives.
It's hard to argue with someone like me. Want to look like a shark bit you? You don't.
It sucks.
Sign me up!
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-09-18-HuffPobanner.jpg)
Follow Nancy Brown on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nancyatheart
(http://www.twitter.com/nancyatheart)
MORE: Angiogram, Stress, Heart Disease, Stress Test, Brian Curin, Nancy Brown, Lifestyle Changes, Flip
Flop Shops, Heart Disease, Quadruple Bypass
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John Trim ·
Posting as Flip Flop Shops (Not you?)
Comment
Top Commenter · Works at Self-Employed
Genetics trumps everything. I don't mean to say one shouldn't exercise, stop smoking,
or watch one's weight, but the idea that a long life is guaranteed by eating raw food,
meditating or jogging is a pipe dream.
Reply · Like · Follow Post · September 22 at 4:40pm
Linda Loomis ·
Top Commenter · Virginia Commonwealth University
couldn't agree more. genetics is 90% of it.
Reply · Like · September 23 at 4:29am
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