🩺Health Costs Too Much, But So Does Ignoring It🫀

August 22, 2025 – Friday Morning Reflection

I haven’t been here for a little while—at least since the 15th. Not much has changed since then, and some things have. This month, I’ve decided it’s time to step it up a notch in my life—not so much anywhere else.

My health is something I’ve never really taken seriously, though I should have.

I’ve started including a simple, 10-minute heart-healthy workout in my daily routine. Because we all need some cardio. To put it plainly, my blood pressure isn’t staying where it needs to be, and there are only a few ways to change that—to lower it: diet and exercise. Who wants to do that?! Not me (kind of). But either way, it’s got to be done.

I have children who need me. A lovingly obnoxious husband who enjoys me (he better—or I’ll give him a black eye). Family and friends who care for me. I have a purpose on this earth, though I might not fully understand it. I know it’s time to focus on what really matters: me.

For the past couple of days, I’ve had a strange sensation in my left arm. And you know what they say about left arm pain or tingling—be careful and pay attention. It can be a sign of heart issues.

So I talked myself into going to the ER yesterday evening. The nurse practitioner was helpful, but a bit careless in a way. After speaking with her, she said the arm pain was more than likely something called “cervical radiculopathy,” and also stated I had hypertension. So basically, the arm pain wasn’t heart-related—just a pinched nerve.

But here’s the kicker: my blood pressure when I was brought in was a hefty 192/139. By the time they treated me and were about to discharge me, it was 194/101. One of the nurses told me that’s basically a walking stroke.

And that scared the shit out of me.

I don’t want to die. I’m not even 40 yet.

So with all this new information, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I need to keep an eye on my BP. I’m documenting it so I can give it to a doctor—one I don’t even want to go to. But I know if I can’t bring my blood pressure down on my own, through diet and exercise, then the next step would have to be medication.

Oh, did I forget to mention? I don’t really care for doctors. I don’t trust them. I don’t care one bit for “big pharma.” It’s all a big money grab. Honestly, I don’t believe they care about people’s health as much as they say—otherwise, it wouldn’t cost a fortune to get health benefits.

I don’t have the money to even be healthy. That’s the common struggle the masses face daily.

Living—it’s not free.

Dying—yep, you guessed it. It’s not free either.

So is freedom really free?

I digress. No politics this morning. Trying not to stress myself out.

Finding all this out makes me sad and upset with myself—for letting my health get this out of whack. So while discovering all this, I feel like the workouts I’ve added were born out of necessity. My mind and body knew something was off and put it on my conscience to actively improve.

In closing this Friday post, I hope that you, reader, are trying to do the best you can for your health as well. We must care for our own health in order to take care of those who need us most.

If you have any tips or tricks, drop them in the comment section or in the Discord. Thanks for taking time out of your day to learn and read about mine.

Have a wonderful weekend.