When Your Life Flashes Before You

I rode the Levi Gran Fondo in Napa Valley. My longest ride of the year. 113 miles (183 km) with 3000m elevation. 8 hours in the saddle. Going at zone 2 speed. Steady but not hard. Hard hills with 10-16% grade elevations. Average heart rate was only 135 bpm. I felt great and recovered well.

I had dinner with Rob’s wife, Anita, and we spoke about Rob, who passed away too early from a sudden heart attack. I told her about my dreams of writing a book with him in it and about the YouTube channel I had started, so that others might not suffer the same fate as Rob. She is also a physician, so I told her how I reversed my carotid plaque and am working on my coronary plaque. How carotid plaque forms later in the 30s, while coronary plaque starts in childhood. So coronary plaque is older and harder to reverse. I expect it to take me 3 years plus to reverse my plaque. I think of it as “Stage 4 heart disease,” except it doesn’t metastasize like cancer in the same way. 

She told me how they spread Rob’s ashes in the mountain where he ran. I was staying in SF, Sausalito, so on the day I was heading back home, I went to visit Rob and pay tribute. I parked at the foot of the mountain in Tennessee Valley and hiked up 45 minutes. It was quite foggy at the top, and I couldn’t see the rock where his beloved family had spread his ashes, overlooking the Golden Gate and Pacific Ocean. I shot a video tribute to Rob at the top and then started running down the mountain. But I missed a turn and got lost. I had to run back up the mountain. I was late for my lunch meeting with one of Rob’s best friends, so I started running down the mountain. I was about a mile away, and I saw some people in the distance. I was catching up and felt great. Then WHAM….

The Height of the Fall

My face hit the dirt stony path hard. My left knee, shoulder and right hand had searing pain, but most of all, the pain in my face. I quickly made an inventory to go down the checklist of the Glasgow Coma Scale: Could I open my eyes and see? Could I comprehend and think? Could I move my appendages and breathe? Did I lose consciousness? Just a lot of pain. I immediately knew I would need stitches, that I might have fractured my face, but my eyes were ok. I lay on the ground, thinking that the person I saw heading up the hill would soon arrive near me. Wow, what a searing pain in my face. It’s not going to look pretty.

I got up, and there was a tremendous amount of gravel in my mouth. I spat about a half dozen times as I started running down the mountain again, this time at a much slower pace.

The young man looked at me and immediately asked if I needed help. I asked if he had some water for my face. He had one of those backpacks that water came out of and sprayed my face, then my right hand. It stung a lot. He said I had a bad gash and asked if he should call 911. I said I think I am okay. He suggested I use my jacket to stop the bleeding from my facial laceration.

I had been holding my brand-new jacket, but I immediately put it against the left side of my face. It felt better. This was an expensive jacket, gray/beige and would get stained with my blood. It was necessary. I thanked him and continued running. The next person I saw asked if I needed help. “I have some bandages.” Oh, you are so kind. Thank you. She gave me her whole stash of small and large bandages. I put them in my pocket and ran for the next mile, and each person who saw me asked if I needed help. I felt so grateful for the kindness of strangers.

I finally got to my rental SUV. I took a look at myself in the mirror, and my initial assessment seemed correct. I texted Gordon, Rob’s friend, that I had fallen while running down the mountain. It was already noon, the time I was supposed to be at his home. I told him I would try to make it as fast as possible, but I still needed to check out of my hotel. He graciously said to take my time.

When I arrived at the hotel, the hotel manager had a look of horror on her face when she saw my face, which was covered with my own blood. She remarked that the left lens of my glasses was badly scratched. I could still see slightly beyond this lens, but my vision itself was not affected. Thank you, Lord. 

I got in the shower and let out a quiet yelp as the water hit my wounds. But I knew I had to get the dirt and rocks out. They were deeply embedded. Road rash is what we call it when we crash on our bikes. I didn’t know the same thing could happen while running, but I was running downhill quickly.

I lost track of time as I let the running water cleanse my wounds.

Then I applied squalene, a shark liver oil I always carry with me. It’s so great for burns and cuts. It instantly soothed the pain. I knew it was my saving grace, helping me heal faster.

Then I put the bandages on. The small one on my face was too small. I put the much larger one on my face. You could barely see the facial wounds. I was beginning to get a black eye.

I bandaged my shoulder and knee. Tried my hand, but it was hard to get. The hotel manager applied a large dressing and secured it with tape. I was so appreciative and grateful. 

One Word: Providential

Then I texted Gordon. I’m on my way.

He greeted me at his door with open arms. We hugged. Instantly, I felt we were friends. We were bonded by Rob. He had run the very mountain range I was on just two days with Rob before Rob died. He showed me a photo they had taken on that run. Precious. I had never taken a single photo with Rob because we were so engaged in our conversations. Rob was supposed to visit me in Vancouver on the day he passed. We were connected by Rob. I wanted to meet Gordon to hear his “Rob stories.” I wanted to know what it was like to climb these big Swiss mountains. Rob had been training on the elliptical the morning he passed, so he could climb his next big mountain. Mt Eiger, . Gordon is planning to do it on his own behalf. What a tribute! I wanted to hear all about it. As he described how precipitous it could be, I realized that I was speaking with hearts of courage and grit.

I had not eaten all day. I was hiking and running up and down the mountain for 2.5 hours, covering over 600m of elevation. I was running, not on my bike. I wished I had my bike :) That would have been much easier. I’m not a runner.

I gladly ate the salad Gordon had ready for me. We spoke so much, full of heart, questions, and stories. I felt full of love, purpose and meaning.

I had to leave after an hour and a half to catch my flight home. When I had fallen, I already planned to go to the ER when I arrived in Vancouver. Gordon had called Anita, who was expecting me, so she could stitch me up, but I preferred speaking with Gordon and thought that if I got a scar, it would be in memory and honour of Rob.

I got six stitches under my left eye, at Urgent Care. The Nurse Practitioner who stitched me up asked if I preferred a Plastic surgeon. I said I trusted him. Let’s do it. But X-rays were not available at the urgent care.

The next morning, I felt some nasal discharge. I blew my nose gently, worried about a facial fracture. I saw blood in my discharge. I went to the ER and then did CT facial scans, which revealed a minor displaced fracture of my anterior maxilla. Conservative management and follow-up in three months.

I sent photos of my face and shoulder to Anita and Gordon. “Oh my goodness! …” were the words in common.

Rapid Healing

I thought about how I could heal faster. I decided to ground myself, barefoot on the lawn, and get some sun. So the next two days, I worked outside in my backyard for hours, feet on the grass. I had also planned a three-day fast from Sunday to Wednesday. I was skeptical about doing it because of my accident, but after thinking deeply about it, it made sense that autophagy from fasting could heal me faster. I decided to do a two-day fast and ride my bike for an hour each day. Why? To accelerate blood flow and mimic a longer fast by stacking exercise with fasting. My wife was upset I was already biking, but I told her to look at my eye. Half of my black eye had dissipated. My urine was bright yellow, even though I had drunk a lot of green tea. My hemoglobin was breaking down, just like jaundiced babies with sunlight.

I had so many messages of love and care that my heart overflowed with gratitude. My body was bruised and battered, but my heart was serene and boundless.

The principles I have learned to heal my wet macular degeneration, a severe cause of blindness, and to heal my heart have helped me heal my wounds speedily and remarkably.

Today is day 6, and I took out my six stitches using tweezers and a small pair of scissors. I improvised as I didn’t have the proper equipment. Will I scar? Perhaps a little. It will be a brand of honour in memory of Rob, bonded by heart with Gordon and Anita, my dear friends. Here’s to you Rob, buddy!

I thank Anita and Gordon, the kindness of all the strangers who offered their help, their water, their bandages and their care and concern. Even the customs officer at the border wished me well. My family, my friends who reached out as they heard I had broken my face, my first fracture.

You never know what will befall you. I don’t take a moment or a day for granted. As I lay on the ground, in pain, a Bible verse came to mind. “He will not let your foot stumble.” “He will establish your path.” I had stumbled hard. But I knew I would be great. I knew I would get back up. I knew I would become wiser, stronger and humbler. I just knew. Running downhill can be dangerous. Gordon imparted wisdom to me. “Small steps, feet slightly facing outwards, and hiking poles.” Thank you.

I rode to church yesterday. 42 km. The distance of a marathon. The outer man decays, but the inner man is renewed day by day. Tomorrow I plan to run to my dentist, my eye doc, 13 km. I guess I can run now :)

I was going to write about how stacking the various proven strategies of diet, focused proven dietary strategies, HIIT exercise and fasting leads to remarkable results, but I got carried away with my own personal story. It felt like a keystone moment in my life. The beginning of a new chapter.

I am full of love, heart, and gratitude. To you, to the kindness and love in our hearts and the grace, mercy and love of God.

A Request

Each Friday, I upload a new YouTube video. If you could like, comment and subscribe so I can help many others in your network and beyond, it’s my mission to help people avoid the same fate as Rob, the same fate as me.

https://www.youtube.com/@DrKevinHam

My latest video is going viral :) My #1 meal to unclog arterial plaque. Thank you.

Your Question

Question worth exercising with

For yourself. For someone you love. Answer them in the quietness of your day.

What are your healing principles that you employ each day? For your body, for your soul, for your spirit?

For Someone You Love

There is someone in your life running and falling. You thought of them. Send this to them. Your loved ones just need the information to act and a guide to help them.

Keep going. The race is long, the road is beautiful, and the body was built to heal.

Grace, strength and love to you.

MORE READINGS YOU’LL ENJOY

Health

• Reversing My 77% Heart Plaques

• Stats Say You Likely Have Heart Plaque

• The Healing Power of Food: Nitric Oxide

Meaning

• Descent of the Soul

• The Courage to Your Magnum Opus

• Leave Your Mark in This World

• The Architecture of Your Life

I pray you unlock your heart to reach the height of your full potential
by discovering your calling.

Kevin Ham, MD