My first attack occurred after I had a 90-minute run: all of a sudden I felt dizzy and my limbs went numb; I thought those were caused by hunger or fatigue, but when I went to the hospital for examination, my doctor told me that I should avoid running or strenuous exercise. I also had an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) procedure to prevent sudden death caused by cardiac arrhythmia.

Not long after the implantation, I got home from work one day and suddenly my chest tightened, head spinning, and my heart felt as if being squeezed. Immediately the ICD delivered four shocks to my heart that caused me to scream in pain. I was taken to the emergency room, and when I saw my family holding a ‘notice of critical condition’ I realized the seriousness of my heart disease.

Shortly after, I had another attack and the ICD delivered eight shocks, the defibrillation made me panic, and there was a time when I felt uncertain about my life and even wanted to give up treatment. My doctor did a catheter ablation to reduce the number of attacks.

I thank God that with medication and checking the ICD regularly, my life has returned to normalcy. I am grateful for all that I have and experienced; I realize that family and friends suffer as much as the patient.

I thank my wife for her unceasing support; I now write often to share my insights to life, and I thank God, I will continue to serve ot