“It’s an interesting coincidence,” said Alderman, who’s been the Tin Man in the parade for three years. “But I didn’t have to visit Oz for a heart – I went to Philadelphia.”
Alderman was surprised to learn that his heart was failing. “I thought I had the strongest heart in the world. I was fit,” he said. “I worked out at the gym and YMCA. I went running, swimming, and cycling. I went on 50-mile bike rides. There’s no family history of heart trouble. Having a heart problem was never a consideration for me …” until the Clinton Township husband and dad started to experience shortness of breath, fatigue and noticed he was having a harder time exercising and doing routine chores.
“I’ve had asthma all my life, so I just thought it was that,” he said. He now believes that his asthma may have masked the early symptoms of heart disease. “When finally I relented and went to the emergency room at Hunterdon, they did a chest x-ray and saw that my heart was enlarged. An ultrasound showed just how bad my heart had become – inefficient and misshapen as well as enlarged. I was very fortunate that nothing catastrophic happened.”
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment