's Motd Tues Feb 26, 2008

[Guest guest]

9TH FLOOR

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

Evan just hated his job. I mean, it's like he never looked forward to going to work...at all! The passion for his work was just not there.But one day, while at the supermarket, Evan was looking over one of those community bulletin boards you see at a store's entrance. Amongst all the other ads, there was a card that read Want To Be A Paramedic? And below that question was a number to call. Evan, thinking about how much he disliked his present job, thought to himself, A paramedic? Why not? So he wrote down the phone number and made the call.And, sure enough, after making the phone call, Evan became really interested and went to school to train to become a paramedic. And it turned out to be the right thing for him to do because he just loved his new job. He became very passionate about helping to save the lives of other people. But, sadly, Evan was not doing a very good job of saving his own life.See, Evan ate where ever, whatever and whenever he wanted. He would hang around the firehouse where he was stationed, waiting for that alarm bell to ring. But while he was waiting for the next emergency call, it was not unusual to find Evan holding a fork in his hand, too. One day, Evan wasn't feeling so good and so decided it was time to visit his doctor.Come to find out, Evan had developed high blood pressure, sleep apnea and now had some major problems in his joints. His doctor warned him that he would have to start taking better care of himself. He was concerned that otherwise, at 444 pounds, Evan was not going to enjoy a long, healthy life.Concerned, but not enough to do something about his health, Evan continued his career as a paramedic. And he also continued to overeat. One day, the alarm went off at the firehouse and Evan rushed off to save another life. But when he reached the building where the emergency had occured, he discovered that the building's elevator wasn't working. That meant Evan would have to walk all the way to the building's 9th floor while carrying all of his equipment.It took him what seemed like forever to walk up those stairs and reach the 9th floor. And by the time he arrived, he was about ready to pass out! There was a policeman already there by the time he got there. And the cop took one look at Evan and said to him, It looks like you need a paramedic!The ordeal of climbing those nine floors turned into Evan's epiphany. He realized that if he wanted to continue doing his compassionate work, that he was going to have to be more passionate about himself by losing the weight! Evan knew he had to reorganize his life and his schedule. He became determined to give himself a chance to live. On July 1st, 2006, Evan tossed out his old bad eating habits in favor of some brand new healthier ones. And not only that, he began a walking program. First, he could only walk once around the block but, soon, he was walking two blocks. But Evan didn't stop there. Eventually, he was able to walk an entire mile, then two miles and, in time, he was walking a whole five miles a day!He stopped the fast foods routine and, instead, got into his kitchen and really invested time in learning to cook healthier meals for himself. And now, eight months later, Evan has lost 162 pounds! That's right, he's gone from 444 pounds down to 282 pounds! Atta boy, Evan!But that good news is only part of the story. Because now, thanks to his hard work, Evan no longer suffers from high blood pressure and is now off all of the medications he once has to take. He no longer has sleep apnea nor does he need a C-Pap machine to breathe. His resting pulse rate is in the 60's and his cholesterol-level is down to the 140s! Evan told me has a girlfriend now, too! I asked how his new relationship was going and he told me that the two of them text-message each other up to 40 times a day! (Hmmm, I wonder how many calories you can burn text-messaging? LOL.)Evan's also currently training for a triathlon in May. Wow! I am so very proud of him. Congratulations, Evan!And oh, by the way, Evan...text message me when you and your girlfriend announce your engagement!Love,