Dr. Michael R. MacDonald
I hit a bump in the road.
This was caused by my own hubris, which can be defined as exaggerated pride or overconfident arrogance, often leading to a person’s downfall. Yikes!
And down I went with a self-inflicted illness.
The Consequences (in more detail than you will ever need)
When you think of illness or injury, do you automatically think of something happening to you? You may imagine getting cancer, having a heart attack or being injured from a fall or accident. These are often our biggest fears and the consequences can be serious.
But such prevalent fears may also lead to blind spots – the often unseen problems we bring on ourselves.
Here’s what happened.
In early December of 2025 I was playing hockey and feeling good. Mid-way through the game I started to feel more tired than usual. I thought that this was just because of the tough game we were playing. So I took shorter shifts and got through the game.
When I got home, I took a long nap and felt better.
Later that night, I started experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. There was blood in the toilet bowl. I thought it was due to some serious stomach bug. This all ended a short time after.
Then I startred to feel lightheaded and had to spend all my time lying down. I could barely make it to the bathroom without feeling like I would faint. I felt no pain or discomfort, but my ability to function was minimal.
This went on for about three weeks. I was getting stronger each day, but my progress was very slow. So I made an appointment with my family doctor to try to find out why my recovery was taking so long.
My awesome family doctor saw me soon after. As soon as I walked in the door, she knew what was going on. In hindsight, I must have looked white as a ghost.
Blood work confirmed what she already knew – that I was quite anemic. My iron and hemoglobin levels were very low. As a result, there was not enough oxygen getting to my brain to allow me to function without feeling lightheaded and fainting.
My family physician suggested I go the the hospital emergency department right away so that I could see an endocrinologist before the holidays and have my anemia treated. Waiting for hours in a crowded ER, full of sick people, was not an enticing idea. But that was the only way to get the immediate treatment I needed.
After a few hours in the ER, I was triaged, had a EKG, more blood work, saw an ER physician and was given two bags of blood and one IV iron supplement. Then they admitted me and set up an appointment the next morning with the GI team. I was very happy that all of this was done so fast and efficiently.
I have always been happy with our Canadian health care system.
After receiving the blood and iron transfusions, my lightheadedness went away. My endurance was still low, but I could function again.
The next morning, The GI team went about trying to diagnose the cause of my anemia.
After a light anesthetic, they threaded a scope down my throat to look for stomach problems. Then they did a colonoscopy to look for bowel problems. The doctors and nurses liked to tell bad jokes, such as asking me if it was OK if they used the same scope for both ends.
The results from these investigations revealed that my anemia (and light-headedness) was caused by a bleeding ulcer at the bottom of my stomach. This is why I lost so much blood. They explained that I had probably lost more blood than I realized when all this first happened.
Fortunately, my ulcer and light-headedness were quite treatable. After the blood and iron transfusions, my lightheadedness went away. I was feeling better, returned to hockey and was back on the road to recovery.
Until I hit another bump in the road.
I was taking a medicine to stop my stomach acid, which allowed my ulcer to heal. The other part of my treatment was to stop taking aspirin (more on this later) and to take a strong iron supplement.
This was now about a month after all this had started. Then I developed strong pain in my stomach area, which radiated into my back. I could barely sleep, or do anything really for several days. I stopped taking the iron pill and this pain went away. But it still took a week or so to recover from this.
Fortunately, I had a follow-up with my endocrinologist soon afterward. He agreed that I should stop the iron supplement. I continued to feel better. He scheduled a follow-up scope and a CT scan, which showed that the ulcer had healed.
My anemia is still improving, although this can take several months. I don’t have any ongoing symptoms, other than a need to build up my stamina on the ice.
This all took about two months with excellent medical care and a lot of TLC from my awesome wife and daughter.
Hubris (and blindspots)
Now to the humbling part. My own hubris and stupidity played a major role in this self-inflicted illness.
I think the ulcer was triggered by some bacteria or virus. Hence the initial vomiting and diarrhea. I used to take occasional Advil, for muscle aches and restless legs in the night. But, a more significant cause was my taking aspirin every day.
My father died of a heart attack at age 59. At that time, given this family history, doctors were recommending daily aspirin to help prevent heart atacks and strokes. So I did that. Later on, research showed that only those who had heart problems themselves should be taking aspirin every day. So I should have stopped taking the aspirin. But I didn’t.
Daily aspirin acts to weaken one’s stomach lining (as can ibuprofen or Advil), putting a person at risk for GI problems in general and in my case an ulcer. I did not have any stomach pain, so I figured this wouldn’t happen to me. I thought that, despite the newer research, I could do better, continue taking aspirin and give myself some added protection against heart problems.
My wonderful family doctor had explained this all to me, on several occasions. I thought I could still do better. She was right. I was wrong. And I paid a big price for this and put my family through hell. Hubris, stupidity and a blindspot I should have seen coming.
I think I learned my lesson, but personality change is hard. I have stopped taking aspirin and Advil, though, and only drink strong espressos occasionally. Here’s hoping I can stick with it and keep my hubris at bay.
Writing Again
And, as you can tell by reading this, I have been able to get back to writing again. Watch for my next posts where I describe how I did this.
Until next time, let our warm hearts soar!
Michael
michael@aWarmHeart.ca
And thank you for caring that little bit extra – it really makes a big difference.
