Who would’ve believed that when I woke up in the middle of
the night forty years ago with a Charley Horse that cramp was just the
beginning of the story. Those cramps were real buggers in those days. Sometimes
they would last for 15-30 minutes.
Back then, I just wrote them off because of my physical
fitness program. I pushed myself in those days. I loved racquetball, tennis and
running. I also worked out with weights three days a week. I viewed cramping as
a part of the process of pushing myself, and the need for greater hydration.
It wasn’t long after the cramping that I began to experience
something that I called restless leg syndrome. My wife first noticed it and she
brought it to my attention. The leg movement, like twitching, would last for
hours. And, no matter what I tried, it didn’t help.
Yet, for all of the strange happenings in my legs, I never
felt better or healthier. In this case, ignorance can be bliss. I am so
thankful I never went to a doctor because of the health issues. A doctor would
have wanted to run some tests and perhaps prescribe medications. He/she probably
would have advised me to back off in my fitness training to see if that helped.
Ignorance was the best fit for me at the time. I am hot
certain I could have handled knowing the truth and the ‘what ifs’ that go along with that knowledge. Perhaps knowing the
truth would have changed my life when I was in the prime of my life. The
reality of the actual condition, Kennedy’s Disease, along with the confirmation
about fifteen years later, came soon enough. In the meantime, I lived a great
life. Never once have I said, “I wish I would’ve known earlier.”
But, ignorance isn’t always blissful. What if a person has a
treatable health condition or if diagnosing a condition early can improve the
chances of curing it? The rules change!
That’s my story, however, and I’m sticking to it.
Live your life the best
way you can.
Image: ignorance-is-bliss
