A change in perspective & a new passion for living

MANILA, Philippines - There are experiences that make us change our perspective of life. These experiences also make us more passionate about living.

Kim Atienza, or â€œKuya Kim,” as he is fondly called by many of his Filipino followers, had his whole life ahead of him. He is husband to a beautiful and successful wife, father to three wonderful children and has a flourishing TV career as host, actor and weatherman.

Until one day, while preparing for work, he unexpectedly suffered a stroke. On the morning of Aug. 11, 2010, whether he liked it or not, Atienza was forced to put everything on hold. “Before the stroke, I was too in love with my job,” recalls Atienza. “I used to always go to the gym, but when I started working in television, keeping fit became less of a priority.”

Perhaps the stroke was a way of telling the very busy Atienza to stop and pause for a while, take time to recharge, and reflect on his life. Although being overworked wasn’t the cause of his stroke, it aggravated it. “The cause was congenital. I was born with a hole in my heart called the patent foramen ovale (PFO),” he explains.

“It happened all so suddenly. I lost recognition, I lost my memory and I didn’t know where I was. It was like my mind was reset like a computer,” recalls Atienza. Instinctively, he wanted to cry for help, but couldn’t — because apparently, his left frontal lobe was affected, thus crippling his recognition, memory and language skills. “I ran outside on the street until my driver saw me, brought me inside the car, and took me to the hospital. He called my wife also and informed her of what happened.”

At Makati Medical Center, doctors responded quickly and effectively, saving Atienza in the nick of time. “They explained to me how I was lucky that the block in my brain was able to break down into several little pieces, allowing the blood to still flow. Otherwise, it could’ve become a massive stroke and I could’ve died or suffered permanent damage,” says Atienza, adding that if it were the right side of his brain that was hit, he could’ve been paralyzed as well.

His neurologist Dr. Anna Marie Sage-Nolido and cardiologist Dr. Gary A. Lopez explained to him his three-day recovery window. “They said that whatever I’d gain back within those next three days was what I’d live with. Then I’d just have to relearn the rest,” Atienza reveals. “Luckily, I recovered 70 to 80 percent of my faculties during that period.”

Crediting his doctors for their helpful recommendations, Atienza shares, “They prescribed mental games and apps. In the weeks I was in the hospital recovering, I read a book every two days — all of them were about stroke.”

Atienza was also required to go brisk walking each day for 30 minutes for proper blood circulation and to strengthen his heart. Soon, the walk became a run, and then the run eventually included biking, and then he got into swimming and trained to become a triathlete. “Now I’m training for a full Ironman, which will take place in two months in Australia,” he says.

Now at his best, Atienza realizes that he’s got so much to live and stay healthy for. “I’ve never been as fit as I am now compared to any other part of my life. What drove me to really change my lifestyle was my family — my wife and children. And I had a job I enjoyed so much where people relied on me for my memory. I couldn’t bear giving those things up.”

And most important was his renewed perspective on life after his stroke. “Life itself is a miracle, to live is a miracle, and everything else is a bonus. I have a beautiful wife, I have beautiful kids, I have a fabulous job, I’m a triathlete gunning for the Ironman — these are the ‘bonuses’ I get to enjoy now that I’m truly living,” he concludes.