Mark's Story - The art of slowing down

I am a 45 year old father of three young children all under the age of ten and I've owned a restaurant business for the last 17 years of my life. Being the main breadwinner of the family, many times I thought, what if my business were to go down? When business was slow I would think how will I manage to save for my children's university funds?

From a practical and business standpoint it made total sense to get critical illness insurance. Getting critical illness insurance gave me peace of mind and made perfect sense to me but deep down I thought "I'll never need to use it because I am perfectly healthy".  Then one day I experienced an intense heartburn like sensation in my chest. I casually ignored it and continued to serve customers. It wasn't a throbbing pain, I just felt uneasy, a little clammy and sweaty so I continued with my day.

But as the day progressed, the discomfort spread to my left arm. At that point my wife Marisa advised me to go to the hospital. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate what was to come. I was diagnosed with a heart attack. Later, an angiplasty revealed that I needed quadruple bypass surgery. The news really affected me and scared the wits out of me.

I have no family history of heart disease, so I thought, "how could this be". My family doctor suggested that the ongoing stress from my restaurant business played a significant role in my heart attack. I used to work long hours and all weekend and if something went wrong I would take it personally.

I can't imagine what i would have done without the critical illness insurance. The insurance company responded to my needs quickly and efficiently.  After thirty days I received a nice sum of money which I would not have had otherwise. This money enabled me to pay for physical therapy and medication that I was prescribed in the weeks after my surgery.

After four months, when I went back to work, I wasn't motivated to work with the staff and serve customers. I became depressed (which research has linked with heart attacks). The money from the insurance enabled me to see a therapist without having to worry about the expenses. Eventually I returned to work and became a lot more relaxed. Now I make sure not to work on Sundays and I am confident that the existing staff have the ability to carry on without me being there. I pay more attention to my stress level and eating habits and spend more time with my family. This lifestyle change has allowed me to enjoy life more than ever before. 

I am very fortunate that I am a heart attack survivor and that I eventually listened to my body and my wife and went to the hospital before it was too late. I am also fortunate to have bought critical illness insurance. I can't imagine what I would have done without it.