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By
Neil Guiseppi
Our
touring party at the Mantarraya Golf Course in Panama.
On
Wednesday November 14, at the Royal Decameron Resort in Panama,
I came face-to-face with my own mortality.
It was the third day of the golfing adventure upon which 28
of us had set out from Canada a few days earlier.
I have been in reasonably good health for most of my life.
So when I woke on that fateful Wednesday morning and felt
the inside of my stomach burning, I merely attributed it to
the effects of some of the spicy food I had eaten at the Thai
Restaurant the night before. A small discomfort, I thought,
which would pass after we began chasing that little white
ball across the golf course.
I still was not particularly perturbed when I began to cold-sweat
as I headed for the restaurant where breakfast was being served.
On arriving at the restaurant, however, I began to feel worse
and decided that it was time to bring my affliction to the
attention of two of the ten doctors who made up our travelling
party. I headed for the table where cardiologist, Dr Ralph
Manmohansingh and surgeon, Dr Basil Baeta, were sitting along
with Richard Jackman.
I joined them at the table and had just started to explain
what was happening to me when I suddenly began to feel faint.
What happened next can best be described by Dr Manmohansingh.
“Neil
had just come across to our table complaining that he was
feeling unwell. Within seconds, his hands fell loosely to
his side, his chin dropped on to his chest, his eyes rolled
backward and he became unresponsive.
“I
attempted to get his pulse and he was experiencing severe
bradychardia which means that his heart had slowed down to
the point where there was no pulse. He was also perspiring
excessively.
My first thoughts were that the abdominal pains of which he
had been complaining were coronary in nature and that he had
sustained a major heart attack.
Dr Baeta and I quickly placed him in a supine position on
the floor and I gave him two quick thumps on his chest to
generate electricity to get his heart going. I immediately
followed this with cardiac massage therapy. We were about
to administer mouth-to-mouth respiration when Neil opened
his eyes and asked what had happened.
Shortly afterwards, paramedics arrived and Dr Baeta, Jackman
and I accompanied them in the ambulance to the nearby clinic
where I ordered an electrocardiogram which proved to be normal,
bringing great relief to all of us.
It then became apparent that he had suffered a vasovagal attack
associated with the severe abdominal pain he had been experiencing.
He was given a litre of saline solution and shortly afterwards
his condition improved such that within hours he was able
to leave the clinic with us. We took him back to his room
where he remained resting for the remainder of the day.
It is my intention, however, on our return to Canada, to have
him undergo a Thallium Stress test to assess blood flow to
his heart muscles via the coronary arteries.
Only then will I be fully satisfied that he is in good shape
and not in need of any major treatment.”
I must admit that I am extremely relieved to be able to write
this column today and I want to express my sincerest thanks
to Dr Manmohansingh and to Dr Baeta whose quick intervention
probably saved my life.
By the following morning, I was fighting fit again and ready
to resume my place in the tournament which we were playing
among ourselves. The doctors in the party insisted, however,
that for the rest of the trip, I should always play in a group
with one of them to ensure that should there be any recurrence
of the problem, I would be able to get immediate medical attention.
Fortunately, that was the end of that.
I played 27 holes on Thursday and was quite proud of how I
struck the ball throughout.
That evening, we all prepared for the Ryder Cup-style tournament
that we would be playing among ourselves over the next two
days. The team captains who were selected were Dr Oni Zavery
and Dr Michael Chambers.
The format would be nine holes of Better-Ball, nine holes
of scramble, nine holes of alternate shots and then a final
nine holes of individual match play. The first 27 holes were
being played on Friday while the individual match play was
carded for Saturday morning before our departure for Panama
City.
I was selected on Dr Chambers’ team and was paired with
Harry Livingston, a retired Canadian police officer. Our competition
was Dr Baeta, the surgeon from Ghana who had helped to save
my life, and George Trail, a Canadian.
Livingston and I combined beautifully and although the battle
was close throughout, we were the only pair on Dr Chambers’
team to pick up all three points which were at stake on the
opening day.
Unfortunately, a forecast of rain on Saturday caused the two
captains to agree to cancel the individual match play and
the tournament was decided on the first day’s results.
Our team lost by 11 points to nine but I could leave Panama
feeling proud that my partner and I were able to contribute
maximum points to our team’s effort.
It was great fun throughout and, apart from my health scare,
the golfing experience was well worth the while.
On Saturday afternoon, we left for Panama City where we spent
the last two days before returning to Canada. We stayed at
a beautiful hotel, the Radisson Decapolis where the food and
the ambiance were first-class. A massive casino adjoins the
hotel and Jackman, Ejaz Asgarali and I all had successful
runs that helped to pay a substantial portion of the cost
of our trips to Panama.
A visit to the Panama Canal on Sunday November 18 was a fitting
climax to our visit and, on the following day, we left the
warmth of Panama to return to the cold of Canada where we
knew, however, that a warm welcome was awaiting us all at
the celebration of Jackman’s 60th birthday on November
25.
On my return to Canada, a series of medical tests were conducted
which proved that my heart is in good working condition. I
must say a special thank you to two other members of our Panamanian
touring party, Abdul Sangrar, the owner of the Parkway Nuclear
Services Clinic, who made the services of his clinic available
free of charge for the tests to be conducted and to Dr Abu
Syed who assisted.
Hopefully, I’ll be around for a little while longer to
continue playing this game which I love so much.
Now let’s head for the 19th Hole.
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