Local man shares his health journey after a stroke and the importance of check-ups
Men's Health Month
MARYLAND – June is Men’s Health Awareness, and a recent national survey found that 51.9% of men aged 20 and older have high blood pressure or other underlying health issues.
Imagine one day you go to work like you’ve done for the past 30 years and then in an instant your life changes and now you can’t even stand.
65-year-old Michael Fryson of Salisbury has worked and stayed active most of his life, but that’s exactly what happened to him. He described his health scare in detail, and how important it is to take care of yourself. “In 2019 I had a stroke, and I stayed in the hospital for about a year. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk… I didn’t hardly go to the doctor because I had no use for it. Because I was always independent, I played ball, I did this, I did that, nothing phased me. You know, so, but then I had the stroke, and it changed my life.”
He says high blood pressure, kidney issues, and hypertension were factors in his stroke, and at one point he couldn’t even bathe himself. He was determined to make a change. “They told me I’d probably be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, but I said I ain’t want to be in a wheelchair. So, I just kept going by the diet, and I kept working. So now I can walk.”
G.W. Smith is a physician assistant from Atlantic General. He tells us that age comes with its own set of problems like erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, prostate cancer, and more. “As we know, women are screened for osteoporosis and osteopenia, but men can have thinning of their bones and decreased hormones and other things in their health that can be directly related to muscle mass… Men really need to realize that as they age their bodies go through changes, both hormonally and physiologically.”
Michael urges other men to go and get checked – and to be aware of their health status. You got to be the one to want to do something for yourself, because you got a lot of people that just want to give up because they think it’s over, it aint over, it aint over. He says that the MAC Center has been a tremendous part of his successful health journey, and that their meal plans and staff are the reason he’s come so far along.
G.W. Smith at Atlantic General says there are many ways for men to stay healthy, and that exercise alone is not enough. “I think the biggest thing right now is physical fitness, and knowledge of the nutritional value that’s being put in the body… When they become multiple issues instead of one, it becomes harder as a healthcare provider to give that amount of intervention that patient wants and give the amount of time they want.”
He also said it’s important to keep track of things like testosterone levels, and make sure you’re eating healthy, and getting enough rest.
