AGES AND STAGES

by Mocco Wollert

WHO doesn’t like a surprise? Before Christmas, I had a totally unexpected surprise – but it wasn’t of the good variety.

That day, I went with a group of friends to our usual Sunday lunch at our favourite club. All was well. I felt as healthy and “normal” as usual.

As I walked towards the exit after lunch, my teeth suddenly felt funny. I thought it had to be those new dentures, a damned nuisance.

After I got home, I removed the annoying dentures but my teeth were still bothering me. Something was definitely wrong – but what?

Suddenly, from somewhere deep in my memory, I remembered an e-mail I had received many years ago. It mentioned something about more women dying of heart attacks than men. Their signs of heart trouble could be very different and were often ignored – but surely not anything as silly as some discomfort in your teeth.

The word “jaws” had not yet entered my mind.

I rang my granddaughter who is a heart specialist and after I told her about those annoying teeth I asked, “what do you think?”

Her answer was swift: ‘I think you should be in hospital right now; I am calling an ambulance.”

I felt silly being carted off in an ambulance just because I had sore teeth. I was sure I could have driven myself to hospital, and that I would probably be laughed at for seeking attention for aching teeth.

I underwent tests in the emergency department and then the doctor came into the cubicle where I was waiting and said, “you have had a heart attack.”

I was stunned, then I laughed at him.

Impossible. I am very healthy, not overweight, exercise five days a week, seldom eat red meat (because I don’t like it), stay away from sugary cakes and biscuits (because of weight watching), and my cholesterol and blood pressure are normal.

Honestly, how could I possibly have had a heart attack? But there it was.

The angiogram the next day found a small blood clot in one of the arteries leading to my heart. I had dodged a bullet. Had that clot travelled to my brain, I would not be writing this column or any other for that matter.

I am now on blood-thinning medication and hopefully will be my normal self again soon.

I am sharing this intensely personal experience with readers to send out a warning beacon.

Many people I have talked to, have told me that they have never heard of teeth or jaws hurting, as a sign of heart trouble. Most thought either chest pain or pain down the left arm might signal a heart attack.

Whoever sent me that e-mail about hurting jaws as a sign of heart trouble, I thank you. It might just have saved my life.

Apart from “unease” in your jaws, there a few other symptoms, such as pain between your shoulder blades.

I suggest not taking my word for it – after all I am not a doctor – but speak about it to your GP.

May your heartbeat be steady and your teeth free of pain.

by Cheryl Lockwood

“YOU can get paid for taking surveys online,” a friend said.

Earning dollars in my spare time just by answering a few questions sounded like easy money. I was in!

Before you could say “ka-ching!” I was staring at the computer screen, reading terms and conditions, signing up and creating passwords for survey companies. Apparently, my opinion was important and even sought after. So they said.

I chose five to start with and decided I would try them for a month and review the situation.

Most of these sites work with payment via a points system, which can then be

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used for gift cards or a Pay Pal account deposit. Soon I was answering questions and ticking boxes on all manner of subjects. Everything from insurance and banking to pizza and alcohol purchases.

There I was, potentially changing the world with my views. OK, maybe not the whole world, just the world of advertising.

Many companies use survey results to influence their advertising campaigns. I am very good at switching off when it comes to ads, barely recalling what most of them are selling. We often press mute the moment they come on!

How often did I use certain products? Which brands had I purchased in the last 12 months?

Seriously? I barely remember what I bought last week. No one told me that I needed to take notes every time I did the grocery shopping.

It reminded me of quizzes I did as a teenager. They came in glossy magazines and there were always multiple-choice responses that did not reflect my situation at all. From there, the answers would magically tell me what kind of person I was – a very important thing to know in my little, teenage world.

My friends and I would then discuss the accuracy of the results. The quiz that told us we were confident young women with sparkling personalities were obviously taken as gospel. The ones that suggested we needed improvement were discarded as nonsense. As for the surveys, emails dropped in daily, offering potential points. More often than not, I was informed that there were enough participants or I did not fit the profile they needed. Try again later.

I deliberated way too long over whether I agreed, somewhat agreed or strongly agreed with something. I found out that there are things that I really don’t care about one way or another.

At the end of the month, I reviewed. A “get rich quick scheme” it certainly wasn’t.

I had yet to earn enough points to redeem anything at all, although on one site, I had stepped up a notch to their next level. As far as I could tell, the benefit of this was that I was on my way to another level. I didn’t know how many there were, but I was on my way up.

It didn’t take long to work out that I could find better ways to spend my spare time. I won’t be giving up my day job any time soon.

Ah, life’s an adventure – or is it?