Today is December 5, 2024. Exactly 10 years ago I was at death’s door, barely filling my lungs with air from a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism. But today, 10 years later I’m alive, remarried, and out Christmas shopping with my wife, Nghia Nguyen. I’m eating cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and I run security for a millionaire developer and his commercial properties. I cannot help but believe that God has something more for me. I thank God that he spared my life and allowed me to continue to raise nurture direct and chastise my children for another ten years. My gosh, my youngest children were only six and seven years old at the time.
As I chow on my carrot cake cheesecake I know that thanking God means thanking the vessel he put before me to save my life. See, at the time, 10 years ago, I was so doubtful that I would live throughout the night that I took the passcode off my phone so that whoever found my body would be able to contact my relatives in New York. I was alone in California. Divorced. Alienated and lived in solitude—except for my kids. Or so I thought.
At the height of my discomfort and breathlessness,I reached out to my ex-wife’s older sister, Tammy Lyons. I didn’t know who else to call. Tammy, an LVN, took me to Urgent Care earlier in the week and I was misdiagnosed with pneumonia. This time when I called Tammy she arranged for me to be picked up by her husband, Billy Lyons, and driven to the hospital where SHE worked and evaluated by medical staff who referred to me as “her brother”. She met me at the entrance to the ER with a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk five steps without losing my breath.
The attending physicians examined me immediately and within moments I had oxygen and was scheduled for a CT scan. The head ER doctor, who knew Tammy, reassured me he would take care of “Tammy’s brother.” I heard some murmuring when the CT results came back. The attending RN, who also knew Tammy, whispered to Tammy and then told me the doctor would be with me soon. I looked over my shoulder and Tammy was on the verge of tears. Not sad tears…tears of relief. Before I could say anything, the ER physician returned, and he had a cardiologist with him. He looked at me and told me he knew what was wrong and the doctor with him would make sure they fixed the problem. That’s when I learned that I had a bilateral pulmonary embolism.
All the doctors jokingly teased me for being the youngest person they ever met with a PE. And that’s when the other doctor told me about an anticoagulant shot that they call the clot-buster and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. I was admitted on December 5 and I was released from the hospital on December 19. My daughter Cimone came to stay with me as I recovered and celebrated a Christmas with my kids that nearly never happened.
I tell everyone that Tammy saved my life that day when she accepted my call. She activated her medical ‘squad’ and they rallied around me to bring me back from the edge of darkness. My kids should be forever grateful that they have such a selfless, caring and empathetic auntie. For without Aunt Tammy , their dad would be ashes in the wind.
Ten years have passed since then. I couldn’t care less how difficult those ten years have been. I’m just happy I got to experience those years in the flesh.
Thank you, Tammy 
And a special thanks to my gun-toting armored-car-driving brother, Isidro. And my boy Jordan Sanguedolce and his family for visiting me in all the hospitals I stayed at and taking good care of my young ones for the holidays.
If the health of the men around you is important to you, consider getting a copy of this Men’s Health Food Journal. Knowing what you put inside your body is the first step to a healthier body and longer life.
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