Movember: men’s health month

A lifetime ago

It seems like a lifetime ago since I have written something about what we are actually doing with ourselves. The truth is pretty simple and by normal standards quite boring. As we have said before, we travel on our own terms which usually means on our own dime and it takes a lot of dimes to buy a plane ticket. At this point, we have become experts at stashing every nickel and dime we can. We do this in order to come back to the country we can’t get enough of, Italy. Motivation is everything and with the thought of eating great food, drinking beautiful wines and generally living la dolce vita, it was easy to pass up on all the things that drain our bank account.

Goodbye 2015/2016

2015/16 are years we will gladly put behind us with more than its fair share of grief. The loss of Nat’s beloved sister is definitely at the top of the list followed by a cascade of let downs, disappointments, and bad news piled on to create a depression that I have never experienced before. Turning fifty, seemed to have lit up all the trouble lights on my dashboard and I soon found myself parked with my motor barely able to turn over some mornings.

At my most vulnerable

At my most vulnerable, my body was unable to defend itself and a domino effect of physical bullshit ensued culminating in an extremely tenacious infection that set up camp in my prostate raging against my entire body and psyche for over a year. Throw in multiple courses of antibiotics and a one in a million misprescription to the mix and it looked as though the life I had formerly lead was slipping away.

Movember

My prostate health is a subject I am completely uncomfortable telling you about but since it’s MOvember (the only real movement dedicated to men’s health) I figured it is relevant and worthy to write about. Prostate health scares the shit out every guy I know but most will never do anything about it even when the first measure is a simple blood test to ensure your PSA levels are normal.

Into your sixties

Usually, until you are into your sixties that’s the most common way of keeping track of prostate health without the dreaded finger in the bum. By most accounts, the prostate is a poorly designed organ that, if you live long enough, will eventually fail and possibly become cancerous. My father overcame prostate cancer by having it removed but the doctors told him he may have continued living with it and die of another illness before it would get him. His decision was sound because he is in incredible shape for his age and will probably outlive us all.

Prostate health

So when my prostate health went sideways so did my anxiety about the dreaded C word and my impending doom. The side effect was that I was immediately motivated to reevaluate many life choices and bad habits in order to try to bolster my longevity even before the final diagnosis. Everything had to go, coffee, beer, carbs, junk food, and exercise became my battleground to try and sweat out the evil as much as I could.

The week before we left

Finally, the week before we left for this trip I received the good news that the infection was gone and my prostate is in good health. As an added bonus I had lost about thirty pounds and am in the best physical shape I have been in years and do not plan on letting that regress if I can help it. Finally after a year of complete shit some good news and right at the best time.

Health is everything

Health is everything because without it, we are limited. So to all of my dude friends out there, man up and take care of a big part of what makes you a man.

Onward and upward

So here we are back in amazing Italy. This time we have set the bar pretty darned high and will be visiting over 12 cities throughout the north of this great country discovering incredible food, sights, and people. Our mantra remains the same, of living like a local as much as we can and after our previous trips, we have got it dialed. We are also excited to be working with the Italian Chamber of Commerce Canada – West, writing about DOP and IGP foods as we encounter them in each region we visit. Doors are being opened and secrets will be revealed as we go behind the scenes to see how some of our favourite Italian foods are made and why they are so special.

Expanding waist line

I’m prepared for my expanding waist line in sacrifice of this culinary journey knowing my mountain bike will be ready and willing when we return to Vancouver so let’s get this party started healthy and in fighting condition!