I, like most farmers, would do everything possible to ensure that my livestock are fit and healthy. I would go out in all weathers, and at any time of day or night, to check on my stock if I thought they were sick.

If I still wasn’t happy I would have no hesitation in calling in a vet (day or night). Given that a vet will be in the yard within an hour, it really is a top-quality level of care given to our animals.

It’s strange the way we are prepared to look after our stock and neglect ourselves. If we’re sick we keep putting off going to the doctor. We will convince ourselves that we’ll be better tomorrow, the next day, and so on.

Suffered

I had a problem with my ear last year. It was full of wax. I suffered on for about two weeks until I could put up with it no longer. I called the doctor, but I got some surprise.

I had not been to see a doctor for almost 30 years. The last time I had been with a doctor you could ring in the morning and get seen within a couple of hours. However, times have changed, and the receptionist offered me an appointment in three weeks’ time. I protested, but to no avail.

It was a long three weeks, but the date eventually came around. I went into the doctor and told her my problem.

She started fiddling on her computer and then said that I hadn’t been to see a doctor for quite a while. She took my blood pressure and height and weight. She then declared that I was overweight, and I had high blood pressure.

When you’re waiting for hospital appointments, and then waiting for results, there’s a lot of things that go through your mind

She made an appointment to get my ear syringed and another appointment to get bloods taken and told me to come back in a couple of weeks when the results would be ready.

When I went back she informed me that I also had high cholesterol, and that they had seen something else, and wanted to send me to the hospital for three different examinations.

From not seeing a doctor for almost 30 years, I was now seeing them a couple of times a week.

Relation

I started to get concerned about my health. I had a relation who died a few years ago after a short illness and he was a lot younger than me. When you’re waiting for hospital appointments, and then waiting for results, there’s a lot of things that go through your mind.

Everyone tells you to stay positive, and that no news is good news. I found that completely impossible. At the time, I talked to one farmer who was going through cancer treatment, and his wife was also going through treatment. It certainly puts everything into perspective.

It got me thinking about how short life really is. We are all (I’m the worst culprit) rushing around and never take the time to consider the important things. Before you know it, you can suddenly realise that life has passed you by.

Diet

After three months I was told that the only problems I had were related to my diet. They said I was overweight, had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. My treatment was to change my diet and take more exercise.

This was a bit of a culture shock for me (although I thought I was already eating healthy food). It’s hard to come in on a chilly morning and sit down to a bowl of fruit. It’s even harder to come in after a hard day’s work and sit down to a plate of salad.

I have tried my best to make changes (it’s not easy) and I often slip back into old habits, but I have lost weight and got my blood pressure back to normal.

My cholesterol is lower, but not low enough yet. However, the important thing is that I feel healthier and fitter. As long as I can continue, I think that I’m on the right track.

When I look back now, the irony is that I was drawing up health plans for my livestock and I never once thought about a health plan for myself.

Check

I was recently at a show and came upon the farm family health check van. I went in and spent 15 minutes getting a health check. It is a superb service.

Probably like lots of other farmers, I have often walked past this van, while thinking “I don’t need that”.

I would urge everyone to take that 15 minutes and pop in and get checked over.

As farmers, we need to look after ourselves the same way that we look after our livestock.

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