Dubai: After five coronary bypass grafts carried out two months ago, Filipino Alfonso Ponio is participating in the Dubai marathon on Friday, January 23. He will be running a stretch of 10km at the marathon.
“I registered because I feel young again. I have a brand new heart. I want to tell people that with correct surgery, good diet and strong determination anything is possible,” said Ponio, 48, a driver in a local organisation who could not even walk a stretch of 50 metres without feeling a shooting pain in his heart prior to the surgery which was conducted at the NMC Speciality Hospital on November 12 last year. He cleared a treadmill test with flying colours two days ago and registered for the marathon.
Ponio, who wasn’t obese, feels the condition is hereditary as his father, too, suffered from heart disease. His family referred him to coronary surgeon Dr Girish Chandra Varma at the hospital.
Ponio has been very determined to reclaim his health and has been on a diet comprising plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, a little rice and fish or chicken cooked in light olive oil. “When they discharged me nine days after the surgery, my pain had gone. I walked out of the hospital and began my walking and running soon after. I built up my stamina to run up to 30km and I feel no pain at all. I am absolutely delighted with this gift of life and am determined to be serious about my health from now on,” says Ponio, who wants to advise people to give up the fear of sickness and opt for surgery if required and reclaim one’s health.
“Ponio is one of the first of my patients in Dubai to actually participate in a marathon in over two months of receiving five coronary grafts, “ said Dr Varma who carried out the bypass surgery on a beating heart using the off pump method, which ensures quicker recovery. “ Ponio was admitted at the hospital with chest pain after exertion and Dr Sandeep Chaturvedi performed the coronary angiography to diagnose his condition and he was referred to me for bypass surgery. Ponio had multiple blocks and he was very sick and symptomatic. We used the internal mammary arteries and saphenous veins as conduits for the new channels,” said Dr Varma.
