GROWING OLD IS
INEVITABLE
L
ife often throws you an abrupt
wake-up call when you least
expect it …
The first thing I recall as I
came back to life, was strug-
gling to get my breathing back
to normal, and someone, in a voice
I didn´t recognise, asking me for my
ID number (a ten-digit number all
Danes are supposed to remember).
An hour earlier I had been playing
my weekly badminton game with my
brother, brother-in-law and a friend,
when suddenly I’d passed out on the
court. Realising what had happened,
they quickly got hold of the defibril-
lator, as well as administering CPR.
The whole episode took place only
500 metres from the local hospital,
where I was taken first, and then
by ambulance to the main hospital,
100 kilometres further north. Two
days later I was fitted with a com-
bined pacemaker/ICD unit. This all
happened at the beginning of 2016,
two years prior I’d had a heart valve
TRAVERSE 37
repaired during open heart surgery.
I’d dreamt of travelling solo for
years, from my hometown in the
North Western part of Denmark south
to Cape Town, along the eastern side
of Africa, following the Nile River.
Reaching 65 years of age in August
2018 and “pension status”, I sold my
half share in a printing company I’d
been running for 15 years and was
free to go! Despite my less-than-
ideal medical history, there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted, even
needed, to do this trip. Anything else
would have meant putting my life on
“stand by”. No way! Fortunately, I
have a very supportive wife, who was
in full agreement with my decision to
go. No wonder I love her dearly!
Planning for the trip began, I love
this part of the journey. Multiple
books, websites and reviews were
read on equipment and bikes. I’m
convinced that “light is right” and
ended up buying a 2009 BMW G650
X-Country, with only 3,500km on the