A BODYBUILDER has been nominated for a Triumph Over Adversity award after he went on to win a major championship after doctors described him as being days away from potential cardiac arrest and death.
Mark Ford, 42, of Great Stubbing, Wombwell, went for a routine health check just after his 40th birthday.
It was only then that he was found to have a birth defect which had left him with chronic heart disease usually associated with old age. Mark was also found to only two valves to his heart where there should have been three.
Prior to the discovery he had no symptoms, but was told to limit activities that could raise his heart rate - including walking.
But just seven weeks after his op, Mark went back to training and started a rehabilitation regime that saw him claim the BNBF natural body building competition title in Perth, Scotland, 15 months later.
He said: "It was only when I went to the doctors they said 'do you know about this heart murmur?'
"By the time they re-scanned me my heart disease was one point away from being critical. "I was told not to do anything which would raise my heart rate - not even to go upstairs unless it was when I needed to to go to bed. "I could have suffered cardiac arrest at any time and died.
"After I stopped training and I was told to keep my heart rate low and I slowed down noticeably.
"It was that bad that when they went in to do the operation they said they didn't know how I was alive.
"The valve was that calcified it just fell apart. "In the build up to the operation I just got my head around it and thought if I wake up I wake up and if I don't, I won't know anyway.
"The only thing I thought about before the op was making sure the scar was neat so that my muscle wasn't damaged." He added: "It still doesn't feel real.
"I look at my scar and listen to the ticking in my chest and that's the only time it feels real."
The day after surgery Mark suffered a collapsed lung and was taken back into hospital.
The surgeon went in through his muscle and cracked a rib to try and re-inflate it. The operation has left Mark unable to drink more than a pint, in need of blood thinning medication for the rest of his life, and limited as to how much vitamin K he is able to eat - which can be found in his favourite green vegetables, broccoli and spinach.
Mark said: "I would say my collapsed lung after was more painful than my op.
"When I stopped training and being as active I went downhill fast. It was being active that kept me as I was.
"I was in really good shape before the op and lifting stupid weights and achieving personal bests.
"I was joking with the young lads in the gym saying 'look at me at my age and I can lift twice what you can.'
"I was getting dizzy when I was lifting weights but I put it down to work. "Seven weeks after the operation I did one press up.
"I'm a qualified personal trainer so I know how to put myself through rehab.
"I wanted to get back to where I was to prove a point. "I'm very competitive anyway."
Although the operation hasn't changed Mark's lifestyle, he says he is now more determined to achieve a place at the British championships later this year and if he is successful, there is a chance he could be selected to compete in the world championships in Miami.
"That was so surreal when I won.
"On the day I was thinking 'should I have done more of this or that?', but when I look at the photos I can see now that I was bigger than I thought. "I do feel like getting the title is an achievement, but now I want to go on and do more.
"But it's just one step at a time."
