Life begins at 40. So the idiom goes! And that is what the experience of my heart attack mainly taught me. Soon after my angioplasty I felt as though an extra life had been added to me. God’s grace, visibly shown in the undisputed expertise of Mater Dei’s medical staff, has given me another chance to live!
But that is simply a part of the entire picture. What greatly helped in my speedy recovery was my natural return to my happy childhood. My hospital recovery aided me to retrieve certain experiences I used to thrive on as a child. One of them was horse-racing. When I was about nine years old I used to attend practically every Sunday horse-racing activity. In those days one of the horses which really fascinated me was the legendary Isard Du Pont.
On my hospital bed, between one procedure and another, or a visit and the following one, I surfed YouTube in the hope of viewing once again and with immense nostalgia, those unforgettable, exciting races. Deep inside me I knew that something marvellous was on the way.
On one occasion, I saw an interesting clip, nicely placed on the right-hand side of the monitor, that aroused my curiosity. When I opened it, it beautifully featured an amazing horse, by the name of Général du Pommeau, driven by Jules Lepennetier, trotting triumphantly past the finishing line to win the 2000 prestigious Prix d’Amerique race at Vincennes Racecourse.
The intention of the YouTube clip was to pay a little homage to this great champion who left an indelible mark on the heart of whoever posted the video. It shows Général du Pommeau in and out of action. The accompanying single, Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve, highly singles out the magnificent sprints which earned this outstanding champion several podiums. Among the extraordinary victories achieved by Général du Pommeau in the formidable years of his trotting career one finds the Prix d’Amérique (2000), the Prix de Paris (2001), the Prix René Ballière (2000 and 1999), the Prix Roederer (1999), Championnat Européen des 5 ans (1999), Critérium des 5 ans (1999),Critérium des 4 ans (1998), Critérium Continental (1998), Critérium des Jeunes (1997) and Prix Capucine (1997).
Général du Pommeau’s decisive sprints within the last concluding metres of the races he bravely contested invested me with a lot of encouragement. I started to realise that I too was a leading protagonist in the race for the most precious prize that could ever exist for me on this earth: my own life! Like Général du Pommeau, I needed an excellent jockey to help me pass the finishing line triumphantly, reassured of a first place finish. As the race progressed, many other contestants such as my fears, despair and my doubts, were trying to keep me far away from the noble end of retrieving my healthy life.
However, I was blessed to have Jesus guide me to the final victory in this much contested race.
Bearing in mind the Biblical advice: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Cor 9, 24), I kept running until, after a week, I was finally discharged. An impressive victory indeed!
Pam Brown said: “A horse is the projection of people’s dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” My experience has been the other way round. The horse image gave me enough boldness to face my situation in a flourishing way! Général du Pommeau proved to be an enormous blessing to me!
■ Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Ġwann