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A health scare changes my investment plans

Recently I spent a week in hospital for pneumonia. It wasn’t fun.

It began about two and a half weeks prior, initially as a cold, then flu-like symptoms and finally pneumonia. For nine days, I struggled to breathe properly. I went from being a fit and healthy 48-year-old to one that struggled to do basic chores like hanging out the laundry without running out of breath.

During that time, I went to the local GP three times, and on each occasion, it seemed like a herculean effort to get to the doctors’ clinic and wait for my appointment. I had to get various tests done – blood tests, chest x-rays, and nasal and mouth swabs.

It didn’t help that I was home alone as my family had to go interstate for my son’s soccer tournament. It also didn’t help that I lost my appetite and didn’t eat for six days. Sleeping was a challenge and I had to resort to a sitting position to get rest. Oddly, I gained a heightened sense of smell, yet it made food and other things like deodorant quite off-putting.

In hindsight, I should have gone to hospital during those nine days. However, I thought that I wasn’t dying, and I didn’t want to burden an emergency department with my non-life-threatening illness.

On day five of nine, I got confirmation that I did have pneumonia. It was the common mycoplasma infection, otherwise known as walking pneumonia. The problem was that antibiotics to treat the infection weren’t working. I was put on steroids which gave me a minor boost for a few days, before I went downhill again.

Eventually, the doctor said I needed to go to hospital immediately.

I went to St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, and I must have got lucky by going on Friday afternoon before the weekend rush, because I went almost straight through to the emergency department.

After the first night (a noisy affair!), I was put in an isolation ward because I was highly contagious. I was on a ventilation machine from minute one, but after 24 hours, they increased the dose to maximum levels because my oxygen levels were so low. It would remain that way for six days. After 36 hours, I got moved to the respiratory ward, and ended up with a nice, large room probably because they needed to keep me far away from other patients.

Hospitals aren’t enjoyable. They see people often at the lowest point, as it was with me.

The food wasn’t too bad, though Wi-Fi was non-existent, and the free-to-air television was truly horrific. I hadn’t watched free-to-air for many years, and didn’t realise how bad it had become, with a plethora of reality shows that were 20 or even 30 years old, and endless remakes of other old shows that were terrible. It made me think of youngsters today who’ve never watched free-to-air and almost certainly never will.

It left a lot of time for reading and keeping my own company.

What does and doesn’t matter

During the long days and nights in hospital, two things struck me. First, I yearned to connect with family and friends. I’ve got many good friends interstate and overseas, yet what surprised me is that I wanted to connect more with those closer to home. It reminded me of evolutionary psychologist, Robin Dunbar’s theory that people need friends close to home because it builds deeper connections.

The other thing that struck me was how irrelevant news is to our daily lives. During the week in hospital, Trump’s assassination attempt and the CFMEU shenanigans were the lead stories. And my immediate and ongoing reaction to these news items was that I couldn’t care less.

Perhaps being unhealthy makes us selfish, but my wish to connect with those close to me took overwhelming precedence.

News seemed irrelevant. Hobbies like sport seemed irrelevant. Social media seemed irrelevant. And, yes, even work seemed irrelevant.

Suddenly, life’s priorities were remarkably clear and simple.

Falling back into bad habits

Eventually, after a cocktail of antibiotics and steroids, I was able to go off the ventilation machine. My oxygen levels were still not great, though I was intent on going home and the doctors finally agreed.

Apparently, it would be 4-6 weeks before my energy levels would return to normal. Thankfully, though, it happened much faster, and I now feel back to my former self.

I’ve noticed that I’ve already started to revert to old habits. As I’m writing this article, an email comes in and I’ll automatically check it. Or a Teams message. Or my Twitter feed. Or anything else that comes along to distract me from finishing the article. “Just do the work, nothing else matters right now”, I plead to myself.

I worry about my son and whether he’ll get into an advanced soccer squad and have to remind myself that it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. The same goes for my daughter’s grades in her first year of high school. “It’s early days”, I tell myself.

And I’m still trying to make good on the promise to connect more deeply with those close to me.

Changing investment priorities

By now, you might be asking: what the heck does this have to do with investing? My thoughts on priorities did naturally switch to the world of investing. What stands out to me is the ratio of how much information that we read daily versus that which will make us successful long-term investors.

You could invest in a portfolio of ETFs to suit your goals and risk profile, and not read anything about investing, and you’ll probably come out ahead of most investors over a long-term timeframe of, say, 10 years.

You could invest in solid, growing businesses, and ignore all information on the economy and politics, and you’re likely to do just fine.

Prioritising a simple portfolio with realistic goals means most investors can largely ignore a lot of the day-to-day market noise.

Saving versus spending

We get taught about how to save money in investing, but not how to spend it. Obviously, one is needed to do the other. Yet how and when to spend money is rarely discussed.

With my health scare, I started to think more about the here and now. The overseas holiday that I’d like to do may be more difficult in 10-20 years’ time.

I’ve even given thought to purchasing silly consumer items I’d like to have. I’ve always loved watches yet have held off buying one for years because I wanted to save the money rather than spend it. Now, I’m willing to splurge, albeit on one that’s not flashy or expensive.

This switch in thinking reminds me of the book that I once reviewed in Firstlinks called Die with Zero. While the book overstates its point, a better balance between saving and spending makes more sense to me now.

 

James Gruber is Editor at Firstlinks.

 

50 Comments
Tony
September 06, 2024

i very recently had pneumonia, scary when you can't breath. Forgot to have my flu vaccine this year so that could have contributed ( got it now ), fortunately not too serious and 6 days of penicillin cleared it up but now i have to take it easy for 4-6 weeks to fully recover. So spending time reviewing my portfolio and making some small adjustments.

Cam
August 13, 2024

A lot of life is simple. Live considering you may live to 100, but also may get hit by the bus tomorrow. Avoid a mid life crisis by actually doing all the things you could wake up age 45 and regret not doing.
I don't mind just having free to air TV either. If I can't find anything to watch, there's always something to do around the house.

lyn
August 13, 2024

James, welcome back, Good future health. Interesting read of change of approach at your young age after scare, scary at any age, forces us to face mortality and consideration of change to life-long principles how we spend/save/invest etc. I comment as in some ways you have been fortunate and forced to think of it long before retirement when I compare experience of no ill- health until retirement thus bigger shock of maybe less time, takes longer to recover to go do what wished, lots of what-ifs pass mind whilst ill about what's important as nothing else but thinking in bed. Good on you considering what is important---You, it's darn sight harder 20 odd yrs later to be ill (6 wks of flu, 2 in bed, still to recover) and live with regrets of if-only re less saving & working hard as can't recover time.... go get the blasted watch and the holiday, you won't regret when 68 lying ill thinking same thoughts and then unable to catch that trip. eg Hoping to attend my overseaes 60th college reunion planned for a year but how if not well so just go while you can and make memories. Dudley would disagree!

George
August 13, 2024

A wonderful and memorable contribution James, reminding us all of our human frailties. I have come very close to death myself and all I can say is life is fickle and we too easily fall into the trap of taking too much for granted. You can never predict when the gods might roll the dice. and you should always plan ahead, thinking about how your loved ones might fare in your absence, with the complexity and intricacies of assets, liabilities and investments that you have inadvertently bestowed on them. it's a topic that rarely if ever receives proper consideration in financial planning, which seems to be always revolving around financial gains.

David
August 12, 2024

Hi, James — I had the same type of pneumonia 30 years ago (as a “gift” from my daughter’s exposure on a school excursion). It does focus the mind on what’s important!
I’m surprised that as an investment advisor, you are thinking of spending your savings now rather than let the magic of compound interest produce a healthier nest egg for yourself and your family.
It’s true that your dream holiday will probably cost more in future in real terms, but a fancy watch today may be a poor choice compared to the funds you’ll need for food and shelter in future.

Petet Taylor
September 02, 2024

It's not mentioned very often but roughly 1 in 4 people die before their late sixties or early seventies
About half go around 80 to 85 and roughly 1 in 5 live beyond 85.
I researched this as I was surprised how many people I knew who had died early despite not knowing a huge number. I am 64

Harry P
August 12, 2024

Yes get your finances in order before your inevitable demise and remember, when there’s a will, there’s a relative!??????.
Remembering that for those closest to you, it’s better from a warm hand than a cold one will surely minimise complexity! I plan to die with as close as I can safely get to zero.
Not because I spent it.

Dr David Arelette
August 11, 2024

While it is never pleasant, there is much to be said for a week and a half in hospital to see and feel what James reports - I fell off a ladder installing a CCTV camera in a store in Ballarat, caught my left foot in a Landcruiser bull bar on the way down - the surgeon's first comment was that with a hammer and a 20 minute start, I could not have done more damage - now 15 years later this month, the Titanium does a great job albeit as soon as I sit the foot delivers revenge in subtle but real ways. Every comment confirms the same point, short of facing certain death, time with a serious medical problem as your only focus creates a few insights which change your life - it's a fair trade.

Peter
August 11, 2024

Hello James
Sorry to hear this and your only 48!! Not fair.
At this age I am surprised to hear that your considering an investment change think about it for 20 years 1st.
Im just getting over Influenza A at 68 I am not to overly concerned re: finances its that time of year where I'm 70/30 cash. Once your off the medication which you cannot take with Influenza, have 1 beer before bed, works every time for a solid sleep.

Justin
August 12, 2024

Big brown sleeping ?? pills

Susie Pluviano
August 11, 2024

Enjoy reading cross section comments from ‘experiential’ readers , pearls of wisdom
Thankyou.

Kate
August 11, 2024

Whilst a health scare refocuses priorities, be warned that the more time that passes the more risk there is of returning to your old habits. We all need to work hard at focusing on those priorities when fighting the other fires of daily life makes it easy to forget them once again.
Glad you are better James.

Cester
August 11, 2024

A brush with death will certainly put things into perspective. We will all leave this life one day and according to the Bible then face judgement. Best to settle accounts with the Maker now.

Jonathan Rabinovitz
August 11, 2024

Regarding the watch and now that you are well again……remember that it is not the quality of the watch that counts but the quality of the time.

Phil Crichton
August 11, 2024

James, life's priorities are what counts.
Personal health has to be number one - you are not much good to your family unwell.
Diet and elimination of stress are next. Plenty of fruit & veggies. and my personal tip, drink mineral water daily.
Good daily exercise will help, nothing beats walking.
Then family - they are life's great asset.
Good luck from Warwick Qld

Janice Sengupta
August 10, 2024

James,
I can empathise as I spent a day at St Vincent’s Emergency Room with pneumonia back in January! It is astonishing how quickly one can go from being healthy to the brink of death…it is a reminder to focus on the the truly important things while one can and to never take good things in life for granted. In my case, after intravenous antibiotics I was allowed to go home as a “Hospital In The Home” patient as my spouse could provide food and the ongoing IV treatment was administered by a visiting nurse (HITH is a fantastic initiative: for people in my situation where I didn’t need ventilation, being in the comfort of home while receiving hospital care is good for the patient and cost effective for society).

It is interesting that you mentioned the heightened sense of smell while simultaneously being repelled by food. I experienced this symptom and it was exactly the same as 15 years ago when I had pneumonia— that, and a low oxygenation reading is why I cancelled a GP appointment and went straight to emergency. My hypothesis is that when in a perilously weak state the risk consequences of any food contamination becomes so great that there’s an aversion to anything possibly dangerous (in my case I couldn’t eat fish or meat; I could force myself fresh fruit and dry toast until the antibiotics kicked, some strength started to return and I could eat more normally).

James, I am glad that you are back to writing. Everyone else: do pay attention to health signals as well as capital markets signals. If the former are failing, the latter are inconsequential.

James Gruber
August 11, 2024

Hi Janice, thanks for sharing some eerily similar experiences.

All the best,
James

Emma
August 10, 2024

An awesomely authentic post, thanks James. So true, every word. Glad you’re through that nasty patch, don’t lose that hard fought perspective.

James Gruber
August 11, 2024

Thank you, Emma, I hope you're well.

James

Bev Michelmore
August 10, 2024

I have come to the same conclusion as I am one year away from eighty. Life is short, why do we worry about things that don't need to be worried about. My husband had a wonderful attitude as he refused to worry as he said in his words "it doesn't solve anything". If you have a life threatening diagnosis it definitely changes your life thinking. I know it is easy to revert back to old habits, but take a minute to rethink what has happened to you and reassess your ways. Family is more important and time for out for yourself. By the way the live TV in the UK is far worse than ours and they have to pay a licence for their TV. Not so bad after all in Oz.

Keith
August 10, 2024

I think I may have posted this before but I am trying to arrange my financial affairs so that the undertaker’s cheque bounces!!!

Ann
August 09, 2024

James, I am glad you have recovered. Coming face to face with your own mortality certainly can change your thinking. 35 years ago my younger brother died at the age of 39 from influenza A viral pneumonia. I have religiously obtained a flu shot every year since.

Nick Harris
August 09, 2024

Great article James - one which I can unfortunately relate to very well. I can highly recommend a great book which helped me in my recovery. The book is based on the philosophy of stoicism. It is called “Reasons Not To Worry” by Brigid Delaney. One thing that has changed in my life is I’ve made time to read good books!

James Gruber
August 11, 2024

Nick, I'll put it on my list.

Cheers,
James

ashley owen
August 09, 2024

jimbo - you're 48! prime of your life! So I hope you pull through. But it does focus the mind on making sure 'things are in order". EPA, EG, AMD, EOL, BDN, etc (acronyms-R-us!)
(I seem to spend half my life in ER / dementia facilities / ambo transfer / palliative - very depressive stuff). Concentrate on the good stuff and get well!
cheers
ao

James Gruber
August 09, 2024

Cheers Ashley.

TinTin
August 11, 2024

Hi Ashley

I do ok with the odd odd acronym but what's AMD and EG? Please.

It's great to see the overall positivity and support this community exudes. It's important to recognise in not just about the dollar but also what one does with it.

Teresa Le Strange
August 09, 2024

James, my husband kept passwords to himself and regularly changed them, The palliative care team decided to overdose him so after successful surgery he never left hospital to tell me where things were.. Outcome, Banks would not assist me to access the superfund accounts, despite everything being in joint names. Make sure your wife knows where the information is and how to access anything that you might need if incapacitated.. Tles.

James Gruber
August 09, 2024

Sound advice, Teresa, thanks.

Keith Ready
August 09, 2024

Hi James - a great article and thank you for sharing some inner most thoughts with some very thoughtful action steps - good that you are back to feeling 100% and writing each week fro Firstlinks - I look forward to hearing you speak at the ASA Sydney Investor Forum on September 19th - Best wishes Keith

TonyRay
August 08, 2024

I too recently had to watch some commercial TV and was astounded by how bad it was. Commercial radio is no different. I really struggle to reconcile how / why this is the case. I can get my head around most things but not this. Love this weekly letter though, for many reasons, thanks & regards.

Stephen
August 08, 2024

Very insightful James - thanks. In addition to the book Die With Zero I read another about 10 years ago titled Twenty Good Summers by Martin Hawes a kiwi. His premise was that at age 50 he had 20 (or so) more summers to do all the hikes and other adventures he dreamt about completing and rather than just “save madly” for retirement, it’s better to bring forward those goals/trips while you still have the health and energy. Sound familiar?

James Gruber
August 09, 2024

I've put it on my reading list, Stephen. Thanks for sharing.

Alan
August 08, 2024

Thank you for your honest and heartfelt story James. At the end of the day, our most important job as Advisers is to connect with, and reflect the needs of our members. You have demonstrated that this is not only about the numbers. Hope you keep recovering too.

Paul
August 08, 2024

Interesting how we all respond differently. I spent three weeks in bed with influenza with thoughts of dying. Should I phone 000 ?
It took me a long time afterwards to get my strength back as with you James. My reaction was if nature wants to take me so be it. My health scare has not changed my spending plans but then I am not your average consumer.
I am glad you survived and shared your experience, thank you.

SteveP
August 08, 2024

Thank you for your insightful article, James, and I'm happy to hear that you have recovered so well. The part that resonates most with me is your referral to the change in priorities that happened at the height of your illness. I remember having six weeks of severe chest pain as a 51-year old which turned out to be a rather benign viral infection of the intercostal muscles. At the time, my wife was asking me about a planned holiday and I just could not bring myself to answer her because all I could think was "You want to know about our holiday plans? I'm dying here!" Everything had suddenly shifted for me and previous concerns had evaporated into nothingness. I suppose it really means that everything else means nothing if you don't feel well!

Anonymous
August 08, 2024

Timely, James. As I sit here in hospital today at the bedside of my daughter who has just survived an emergency craniotomy following a mind-blowing rare arterial bleed into her brain as a complication of a TJM arthroscopy, I was reflecting on exactly the same issues. Thanks for the additional prompt. A profound change of priorities is required for me. Wishing you a speedy recovery James.

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

Hi Anonymous,

I'm glad the article spoke to you and I wish your daughter the very best.

Kind regards,
James

Guy McK
August 08, 2024

More insightful than many other finance reads

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

Guy,

Thanks for all your support.

Kind regards,
James

Christian Townsend
August 08, 2024

Wishing you a swift and full recovery. Thank you for sharing such profound insights about life’s realities and what truly matters. You should get that watch!

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

Your're a good man, Christian, thanks.

All the best,
James

Pedro
August 08, 2024

Pleased to hear you are through the worst of your health scare James. An event like this does change your view. I think the last part of your last sentence is very wise and something I wished I understood earlier.

Take care, and purely for selfish reasons, please keep writing.

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

That's kind, thank you Pedro.

Paul B
August 09, 2024

I'd like to echo Pedro's comments James. It's good to have you back, fit and well and producing such insightful articles. Well done.

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

Dudley,

If you can bring me the sights and sounds of the mountain, I'd happily take them.

Best,
James

Frank williams
August 08, 2024

One Word. Fantastic! I wish more people read this. I read a similar article written by a palliative care nurse who recorded what her patients told her before they passed away.

James Gruber
August 08, 2024

Frank,

Thanks. My guess is you're referring to Bronnie Ware - great book.

Dudley
August 08, 2024

"The overseas holiday that I’d like to do may be more difficult in 10-20 years’ time.":

If Muhammad can not go to the mountain, or dislikes the getting to the mountain, then have drones deliver the sights and sounds of the mountain to Muhammad.

Dudley
August 08, 2024

"If you can bring me the sights and sounds of the mountain, I'd happily take them.":

In the present absence of fully autonomous drones with which to negotiate, I'll refer you to the masterful videographer and dronist, Milosh Kitchovitch:

https://www.milosh9k.com/video-gallery

A favourite: https://youtu.be/7BR41difKew

Best if Muhammad takes to a comfortable settee and views on 4K+ SmartTV wide screen or similar.

 

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