Kim Atienza on surviving a stroke: ‘The fear will always be there’

After suffering from a mild stroke four years ago caused by a congenital condition called patent foramen ovale, or having a hole in the heart, Showtime host Kim Atienza said the terrifying experience did not stop him from moving on with his life and even getting more active by becoming a triathlete. The 47-year-old host said that he has even set his running schedule as early as now for 2015. “For the rest of the year, I have no triathlons until December and then next year I'm joining Challenge Subic and then Challenge Camsur and maybe some shorter races, but up until December I'll just be joining run races and I'm thinking of joining the Condura 42k,” he told Push.com.ph during the Garmin Concept Store launch event in Glorietta 5 held last November 7 in Makati.

Kuya Kim said that even after competing in the prestigious Ironman competition in Australia last year, he always tries to push himself one step further in his sport. His triathlon team Gotta, which is sponsored by Garmin watches, includes other personalities like Isabelle Daza, Erwan Heussaff, and Gilbert Remulla. “Well I've done a lot of 70.3 races already. I was planning on doing a full Ironman this coming year, but I have so much on my plate when it comes to work and family and then the movie. But if I keep myself fit, and it's only a matter of two or three months then I can do a full Ironman anytime,” he said.

As a stroke survivor, Kuya Kim shared that he does not let his stroke hinder him from achieving his goals. “I've never been this better. No problems at all. If you went through what I went through, you just have to keep doing what you do to be healthy. The fear will always be there. I still am afraid, whenever I run and when it gets very intense I am always afraid. Everyone is afraid. But it's in how you deal with the fear and of course I have the Lord. I know I'm so blessed so I know that I'm actually totally powerless. It's the Lord's power that I am able to do all this, because of His grace. Right now I'm not taking any medicine. I have lot of vitamins for my immune system. I eat everything in moderation,” he added.

This coming Metro Manila Film Festival, Kuya Kim said he is excited to be part of the country's most popular horror film franchise. “I've done many movies in the past and in all of them I am Kuya Kim (laughs). So this time in this movie I am Kuya Tim naman pero pareho pa rin. I'd like to do one movie a year. It's for MMFF eh, it's an important film. I've always been a fan of the movies so to actually be a part of a Shake, Rattle and Roll movie, I was really thrilled and it's a good role. In the movie, I am Kuya Tim and I save the day for all of them with my trivia (laughs),” he said.

Even his wife and three kids are also supportive of his big screen projects according to him. For the holidays, Kuya Kim shared that he will be spending Christmas in British Columbia, at the popular ski resort Whistler Mountain.

In his home in Manila, Kuya Kim is known to post photos of the extended members of his family, which include their numerous pets that range from dogs to birds to reptiles. At this point, Kuya Kim says they are not planning to get any more pets anytime soon. “Now I have 47 dogs already but I'm not the dog collector kasi it's my wife and my kids who are into dogs. I have reptiles and my tortoises are breeding every year kaya ang dami ko ng mga tortoises. But as far as actively buying more animals, I think I have more than enough already (laughs),” he said.