GRAND PRAIRIE — It’s hard to describe a man from Grand Prairie as anything other than a walking miracle. He took his own health for granted and it nearly cost him his life.

For the active 47-year-old, until about 6 months ago, there was no hill or rock that Clay Paulson couldn’t climb.

“We were hiking in Santa Fe over the Christmas holidays and I was struggling a little bit,” Paulson said. “I had some shortness of breath. I put it down to the fact that I was recovering from some kind of upper respiratory infection.”

Although Paulson works as an administrator at a cardiac clinic, he had not been to a doctor for a check-up or physical in 10 years, which worried his wife, who is a physician’s assistant.

Paulson promised his wife that he would get checked out. This decision saved his life.

Doctors detected a heart murmur and concluded that the aorta was dilated and could rupture at any time.

Paulson underwent immediate surgery to repair the largest artery in his body.

Thanks to his perfect health, he was able to go hiking again this month with his wife and son.

“I think I’m pretty much a new person and that’s definitely the case. I just had my 48th birthday a few days ago on Sunday and I was remarking to my wife and my mom that for me, this is my first birthday because this is all an extension,” Paulson said.

According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, 53% of Americans do not receive preventive or regular checkups.

For men, the number is even higher.

Medical examinations:

• 55% of men in the US are overdue
• 55% of American men are overdue for a medical exam.

“I think it’s very important to get checked out so that you can really look at everything closely, so you have a kind of thorough examination.”

An examination of our bodies can sometimes reveal hidden ailments and diseases, such as the one Paulson had, but discovered in time thanks to a promise he made to his wife.

“There’s no other way to say it,” Paulson said. “I don’t think I would have volunteered to go for the exam, or at least I wouldn’t have done it when I did. And I think if I had delayed the clinical pathology of this disease that I had for even a short period of time, I wouldn’t be here. So it saved me 100%.”