Recovering from a cerebral haemorrhage, Kalevi Hemilä is eager to get back to work

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By Jyrki Iivonen
     
      If his recovery proceeds at the current pace, Kalevi Hemilä, Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry, will return to work early next year. At 51 years of age, Hemilä’s recovery from a cerebral haemorrhage is obvious; he is getting bored with staying at home.
      Just under a year ago Hemilä, director-general of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT), suddenly fell ill while in his office in Helsinki. Now his life is almost back to normal.
      TT and the Employers’ Confederation of Service Industries (PK) have now agreed to merge to form the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), in which there are no openings for Hemilä - at least not yet.
      "When I fell ill I was the director-general of TT. I have an employer which is assessing my recovery. If I recover, I live in hope that I will find something to do. I am working on the assumption that the issue will be resolved at the end of the year", he tells Helsingin Sanomat.
     
Last year on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 24, Hemilä suffered a sudden attack while at work. He underwent surgery the following night.
      "It was a powerful cerebral haemorrhage. There was nothing strange at work. Suddenly the thing hit, and I fell to the floor."
      "I remember something of it. I shouted to my secretary for help, started to move somehow, and then it all went blank. When the doctors came and the treatment started, everything was dark."
      "There was a bulge in one of my arteries and it burst. Nothing else was found."
      Hemilä says that the autumn of last year had been erased from his memory.
      "On January 21 I got out of hospital and at some point later my memory started coming back in bits and pieces. There is a period of up to five months of which I do not have much recollection."
      Exercise has been a key factor in Hemilä’s recovery. "In the winter I would take walks and do a bit of cross-country skiing. In the summer the pace became more intense."
      "September to May was a difficult time. Today, when I look at how I was doing in May, I can see that my recovery has proceeded surprisingly well. During the summer there has been a clear change, and psychologically I feel that I am back to my old self."
     
Hemilä has recovered his memory. "It works so well that even old unpleasant things have come back to mind."
      Hemilä’s doctors have not set any limits to what he can and cannot do. "In sports, excess strain is not recommended. I just have to take care of myself."
      "Now it feels good to become a man again, and not remain a permanent patient."
     
He attributes his sudden illness to heredity, and to the six hard years he spent as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in two governments of Paavo Lipponen. The few weeks he spent at the helm of TT were quite calm.
      "This runs in the family. Cerebral haemorrhage has been a cause of death on both my father’s and my mother’s side. Ever since I was a small child I have known that such a danger exists."
      "When I got ill my siblings, my children, and others who were close to me underwent an examination. Nothing was found, which was quite a fantastic piece of news."
      "As for work pressure, it was worst when I was a minister. In the government I had a strange position as a politically non-aligned apprentice."
      "My hereditary susceptibility and the burden of my ministerial duties brought me to this situation. The disease progressed, but did not yet break out. Then came the moment when the disease won."
      Hemilä said that the most difficult moment was when he realised that he would have to take a long sick leave.
      "During my period as minister it was kind of rough, but after that I got a good job, and that is when the illness struck. It was a very difficult psychological situation."
     
A cell phone rings and Hemilä exchanges a few words with a friend.
      "Human relationships are damned important. People I know can see that this guy is in good shape and they start to make phone calls. It is very nice. I can really appreciate it."
      Hemilä has learned to respect his hobbies in a new way.
      "They are important. You notice that while on sick leave when there is not much to do. Horses, hunting, and fishing: they are quite significant in this kind of a situation."
      "An outsider might have thought that it was strange that some trotting race in Rovaniemi was so important to me. I went there, chaired a meeting of some kind, and spent time with people I knew, just like before."
      Hemilä is still the chairman of Hippos, the Finnish harness racing organisation.
      "Doctors and other care-givers have reminded me that I am on sick leave only from my job. They recommend that I keep doing all of my free time activities just like before."
     
When recovery sets in, the everyday life of someone on sick leave is not a satisfactory life for an active person.
      "In the early stages, retirement seemed to be the only option. But at this moment things are the other way around. I feel like I must go to work tomorrow, but naturally I need to wait for my condition to stabilise."
      "I am a guy who is only 51 years old, and very work-oriented. Somehow I think that I would like to keep busy for another ten years."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.8.2004

More on this subject:
 FACTFILE: Politically non-aligned agricultural expert

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Employers federation merger not endangered by sudden illness of TT head (26.9.2003)

JYRKI IIVONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
jyrki.iivonen@hs.fi