Crash Cart Glossary

ACT: Anti Coagulation Therapy

Why stay in shape?

There are a lot of good reasons to stay healthy and stay in shape, but the ultimate decision to follow that kind of a lifestyle is a personal one. We all have to have a personal reason or reasons to follow a course of action. It's very much the old adage about getting therapy, joining AA, getting help for hoarding and the like: before you can get help you have to want to be helped.

For me there are a number of reasons that I want to stay in good shape as well as get in even better shape. The main one being, after going through a second operation, and as many complications and issues as I had post-op, being in pretty decent shape helped a lot. At the same time, I definitely could see the limits placed on my body by the shape I was already in; more flexibility, less body fat, and more lean muscle would have helped recovery even more. Waking up one day about a month and a half after surgery, and realizing I had lost about 18 or so lbs (about 8 kilo), and not that much of it was really muscle to begin with....it was enlightening, to say the least.

Another thing that stood out in my hospital stay, were all the heart patients on my floor who were obese or there for lifestyle related heart issues: blocked arteries, heart attacks, bypasses, stents, the list goes on. Having been through 2 separate OHS and going through rehab again now, just reinforced the fact that I do not want to go through that type of surgery ever again. Sure, technology is improving and they're getting less invasive every year, but having had a "minimally invasive" heart catheterization a week or so pre-op, I don't even want that again. Ever. Trust me, if you've never had to have one, be glad. All of these procedures suck on some level. If you can avoid them by choosing a lifestyle that gives you the best chance of staying out of hospital, then why not? I'd rather take my chances on staying out rather than having to rely again on my chances once I'm inside an OR.

Rehab update....

Well, so far, so good. Have been rehabbing per doctors orders, with swimming every second day, with an increase of 5 laps each time. Had a break of a week and a half, which was due to travel, but even then I was walking pretty much every day, all day, as I was playing the tourist (Paris and Stockholm are very pedestrian friendly cities) so, while not the same as swimming, I was pretty happy with how I held up, given the number of miles that were walked as well as suffering the cramped economy class (6'3" or approx 190cm doesn't make for the most comfortable of trips in those seats, at this stage of post-op) at various portions of the trip.

Happy with my weight too; when we travel, a lot of us, myself included, may tend to eat more, and eat more of the wrong foods. Luckily a) there was tons of walking, and b) the portion sizes in Europe are far smaller than in the US, so an entree/main course + dessert + glass of wine, doesn't destroy your calorie/kcal count for the day. Still I put on almost 1.5-2 lbs (almost 1 kg) which was a little disappointing, although not unexpected. Body fat is still around 19-20% so that hasn't changed much, and hopefully once the rehab gets into full swing, I'll start to put some muscle back on. 

Anyway, off to the gym.

Prison Quality Fitness: Learning to swim...again.

 

Well, today was the first day back in the gym. Limited to only 10 laps of non-vigorous swimming, but, hey, a start is a start. Swimming felt pretty good, although my left arm is still gimped up, and could barely manage the overarm stroke in freestyle. Breaststroke was easier, but the chest felt a little sore and tight muscle-wise. 10 laps went by fast, and even doing most of them via freestyle, still didn't feel the heart rate raise too much. Actually was surprised at how good the heart felt- it was  the rest of the body that seemed to give out on me.

Have to take a break of at least one day between swimming per my cardiologist, with an addition of up to 5 laps at each session, so lets see how this goes.

Just Sayings

"It's not how hard you can hit; it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

-Rocky

Week 10 post-op update

Well, went in to see my cardiologist today, and the news is pretty good: I'm finally cleared to easing back into the gym. Nothing too dramatic, mostly swimming to begin with, and he wants me to avoid consecutive days of exercise at this point. Basically, the typical post-op credo: don't overdo it. Pleased to say I've stuck with that 99% of the time, although it's been borderline stir-crazy here, sitting around, slowly getting better. On the flip-side though, I've seen and read about too many people who have gone overboard in doing too much way too soon, and the problems that have been the result. Of course you have the inspirational stories about people like the US soldier who ran/swam/biked a triathlon around 5 months post-op from aortic valve replacement. Impressive, but atypical. Most of us, even the fitter, younger ones, and especially the ones who have had re-operations, are more likely to have a longer recovery curve. Frustrating, but beats popping wires, clicking sternums, and going into a-fib. 

That being said, tomorrow is the first step on my plan to get build some prison quality fitness into this body. 

Slowly and responsibly of course......