So in order to have an LVRS surgery a person must qualify, did I mention that before? You have to be able to handle the surgery because it is very hard on the body, or so I am told. I have also seen and heard of those that are completely prepared, only to be sent home because they are 1) too old, 2) too young, 3) not sick enough 4) they are too sick and the surgeons feel that the surgery will not benefit them or 5) the damage is in the wrong area of their lungs, 6) they are too overweight, or underweight (which account for the being healthy enough to withstand the surgery). And I am sure that there are many other reasons such as not having COPD emphysema, and/or having other medical issues that would impede the healing or get in the way of the surgery itself as it might for any surgical procedure.
In order to be accepted a person must be in the best shape possible. Of course the surgeons understand the course of this disease and that usually a long period of time passes as a person declines in health, their lung capacity diminishing year after year long before they are actually diagnosed, many like me diagnosed with asthma for years prior to graduating to emphysema status. Naturally as they decline, so does their body, and as their body declines so does their ability to do the daily things they were accustomed to day by day, year by year, until they become house bound and car bound, barely able to move around without becoming winded. It is a terrible thing to see, much less endure.
I have seen it on more than one occasion, and I have lived it, too. I have hiked, biked, rode horses, water skied, and been very active only to end up feeling like a blob, unable to walk very far without becoming completely incapacitated.
One of the requirements for surgery (in addition to fitting into the criteria above) is to be a recent graduate of Pulmonary Rehabilitation…… Pulmonary Rehab consists of classroom instruction and physical exercise in a wholly supported environment. The respiratory therapist and instructors are the most supportive group of individuals and I feel extremely lucky to be there. I consider Pulmonary Rehab to be a whole body, mind and life style altering course. Classes cover that lifestyle change and it has a lot to do with acceptance that our lives will never be 100% again. But we learn that we can still do things and we learn to make the most of what we do, and alter our lifestyles to enable that to happen for us. And we exercise, like crazy, if we are in the planning stage for an LVRS. Even if we are not planning for surgery, being fit helps everything in the body work better. So we get fit, any way possible. Luckily for me, my Rehab is held at our local hospital which just so happens to be brand spanking new and everything is beautiful! After completing pulmonary rehab, we are then allowed to join a program at the hospital (in the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Wellness Center) for a very good rate, and we can continue with our exercise program indefinitely. For me this is wonderful because it is my nature to abhor exercise.
My facebook opening statement that accompanies my name says: “If you want me to exercise you had better have diamonds sprinkled on the floor below me…..”
I think that pretty well describes my attitude about exercise. And as far as jogging, I have always been quick to say “If you see me running you can be sure that I am running away from something.” I do not run for fun. I run from things.
I have always been that way. I do not jog because I value my knees, and in the past will opt to swim miles if necessary rather than jogging. I would rather ride a bike for miles, than jog.
There are 2 basic reasons I do not jog. One comes from deep in the South Pacific islands where a friend (a local islander) mentioned once that American tourists would come to visit their island, and these locals just couldn’t understand why it was that those folks had so many invisible spirits chasing them! That was good enough for me.
The second reason I do not jog, is very simple: I have never seen a single person jogging that appears to be having a good time, not a smile to be seen, unless they know they are having their picture taken. (See below, click on the image.)
They look like they are in great pain, pushing their bodies to the very edge, ready to collapse. They run in place at signals they get all sweaty and bend over looking like they are about to vomit. How can this be good for a person? They look half dead or dying. And what happens? The very next day they go back and do it again, and they even feel ill if they do not do it……That, in itself is an indicator to me that there is an addiction present!
Up until August of last year I felt the same way about treadmills. People walk on rubber to nowhere. Why?
Now I know. I walk on a treadmill every single time I work out. I use it to wake my body up, a warming up before I get down to the exercise machines. I still do not like the treadmill, no way. It is a disgusting having to walk on a rolling mat….But at least it is not jogging! I set a countdown timer because I am so reward driven. When I finish the treadmill I reward myself on the other machines, which I do like.
In my gym once a person graduates from Pulmonary rehab, in order to stay fit we must continuosly exercise. The exercise program is called SEP or Supervised Exercise program. We can go in any time we choose from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm as many times per week as we want and we have access to any of the machines and any class instruction that they offer, like Tai Chi, Yoga, Chair Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais, Qigong, and several balance classes (this array of classes caters to the Cardio Pulmonary patients and the ilk like me.
I started Pulmonary Rehab on Sep 15, 2011 and graduated November 3, 2011. I went directly into the SEP program a week later on Nov 10, and have been there ever since, 2 times per week. I have made my own routines always starting on that damned treadmill, to warm up, then directly to the NuStep. After the NuStep I venture out into the other machines, changing up, each time. Sometimes, I use a leg press, sometimes a pull down reverse military press (not sure what it is called) and sometimes I use a core building weight machine. I also use a recumbent bike machine occasionally, and also free weights. I like to push my limits a little bit. Then I stretch.
It is now January 2012, I am awaiting a call from the surgeons to drive up to Washington to confer with them about surgery. I have been working out since August 2011 (5 months!!!).
So a couple of nights ago, I shook my arm and suddenly realized that my flab isn’t there! I asked my husband, where’s my flab. I flexed my bicep and tricep, and proudly said “Look no flab! I have muscle tone!”
Then it dawned on me that maybe I had burned it off! I was in bed when I noticed this. Oh, I realized that by holding my arm straight upward, all my flab had sunk back into my shoulder! HA! No wonder I didn’t see it or feel it wagging…. It had fallen back on to me!
The next morning I flexed in the mirror…There is was, I still had some dimples in my biceps. Dimples as in cellulite. Only a couple but it was still present. I am a lot more toned though! So that is good.
I have joined a group called Better Breathers Club. The Better Breathers Club is actually a nationwide club system, (most cities have them locally), and we meet once a month. This month we had a nice meeting and the 2nd half was spent in a sample class of Chair Yoga.
This chair Yoga had been recommended to me in the past, because of my weakened state, and as a great introduction to yoga, which is very beneficial to folks with COPD. It was great, and what I liked the best about it, was that it ended with a short meditation.
I need that meditation, because after exercising even though I stretch and relax for a while, quite often I am still SOB. I have had issues with some high blood pressure and one of the breathing techniques we were taught helps to lower blood pressure. The day after the chair yoga introductory, I worked out, and I used the breathing technique, and found my blood pressure lowered! I decided to try taking the chair yoga class, thinking that this is the best way to get some good stretching non invasive and not too strenuous exercise.
So this morning, because the class is early, I came to the gym even earlier than that and did my workout at 9:00AM (oh boy, that’s early for me), figuring I would do my hour of workout, stretch and then go directly into chair yoga, which would give me a slower workout and finish me with a meditation, which sounded perfect for my system.
I found a full tank of Oxygen, I had a brand new cannula, and I got to work….for an hour, then I stretched, and walked down the hall to the class that had just started, and opened the door. I was welcomed in and the teacher set me up with a mat on the floor. Hmm; and I joined in. We were stretching all over the place and I felt things moving in my body, muscles that hadn’t moved in years and I thought to myself “Sheesh, maybe I bit off more than I could chew,” but I kept going...because I am no quitter~!
I could tell that once I was used to this I would get better, and all the women in the group had been in the class for a long time and while I was in my first class I could tell that I would become more limber as time would pass. I sweated, phew, and got some workout, though I did not push myself too hard. The teacher took into account that I have had a cervical fusion and tailored my mat to accommodate this. I had my feet in the air with a ball between them. I rocked on my hips side to side, stretched and attempted to hold my feet in the air while lifting my head…..
At the end of the class, I was waiting for the cool down meditation, but instead of that we did stretching of the right side and then the left sides of our bodies. We balanced. Then the teacher said, Ok that’s it. Hmmmm odd.
One of the women walked around collecting the balls, I rolled up my mat as the other women were doing. And the teacher asked me, “So how did you like the class?” And I answered “well other than discovering a bunch of muscles I forgot I had, it was fine. But I miss the meditation.”
The women looked at each other….And the teacher looked at me and said “Meditation?”
Yes, I said, at Better Breathers Club, we finished with the meditation. I could hear some chuckling beginning.
oh boy.....
Now me, not being a quitter, I stayed an additional hour and participated in Chair Yoga.
I was sore for 3 days afterward!
Now me, not being a quitter, I stayed an additional hour and participated in Chair Yoga.
I was sore for 3 days afterward!
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why?
