CARDIAC REHAB FOR THE RELUCTANT AT HEART

Cardiac rehab first response?

“Not for me, thank you very much.”

Second response? “I looked around, it’s nice. But no, I’m good.”

Third response?

This post is dedicated to the hardworking men and women of Legacy Meridian Park Hospital Cardiac Rehab.

You do good work. And then some. First, about the work:

I showed up there after spending overnight in the ICU when an eventful day apparently overwhelmed my ability to handle my shit.

Broke my heart a little bit. No, literally broke it out, but not broken down.

Since I’ve got that going form me, I quit the cardiac rehab gym after the first week.

During my exit interview:

“This is about establishing a baseline of stress response, David. It’s better to know how you respond here. And I’d like to see that blood pressure go down.”

I stayed for two months after that pep talk.

Thinking About Gym Manners For Cardiac Rehab

I’ve broken a sweat in more gyms than I can remember, but somewhere around ten.

They all have common characteristics, and characters.

There’s always someone louder than the rest. If you’re lucky, they’re also funny and smart.

That guy was in the rehab gym, so I knew it might get lively.

Most of the people are who you’d expect, a cross section brought together by circumstances.

It’s like a train station, except without the “Where are you going” part.

I started with, “What are you in for?”

“95% blocked widow maker.”

You found it during a check-up?

“I felt it during my son’s memorial service.”

As a father, I was sad to hear this.

If I had been quicker I would have said his son saved his life.

Because he did.

Competitive Heart

Every gym has the ‘hard worker.’

They’re either lifetime gym rats kicking ass as usual, fitness converts who have never felt the power of their body, or those running from the fat man or woman chasing them.

That guy was in the cardiac rehab gym doing everything harder than anyone else.

No, it wasn’t me. I held it on the ‘moderate’ side. My goal was to regain confidence, which no one really talks about. We all want a confident, competent, heart.

Trusting your ankle after a sprain, your elbow after a dislocation, a heart after it’s healed, all takes time.

I talked running with a runner, MMA with a grappler, and heckled the loud guy because isn’t being loud a cry for attention?

Heckling was as good as I could do. Not ‘bully-heckling’ but fun, which is what bullies like to say.

The hard worker was too busy to engage.

The guy was jogging up a steep incline while I pumped pedals nice and easy.

Gym Boss Nurse talked to him beside the treadmill, then returned to her monitoring desk.

She asked him to warm down. He did what pitchers and quarterbacks do when they get pulled.

One throws their glove, one throws their helmet, and the hard worker threw the safety clip that turns the machine off if you fall down.

He got benched and he was pissed. This is when the staff who do the work goes to ‘and then some.’

From the bike I was on I couldn’t hear, but what I saw was like a historical silent movie of human kindness and caring.

It was Florence Nightingale holding a lamp, Clara Barton with a Civil War soldier. Most of all it was making a connection to the future and how to get there.

We’ve all met women of character, women who help you understand where you are, women who make us believe them when they took into our eyes and say, “You will get past this.”

Because you will.

Those are the men and women of Legacy Meridian Park Cardiac Rebab.

When they tell you how to get past this, it’s best to listen.