We Resolve...

01Jan 

We will make no new resolutions for the New Year...we will however, resolve to continue to make our way to The Treadmill Room 3 times per week and execute the pre-transplant workout to the best of our ability. We know this preparation will serve Carman well when his turn for transplant arrives. All the data shows that the patient's pre-transplant fitness has a huge impact on post-transplant recovery and resumption of daily activities.

Carman will: bike (15min), stop to rest & catch his breath, do gentle stretches, do arm curls & tricep pull downs (10#) balance & resistance training with ankle weights (5#), stop & catch his breath, complete 10 squats while holding 4# free weights, sit and catch his breath (these are especially challenging), ascend & descend a set of 2 stairs 10 reps leading with each leg, sit and catch his breath (these are the most challenging item on his workout), walk the tread for 20 min at a speed of 2.2 mph, sit and catch his breath, move to chairs for 5 min and then check and note his resting sats before leaving for the day. All the while he is trying to keep his sats above 90% 

Pamela will: glove up and retrieve weights and return them to the stand, coach Carman on his form to ensure he is getting maximum lung expansion and benefit from the weights; untangle and move O2 tubing from spigot to stroller to spigot as he does his circuit around the room, wipe each piece of equipment with Virox sheets after use; check pulse oximeters for his sats and heart rate, record rates & reps, refill O2 strollers, fetch tissues & waste bins, photograph triumphant moments and help our other Breathless Buddies who brave Physio without a support person to assist them (and summon a Therapist at any sign of extreme fatigue, breathlessness or sats dropping below 88%).

Our PT has told us she is very pleased by what Carman is doing and that he should be proud of his hard work. He has a hard time with this part - a man who was leg pressing 400-500 lbs with his trainer at the gym in Aug 2011.

This is life with a chronic, untreatable disease. It slowly and surely robs you of the things you never used to think about, you just did them.

Things like:

• showering while standing up
• drying off without having to rest between body parts
• getting dressed without having to rest between the shirt and the jeans
• brushing your teeth without feeling like you’ve just run a marathon when you finish
• talking on the phone without having to hang up because you’re coughing and can no longer talk
• walking to the kitchen to refill your own coffee cup, without feeling out of breath
• going out - anywhere - without becoming exhausted just getting to the car
• breathing room air without turning blue

We resolve to work together, to plan and perform daily activities in such a way as to limit the exhaustion factor. Three times weekly we will follow our routine of seeking out our friends in the Treadmill Room, doing our work there and then heading to Starbucks for a treat (to celebrate the good work Carman has done). Some of these celebrations will be private dates for just the two of us and many will be with our Breathless Buddies and their support people. Juan knows our order now. If he sees either of us in the line, he’ll raise a cup, tap it with his marker until we give then nod and then get our order started - before we’re even at the till. A simple pleasure gained from a random act of kindness. Thank you Juan!

As for today...my sister Paula has arrived for a visit and an introduction to the Treadmill Room when we head back there on Thursday. She wants to meet Jessica, but for now, will just get acquainted with Griffin who is visiting again. Tomorrow we’ll visit Jess at TGH...

Paula & Me, enroute from the airport to our condo

The introductions go well

Griffin seems unconcerned that Paula will
cause any trouble

Carman was so excited that Paula was coming
he decided to cook dinner!