Thursday 8 January 2015

Back to treadmill room!

I started back in the treadmill room today! The floor physiotherapist decided that I was ready to start up again to which I was more than willingly to agree. Sometimes it's nice when the hospital is giant and all the programs are under the same roof.

I'm ready to get some of my muscles back. I was so excited to get my green card (reminder: yellow-pretransplant, green-posttransplant), it was actually a little scary how happy it made me. Even with everything I've been through, somehow holding the green card made the fact that I made it/am making it through transplant so much more real.

Yay green sheet!
They don't want me to do anything in the upper area yet due to the wound so I walked slowly on the treadmill for 20 min and did some leg weights (a whole 3lb!). It felt so good to be back exercising. I walked for 20 min and my stats didn't drop below 95%. And I may have coughed three times.

At the time it didn't feel like I did much but writing this out, I now appreciate how different it is from before. It's like I've already taken for granted the fact that I don't cough every time I exert myself slightly or feel fatigued or sit around. The exercise wasn't strenuous in any way but it was enough to make me feel as though I'll sleep well tonight.

I totally understand why everyone else post-transplant was annoyingly chipper and all they talked about was how good they felt. Because it feels so good to be able to walk for 20 min and not get short of breath. You just want to tell everyone else to "work as hard as possible now!" and "don't give up!" Or I would if I were the type of person who started conversations with other people. I'll just send them the message telepathically.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful news, Alley! The last line made me laugh, you are so funny.
Karen.

Sue said...

what a great color - green! yay for you... it's been a journey ( still is) but the look on your face in that photo tells it all! be giddily happy - you've earned the right ... congrats!

Anonymous said...

Yay for the green card and the explanation. So glad things are moving on and you are moving closer to getting out of there, you are a true fighter!
Onward and upward
Kaye Birnie
cf mom

Unknown said...

Reading how great you are feeling makes me so happy. Now if I get Matt back to the gym . Keep up the great work

Unknown said...

Hurray for the green card!!!

Sharon Fawcett said...

Congratulations on all of the progress you are making, Alley! Perhaps this is a bit premature, but you may soon want to start training for the Canadian Transplant Games as they are coming up in Toronto in 2016. (They were held in Moncton last summer.) As a transplant recipient, you are eligible to participate! But, I think you have to ditch that walker. :)

http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2014/07/25/toronto_will_host_next_canadian_transplant_games_in_2016.html