Diagnosis
Well at 58 and what I thought was reasonable shape to have had a Heart Attack, although mild, required stent emplacement and a 3 Day stay in the hospital has sort of turned my little world all around. I have been a pretty active sort all my life, fishing, target shooting, camping, Kayaking, and having fun outdoors has been what I pretty much lived for.
Now all of these things are on the back burner, as it were and have been replaced by having to quit smoking cigarettes, something that has been a part of my day for over 46 years. I have determined that I will do it, my last cigarette was at 2:30AM on the way to the Quick Care Center to check out what I thought was a flare up of Arthritis Pain in the middle of my back. After an EKG and Troponin Blood test I was shuffled off to the University Medical Center down the street and admitted diagnosed with a heart attack.
After getting a stent emplacement, a room in CCU and hooked up to the equipment, I acquired a Nicotine Transdermal Patch along with several other medications, blood tests and other niceties. I never really thought much about quitting, I rather enjoyed it as a life long habit. But having it be the habit that put an end to my life is much more than I had bargained for. I had the Cardiologist add the "Patch" to my list of prescriptions when I got out of the hospital. It has made not smoking bearable but the habit of reaching for one is still there. I try to circumvent this by looking for things for my hands to be doing other than holding onto the cigarette, taking a few deep breaths and thinking about other things like, how much money I will be saving, how much better off I will be, that sort of thing. I will succeed at this, I am a stubborn old cuss if nothing else.
The list of exercises provided by the University Medical Center is pretty basic stuff. In my job I usually lifted stuff up to 75 pounds and lugged it around, dragging a dolly load of stuff up to 500 pounds up and down ramps and inclines was an everyday thing. My Kayak weighs 56 pounds bare, it got carried out to and tossed up on the roof of my truck/camper for transportation to the lake and back. These are things that I never really gave a whole lot of consideration to, now, looking at the rather easy set of exercises that I will be starting on Monday to aid in my recovery seems to be a bit underdone. But I will do them as written, complete the entire series, the numbers of repetitions by the week and continue on with it by going to the University Medical Centers gym out fitted with cardiac monitors for the full six month program. That is the only hope that I have to get back on top of my Mountain Bike and Kayak to do the things that I like to do best.
Now all of these things are on the back burner, as it were and have been replaced by having to quit smoking cigarettes, something that has been a part of my day for over 46 years. I have determined that I will do it, my last cigarette was at 2:30AM on the way to the Quick Care Center to check out what I thought was a flare up of Arthritis Pain in the middle of my back. After an EKG and Troponin Blood test I was shuffled off to the University Medical Center down the street and admitted diagnosed with a heart attack.
After getting a stent emplacement, a room in CCU and hooked up to the equipment, I acquired a Nicotine Transdermal Patch along with several other medications, blood tests and other niceties. I never really thought much about quitting, I rather enjoyed it as a life long habit. But having it be the habit that put an end to my life is much more than I had bargained for. I had the Cardiologist add the "Patch" to my list of prescriptions when I got out of the hospital. It has made not smoking bearable but the habit of reaching for one is still there. I try to circumvent this by looking for things for my hands to be doing other than holding onto the cigarette, taking a few deep breaths and thinking about other things like, how much money I will be saving, how much better off I will be, that sort of thing. I will succeed at this, I am a stubborn old cuss if nothing else.
The list of exercises provided by the University Medical Center is pretty basic stuff. In my job I usually lifted stuff up to 75 pounds and lugged it around, dragging a dolly load of stuff up to 500 pounds up and down ramps and inclines was an everyday thing. My Kayak weighs 56 pounds bare, it got carried out to and tossed up on the roof of my truck/camper for transportation to the lake and back. These are things that I never really gave a whole lot of consideration to, now, looking at the rather easy set of exercises that I will be starting on Monday to aid in my recovery seems to be a bit underdone. But I will do them as written, complete the entire series, the numbers of repetitions by the week and continue on with it by going to the University Medical Centers gym out fitted with cardiac monitors for the full six month program. That is the only hope that I have to get back on top of my Mountain Bike and Kayak to do the things that I like to do best.