Hi all

Today I come with a bit of a burden. My father has just had a minor Heart Attach. Apparently it started last evening, but he didn’t say anything to my Mom about his symptoms until after 11AM this morning. She did the appropriate thing and called 911 right away and got him to the hospital. The heart enzymes show there is some disturbance and muscle damage. He is in for the night ... I got him a few books from the library so at least he has something to do. He is 70 and a very heavy smoker. Weight is not an issue in his case as he is only 140lbs (likely underweight for him but right about were I should be).

Needless to say I did not get today’s (day 14) weight workout in after school as planned, but I did get my cardio in last night (day 13) on the treadmill.

I will write a bit about my day yesterday at the Ontario Provincial Swimming Championships for 2 of the swimmers on my team at a later time.

oh my goodness..i’m so sorry about him and i hope he gets better....i’m on my day 7 and i’m using today to rest after all my muscles are a little achey...i will have him in my prayers…

Cathrine, sending good thoughts to your dad, he’ll make a quick recovery!

shawn - 05 March 2008 10:57 PM

Cathrine, sending good thoughts to your dad, he’ll make a quick recovery!

concur...hope he feels better soon.  Hope your hanging in there too.

Good luck for your father. At least in the hospital he’ll be monitored.

Hope your dad is feeling better and home soon.

Take care
Kev

So sorry to hear about your Dad.  I’m glad he did finally tell your Mom about it and got to the hospital.  I wish him a speedy recovery.  Take care.

Hey there, Catherine:

Sorry to hear about your father.  It may feel like a bit of a burden but actually may be a good thing in terms of this being a turning point in terms of recovery and the Life and lives lived. 

Positive thoughts your way - definitely!!

Hi All - thanks so much for your well wishes for my Dad.

Although the doctors seemed to be down playing it yesterday they are giving him the works and keeping him in. They tried to send him for angiography this afternoon, but the co-ordination (transportation to another hospital required) fell through and he is going first thing tomorrow morning and then possibly angioplasty depending on the results. I am worried that he may end up having to have surgery, but there has been no talk of that yet.

I took some time this afternoon to go see him between classes and I’m very glad I did. When I went back this evening with my Mom, we arrived just as smoke was found somewhere on the main floor of the hospital. The security guard would not let us in and we stood around outside in the cold and watched as 3 fire trucks arrived and several fire men went in - a while later few came out - 1 truck left - another truck arrived and several more fire men went in. Seems a bit odd. Nobody seemed to much in a hurry and it didn’t look like they were evacuating people out, just not letting more in (although some idiots tried and snuck in). We waited till the end of visiting hours to see if we could get up, but in the end we had to settle for talking with my Dad on the phone.

He is in good spirits and taking it as it comes, though I am not convinced that he has accepted that he may have to make some big changes (i.e. quitting smoking). I also warned him about staying on any medication they put him on. He already has rheumatoid arthritis and takes several medications to manage that. A few months ago he decided he was feeling good and maybe he didn’t need it and stopped taking his pills for a while. Well guess what - he had a big flair up, where his joints swelled and he was quite uncomfortable for several days. I wonder if there is any connection to that and now this, but it is just a thought I have no real idea if one has to do with the other.

Again thanks for the well wishes - any prayers are appreciated.

On another note I wanted to share a bit about my experience at OFSAA Swimming (Ontario Provincial Championships for High School) this past Tuesday. I had two girls qualify. Kate for 200 free and 100 fly and Jenny for 50 fly. (Fictitious names for Internet purposes.) Kate was in the competitive category against other club swimmers, however she has only been training with the school team this year. She still did well, but was unfortunately jerked around by the rules of the event. Without going into the details of what happened she placed 10th (but if things had been done properly she should have placed 7th or 8th!) in the 200 free and 12th in the 100 fly. Jenny placed 14th for her event. The winner of Kate’s second event, the 100 fly actually broke the Canadian National Record for the event, two times in a row. 1:00.70 during the prelims and then broke her own record in the afternoon in the finals 1:00.40!! Quite spectacular. For those of you non swimming folk that is 1 minute and 4 tents of a second for 100 metres of Butterfly stroke.

Finally, Day 15

I did get my workout in today after school. I did what I was going to do yesterday - my “front body” routine. Today was the first time doing it on my own since I went through it on Sunday with my trainer. Some of the new exercises are tough - like reverse crunches - I really feel those - but I want to get rid of my belly so I love doing them. I also have not mastered lunges yet. I am still doing stationary ones. But as I get stronger they should become easier, then he will change them up on me to make them tougher still. I can’t wait to get to real lunges.

I am so glad that I have already started down this path to getting fit considering where my Dad is right now. I think I would be more stressed and upset about my weight if I wasn’t already on the move and going in the right direction. Thanks so much for all the support.

Catherine, I hope your father’s condition improves and that he WILL make some life changes.  I am very proud of you for sticking to your resolve.  The truth of the matter is that life DOES get in the way!  When I get blown off course a little, it can be hard to get back to the swing of things.  But you are doing that. Good for you!

Glad to hear your dad is ok and I hope he listens this time!Good job on the workout Cathrine!

Day 16 - Did my Day 2- Back Body weight workout.  Felt a bit tired and the first two sets were tough to get through, but the last two weren’t so bad.  I’m feeling it in the abs after doing the reverse crunches yesterday - I know I worked them hard!

Dad Update - today my dad had the angiogram and he had a 90% blockage in the artery at the front of his heart.  He had the angioplasty late in the afternoon and he should be released tomorrow.  He expects to be back to his normal life quickly… I’m not so sure.  Has anyone else had any experience in dealing with someone’s recovery after a heart attack - What can I expect?  Thanks in advance for any advice.

Good job Cathrine, wish I could give you advice, but I don’t know anything about the subject.

Hi all

Yesterday (day 17) was another rest day… I think the week caught up to me and I was feeling particularly tired. I went with my mom to pick up my dad from the hospital early in the morning (7am on a Saturday!!) She wanted to be sure to catch the cardiologist… who because of the snow decided not to come in so we only ended up seeing the pharmacist who went over all the new medications my dad has to take now. He also has to change some other things, though he still has not willingly agreed to quit smoking. For now he can’t drive so we still have a bit of control over him for at least the next week. One of his room mates in the hospital who went through the same procedure got more of a health scare than my dad. He is younger and had two stents put in (dad only had one) and is much more resolved to quit. I got them to exchange numbers before we left so maybe they can communicate and be a support for one another. We had him home and settled about 11am. After finishing digging out their driveway and stairs from this latest storm I went and had a long nap. And I still managed to sleep 9 hours last night too.
I’m glad this week is March Break. We don’t want to leave him home alone for now, so I can spend to time at home to let my mom get out and do some of her normal activities.

I am still feeling a sluggish today (day 18), but got 50 minutes of LSB in after dinner. I think today’s dragging had to do with not eating consistently. I am now having good breakfasts most mornings, but I don’t alway get a quality lunch, so my energy lags.

I will have to be flexible in my workouts this week since I don’t have access to the school. But on a positive note I may be getting a free short term pass to a GoodLife gym. I visited a few weeks ago to check out a location I hadn’t been to before (I used to have a membership a few years ago at a smaller location), and one of the sales people left a message on Friday wanting to get me to come back in. Of course I will take advantage of the offer, but I don’t need a membership just yet, but I will when I my current contract is up at the school and I have to find another position.

Cathrine glad to hear your dad is at home and you have the time to take care of him, take care of yourself!

Thanks Shawn… things are getting back to normal. Dad still laying low and taking it easy, but my mom and I are able to go about our activities with a bit of co-ordination, so that one of us is always in the house.

Day 19 - I was able to get that free pass for GoodLife today. I can go for free for the week. That works out awesome. So I will be getting full workouts in this week after all!! Yea. Today I spent almost 2 hours working out. I did my front body routine - had to figure out a few different machines and alter a few exercises because they only had dumbbells in the women’s area and no barbells, but I got a through workout in. I did another 1/2 hour on the elliptical after. Burned over 1200 calories according to my HR monitor.

I have been noticing that my knees are a bit achy after using the treadmill more so than from the various leg exercises I do (squats, lunges, leg extensions and curls etc) and was starting to think that maybe walking is not the best. Especially after reading a few other people’s threads. The sales rep at the gym confirmed my suspicions without me even asking when I was filling out the release form and it required me to list any limitations and I listed my low back and to be careful of my knees. He immediately commented that I should use the elliptical over the treadmill - so I guess I should try to limit my walking. I find it easier to get my HR up on the elliptical anyway so I get a more intense workout. During my 1/2 hour today I had it in the high 140’s to low 150’s. On the treadmill I usually only get it into the 130’s. I know I could be going faster and/or at a higher incline, but I find 2.5 - 3 mph a comfortable walking pace and I use an incline of 5. Does anyone have any ideas of how the degree of incline affects the knees? Thanks.

Great workout Cathrine, Think about this, when you are walking on an incline your weight is more on your as your body is forward.

was that supposed to be - more on my “knees”?  as my body is forward???  Thanks again

Sorry for not being clear, your weight is not centered on your knees, it’s more in front?

I am so glad that your dad is home.  I hope that your example will encourage him to make MAJOR life changes.  I agree that the elliptical is less wear and tear on your knees.  And the fact that is gets the hr up higher makes it so much more efficient!