Today was another gym day. I’ve decided to start calling Cardiac Rehabilitation “the gym.” It sounds so much less heart-patienty, doesn’t it? It’s 3 days a week for 12 weeks, then presumably I continue afterward at some other gym that doesn’t wire you to heart monitors and take your blood pressure 3 times per visit.…
Taking a little break from writing about heart stuff. Here’s one of my favorite places… After walking across the border from China into Lao Cai, a border town in northwest Vietnam, it was a fairly short trip to the “frontier town” of Sapa. Sapa (or Sa Pa) is the capital of the Sa Pa District…
Apparently stress is not very good for you. I’d certainly heard that before but never really put much stock in it. It would probably sound crazy to say I liked stress or I enjoyed having a lot of stress in my life, but I guess I kind of did. I was good at it. If…
At cardiac rehab today, I was pedaling through imaginary Tuscany or rural Ireland on the recumbent bicycle when Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal started playing on the clinic’s iPod speakers. I was immediately flashed back to my pre-law school job at Coventry Health Care and my awesome friend Susie.* Hearing no more than the opening beat,…
I really had no idea how frustrating Injured Reserve is. Even if it is a temporary situation, which ohmydeargods I hope it is, it is excruciating. I’ve grown weary of getting winded when I climb the stairs to go to my bedroom or the bathroom; I feel useless that I can’t even do the dishes…
Today I had my first visit to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic. Though I had been looking forward to going since I was still in the hospital, the reality of going *right now* had me extremely agitated. The Buddhist, who I need to repeat has been amazingly supportive through all this, had taken the day off…
My husband made a statement pretty early on in this recovery process that’s become an aphorism we say to each other on a fairly regular basis now. It’s a simple truth: Heart Attacks aren’t Magic. I know this may sound like a very obvious statement, but you kind of expect them to be. A major…
It’ll be a while before I have time to organize and publish most of the photos and travel stories I want to share. In the mean time, here are some of my favorite pictures from visiting the monkeys in Nagano, Japan.
Dear Bah-Kaboo* and Wisteria,* Forgive my delay in responding to your recent voice message serenade in honor of my birthday. It was timely, lovely and very much appreciated. As I’ve often noted, you ladies really do have dulcet, melodious voices that are genuinely agreeable to hear. I regret to inform you, however, that while your…
Since my recent heart attack, my diet has been severely restricted by the combination of the low fat/low salt changes you would expect, but also by the myriad food interactions that can occur with my laundry list of medications. Added to the mix is that I am vegetarian – well, pescatarian… I do occasionally eat…
