It is no secret that the stronger I am before surgery, the stronger I will be post surgery. To think of all the work, work outs that I have done trying to stay in shape. Working my lungs with cardiac exercises, the conditioning and the strength training. Now when I need to do these things the most is when I have the least energy. Yes, that does make sense due to the progression of this disease but it stinks. I could never let all that work go in vein so I started pulmonary therapy when I realized that I could no longer play volleyball. Playing volleyball with two oxygen tanks took a lot of coordination and strength. When the two tanks could not deliver my needs I knew it was time to quit (temporarily of course!) Ironically enough, as I think about it now, it was shortly afterward that I started using oxygen 24/7. So I guess I did get the best bang for my buck as far as oxygen goes. :)
I go to pulmonary rehab three times a week and I can only do 26 to 30 min of cardio but guess what? I do 26 to 30 min of cardio! I know am transitioning back to as much raw, healthy, nutritional foods. Life happened and I fell off the "raw foods" wagon. I am really just trying to get back to being vegetarian. I have been enjoying seafood. Some times I can do these things overnight and other times it is a transition. I have not given up my green smoothies though. These I enjoy almost daily. I feel that if I can eat mostly vegetables perhaps that will get my energy levels up some so that I can move around more. I have become too sedentary. I live my life avoiding oxygen deprivation and avoiding coughing.
Besides I have a few 5K's to run after my surgery. My nurse and I are running the Donor 5K in Philadelphia next year, I have a 5K in Puerto Rico in honor of my cousin. There are three more that I have planned with friends. I have a lot of training to do but first I need to upgrade my equipment.
