Day Two At Rehab

Sore as I was, I made it through another day at rehab. My blood pressure went down, and my O2 sats were good, and for that I'm thankful. It was a good session and I hung out longer than I needed to, having good conversation with the other participants and Rose. Between machines we hang out at a round table catching our breath and talk about COPD, oxygen and all sorts of things.

I did learn that Audrey, a 12 year old who has cystic fibrosis, is still on the list for a transplant. I met her last year while attending pulmonary rehab and was blown away by her courage and spirit. Since I've seen her, she has declined somewhat and is now on 8L of oxygen during the day and 10L at night with a Bi-Pap. She's been on the tx list for 4 years because the only state that her insurance will allow is her home state. She has been ok'd for a live donor lobe transplant, with her mom and a teacher as donors, but the doctors won't do it until she absolutely needs it (so as not to put 3 people at risk at the same time). So she goes to school and still attends rehab and still is smiling.

When I first got to rehab today, I had to sit a bit to catch my breath. I had to park farther away and it took a toll. BP: 168/78 Pulse: 120 O2 Sats: 94%

I did the treadmill for 10 minutes at 1.0 and it wasn't as bad as Tuesday. I was able to go longer. When I finished, I was at 96% O2 Sat; 122/73 BP; 112 Pulse.

Next was the Nu-Step. I went for 15 minutes at work level 3. I had to decrease the work level from Tuesday because I had adjusted the seat to better work my legs and it was HARD once I was actually in the right position! When I was done, O2 sats were 96%; pulse 114; BP 141/77. I really felt the workout in my thighs this time. In the 15 minutes I did 1,340 steps. The picture at the top of the page is the Nu-Step machine.

Finally I did the UBE, or ergometer, which works on the arms. I did 8 minutes again, 4 forward, and 4 backward at the same resistance. This was pure torture for my arms!! I can still feel that soreness in my biceps and triceps! My mom used to use "Aspercreme" for arthritic pain - I wonder if they still make it; in the meantime, I'll take some ibuprofen! Please excuse the whine and pass the cheese, please...

When all was said and done, my sats were 95%; pulse 118; BP 141/71. My pulse was running in the high 120's while doing the exercises. I have a normally high resting pulse, in the 80's to 90's, which is because I'm out of shape.

I'm so glad that I've finally gotten back into the rehab and look forward to next week! I really think, no, I know I feel better already! Breathe better, everyone and see you next week!

~Eileen