Three months after the heart scare

A few months ago – on the day before my 41^st birthday – I had what I later called a “heart scare.” You can read about what happened here. Suffice to say it was a huge wake-up call for me. While I WAS planning on making dietary and living changes on the day of my birthday, this incident hammered home just how important it was to make those changes.

Up until that point, I’d been dealing with occasional chest pain that was so severe, I’d be on the floor clasping at my chest. It usually happened once a month. One time, it was so bad, the skin of my right hand turned blue. (My daughter had called 911 at that time.) This was something I figured I just had to live with, but after the worst of it – on May 24^th of this year – I decided I’d had enough. I had to DO something! I had to make some changes.

So, I made changes.

First, I changed my diet. I added more fruits and vegetables to my diet and I started drinking A LOT of water. I cut down on my soda consumption as well as how much alcohol I consumed (which is usually beer – I can’t stand the taste of other alcoholic beverages).

I also started taking aspirin every day. Eventually, I started taking a multivitamin every day, as well.

I tried to start walking, but a burning sensation in my chest scared me so bad that I stopped. I learned that was just my lungs not used to this exertion and returned to walking, though at a shorter distance. With the kids home from school, my time to exercise was compromised, but I did squeeze in walking where possible. With the kids going back to school soon, I’ll be exercising more often.  

These changes have been good for me, because aside from the burning lungs, I have not had ANY other chest pain at all. I am grateful for the opportunity to try new foods and eat healthier, and I am also happy that I am more active now. I also think all that extra water I’ve been drinking has been good for me too. And I am grateful I haven’t had chest pain. I’ve made 3 months without it! Yay!

These changes have not been easy. I did allow the weekend to be my cheat days, when I could eat whatever I wanted, but it’s like I am frustrated with this diet. I am tired of it. I know it has been good for me but lately I’ve been thinking of ditching it. We will see, but so far, I have been doing better.

Walking before midnight

We finally had some nice weather in Eugene this week. Yay!

It started yesterday, with a weather forecast of clear skies and even some sunshine. My friends and I were pleasantly surprised and one friend told me of how she planned to enjoy this nice weather. My own plan was to go for a nice walk. I love taking walks but I don’t get to do them often because of the bad weather.

But, unfortunately, it was not weather that kept me from enjoying a walk yesterday; it was pain. Stomach pain. For some bizarre reason, I had a sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach almost all day. It started in the morning and just got worse. It got so bad by the afternoon, I was doubled over and unable to keep my mind off of it with other things.

I was not able to pick Jesse up from preschool; the pain was that bad. However, I found a little relief just from lying down. So I did a lot of THAT yesterday and the pain finally went away in the evening.

This morning, once I determined there was going to be a repeat of nice weather today (yay again!), I was DETERMINED to get my walk! Pain or no pain!

But thankfully, I didn’t have any stomach pain or other pain, really. I set out for my walk and despite huffing and puffing as I made my way uphill, I was soon enjoying a brisk wall and just basking in the sunshine. It was WONDERFUL! And I was happy to get my heart pumping with some good walking exercise.

I was happy to be able to enjoy a nice walk in such beautiful weather. And I saw other parents walking with their young kids, too. Or pushing them around in strollers. It just felt GREAT to walk again!

Jennifer does not have school tomorrow so if the weather is good again tomorrow AND if there is no pain to deal with, I think the kids and I will take a walk in the neighborhood. We like to walk to a nearby bridge and point out the ducks, or even to a nearby park. I enjoyed a walk today and I’m hoping the three of us will get to enjoy a walk together tomorrow.

We don't need no Physical Education?

This morning, I read an article about how the more physically active kids are, the better they will be at math. Well, it makes sense; there’s a lot of math and science involved in sports and play (such as physics in baseball).

Still, I could only grumble to myself over how physical education in my daughter’s school is grossly overlooked.

Last night at dinner, I was talking with Jennifer about P.E. at her school. Last year, we received occasional updates on what kind of progress is being made in P.E. This year, I don’t get any updates at all. So, I wanted to know what was up with P.E.

Jen told me that they only have P.E. once a week this year, and that all they do is play dodgeball. She went into a lecture about how much she loved P.E. last year, when they had P.E. three times a week and they did a whole host of activities: Jumping, climbing (especially climbing ropes), balancing exercises and running. Especially running!

This year, however, the amount of activity in her P.E. class has dropped considerably. Now I knew why the school sent home a note to parents about getting their kids into more physical activities. Apparently, the school can’t do it themselves! Sigh. Of course, they have recess, but recess only lasts anywhere from 10-15 minutes. That's just not enough time for kids to benefit from physical activity.

One thing Jennifer noticed about this change in P.E. is that it happened after they got a new gym coach. Her old P.E. coach was, well…old. Unfortunately. He retired last year. But, wow, to be around that man! He was bursting with energy! I was amazed at how energetic and passionate he was about exercise and physical education. He just really put himself into it. He actually cared, and he inspired so many people to get active. This year’s coach, who happens to be a younger overweight guy, didn’t strike me as very active when I met him at the start of the school year. He was quiet, stood around a lot and didn’t really seem interested in talking with anyone. Jennifer told me she misses her former P.E. coach. At least he had the kids doing more physical activity! And he really cared about how well they could do things, too. He encouraged them to keep trying and to get out there.

Once again, it’s up to the parents to take charge of their child’s level of physical activity. Apparently, investing ourselves in our child’s academic performance is not enough. We need to also make sure that they are excelling physically, because it seems like the schools just aren’t going to be able to do that anymore.

At least, my daughter’s school can’t.