Walking Challenge Day 18

I got out this morning and walked a mile.

Not that it’s going to make much of a difference because I finally heard from the Transplant Team and I do not qualify for a transplant. My lungs are too badly deteriorated to the point that they don’t think I can survive the surgery.

The next step I was hoping for, a Left Ventricle Assistance Device, (LVAD) is also off the table for the same reason.

So, the next step is to talk to Stanford University and the more aggressive program they have there. Because of the travel involved, I’m not terribly excited to get involved down there.

The one question I didn’t ask is what is my life expectancy. I would like to know what the doctor thinks is ahead for me. Do I have a year? Two? Clearly I’m going to get weaker as this goes on.

Right now I can pretty much get out there and enjoy life. I’ve been able to ski, I can still get around okay. The only bummer is I can’t swim.

The numbers from yesterday’s Right Heart Cath indicate I’m declining. The drug that is presently attached to me and pumping into my heart, Milrinone, is probably helping me but not improving me.

So, today I walked one mile in 25 minutes with a two minute rest a little beyond half way.

I am maintaining a positive outlook and fully expect to complete the 30 day Walking Challenge.

Walking Challenge Day 17

Another great day for walking. I headed west on my two mile route and I wanted to do the whole two miles. I have a Right Heart Cath Procedure later today and I wanted to tell my Doctor I walked two miles.

No such luck. I pussied out at around a mile and a half. I don’t think I actually made a mile and a half, but that’s what I’m going to tell my Doc.

Here’s the data from my Oximeter.

The fact that I was out for nearly 40 minutes is what makes me think I made the 1 1/2 miles. But then, I remembered my rest breaks and those probably amounted to almost ten minutes.

In any event, I walked today.

Walking Challenge Day 16

 I haven’t done this before so forgive all the wasted space I’m taking up on the InterWeb.

I walked the one mile course on the bright sunny Tuesday. It was a nice walk and nothing of note happened. What’s different today is I’m showing all the data on the Oximeter App. I can’t fit the whole thing into one screen shot. Here’s the part you usually see.

Below is the lower part of the screen.

I like that it clearly delineates the total time of my walk and breaks down the categories of my oxygen levels during the walk.

Maybe this information will be helpful for a future autopsy.

Walking Challenge Day 15

 Well, I blew it. I didn’t walk on Easter and ruined my streak. To make matters worse, I gained another 2 pounds, putting me back up to 229.

To make up for it, I walked the 2 mile course today. My oxygen generator ran out of battery power on the last couple blocks of my walk. But it felt like a good walk.

Here’s the data from today’s walk.

I’m not going to beat myself up too much over missing my walk on Sunday. After all, poop occurs.

Walking Challenge Day 13

The great weather we have been experiencing had to end at some point and that point was today.

I woke up to a steady stream of light rain that lasted until about 11:00. 

I had a few things to do around the house. Chief among them was to mop the front porch. I was able to complete that task by about 1:30. 

Next, I had to fit a walk in.  But that was proving difficult.

Just as on Thanksgiving I must listen to “Alice’s Restaurant”, the day before Easter, I have another listening tradition that must be played. So while Susan was working on our Easter dinner for tomorrow, I sat down in the kitchen and put on “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

So I finally got to my walk about 3. The rain had let up and the sun broke out enough to enjoy a nice walk.

I did about a mile and a quarter and got back just in time to talk to a guy selling pest control, which we already have from another company. But it didn’t work on him.

Walking Challenge Day 12

I got my walk in today, a little over a mile. But it wasn’t a walk in the traditional aerobic sense.

One of our neighbors puts out crosses every Easter in yards around the park that represent the Stations of the Cross.

Susan and I walked around the park and checked out the crosses. So you walk a little until you come to a cross, then you stop, read it and reflect. 

Because it starts half way across the park on Park Place, we walked a little further than the .8 miles of just walking the park.

Therefore, I’m calling it a mile. And the streak continues.

Walking Challenge Day Eleben

Since I missed walking yesterday, I thought I needed to make a good effort on today’s walk. I pulled off the two mile course. Here is the data from my oximeter.

The important details are that the walk took me about 54 minutes. I had some precipitous drops in my oxygen level but I never felt dizzy or in danger of passing out.

I did stop several times for a brief rest. But in general, I tried really hard to slog on through.