Exercise

When you've spent the last few months laying in bed or in front of the television, getting your body back into shape can definitely be a challenge. It's been very difficult physically and mentally to get into a regular exercise routine. I'm on way to getting off of my tush and rejoining the rest of the world, but before I explain, allow me to digress for a little bit.

After my first transplant, I still had a serious problem with the fluid in my legs, and so I spent a lot of time laying on the couch in order to prop them up. As a matter of fact, in order to stave off the edema, I tried to spend as much time as possible being in a horizontal position. I really didn't question all of my lying around, since it was helping my legs, and boy, was it comfortable. I got yelled at by my doctors a lot during the treatment because I was too lazy for my own being.

Although I thought that I was taking care of myself, it ended up working against me. I wasn't getting the blood circulating through exercise, which was causing my blood pressure to drop. And when the blood pressure drops, I end up feeling miserable. By the time I was ready to return back to work five months later, I was completely out of shape. It took a month or two to get my stamina up to a level where I could be productive for an entire day.

When I made the decision to go for a second transplant, I made a promise to myself that I would not allow myself to get as lazy as I did after my first one. And I started out pretty good. Most of the time in the hospital was spent sitting in a chair and not in a bed. I told myself, "I want to get out of there", and sure enough, I was gone within two weeks. Back home, I did a lot of walking, which allowed me to get my strength back. After one month I kicked my mother out, and I was taking care of myself.

But as the months passed, my motivation to get out and about started to disappear. My daily walk turned into my weekly walk, and perhaps due to boredom, I started to lie around and take more naps. I had fallen back into the same routine as last year. And of course, it finally bit me in the ass.

So that things us back to today, where I am working double time to get my body back into shape. Although I don't have the stamina for jogging or running yet, I've returned to walking and have started to lift weights again to rebuild muscle mass.

I guess the moral of the story is that exercise needs to be an important part of any person's life. Our bodies were not designed to sit on a lounge sofa all day watching Oprah -- they are built to move. And the more you exercise, the better you will end up feeling. If you have difficulty getting in the right mindset for exercise, then I suggest you read this article for inspiration.