kvetching up

 " My idea of exercise is a good brisk sit. "                                        -Phyllis Diller Today I went to Valley Medical Center cardiac rehab for my initial screening. It is completely different than what I experienced at NW Hospital. I've nothing against NW, but the level of intervention here is extraordinary, and I would assume, will produce better results. OTOH, don't go to the Valley ER with a heart attack. .  . There were many screenings today--all to establish standards to rely on when adjudging metrics. Pre-exercise and post-exercise blood sugar, hand grip, body composition, exercise baseline, starting and ending blood pressure. Maybe others. It's more likely than not that I forgot something.  The blood sugar was in normal range--bizarre. The exercise baseline places me in the highest functioning group, according to the hospital's scale. Tha...

Last night's sanctuary .   Entry 1 Sitting outside cardiac rehab. I picked Abby up after 1 last night from light rail. When I got home, Willow was glued to me, but unable to sleep and so I couldn't close my eyes. Around 2 I fell asleep. At 3:00 Willow decided she needed outside time. This early morning rising has been going on for a couple weeks. When we came back inside she thought it was snack & play time. I decided it was sleep time. Unlike at 2, she respected this. All of this to say I am exhausted. The scale this morning said I have GAINED .8 lbs. Time to go run it off. I'd like to brag and say I work out harder than any of my cohort, but they all appear to be 10-15 years older than me. I feel love Kramer bragging he is the top of the kid's karate class. Entry 2 Weirdly, the cardiac rehab team neither helped me start my workout, nor did they check on me and adjust it or take my blood pressure during my workout. Apparently,  no one had me on their list. Go figur...

Entry 1 Yesterday, I finally started cardiac rehab. I have to drive all the way to NW Hospital, where the UW has centered It's cardiac rehab program in Seattle to attend. Believe it or not, I actually tried to sign up at Valley Medical for rehab. If you call there yourself, you will be sent straight to voicemail. They promise to call you back. Despite calling several times, I never did get a call back. NW is materially different--and much farther away. I called last week--and they found a cancelation and got me in yesterday morning.  My nurse, whose name escapes me, is amazing. Yesterday was really mostly a two hour interview, where I talked about my diet and exercise regimen, the former not much to talk about, the latter a discussion about how I don't exercise at all anymore. I had to disclose my depression level through the standard survey. I am never very aware of where I land on the scale, meaning I am simply not in touch with my feelings, but yesterday's  outcome was d...