On Wednesday, the day after my heart surgery, I walked over 400 feet with the LifeWalker® Upright, but with the benefit of prednisone. On Saturday and Sunday, without prednisone, I walked up to a mile and a quarter, which to me is amazing. The hallway here at UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is about a 10th of a mile long so when I travel around the block I'm going a quarter of a mile. I'm probably the only one here who's doing this. I cannot imagine doing this with a brand new aorta valve without my LifeWalker. Maybe it's the cow in me! This is a marvelous hospital and I've had exceptional care. My doctor, Dr. Madani, is a Persian fellow and his colleague is a Russian former rifleman spe
As promised, I am blogging from the hospital to share (via attached video) my recovery after heart surgery. First of all, thanks to my stellar medical team, the surgery was successful and I’m now on the mend in my room. But here is what is truly exciting and personally gratifying -- within 24 hours of surgery I was up and walking on the LifeWalker Upright. On my first walk I went 400 feet! Stated one of my attending therapists: “For this soon after surgery, that’s pretty impressive.” I found that the LifeWalker provided me the support I needed given my condition, and the armrests enabled me to stand upright despite my invasive surgery. Upright posture, of course, is good for restoring core s
Many elderly people increase their risk of disability by being sedentary, especially low-income folks who have fewer options than those who fare better in retirement. Walking costs little though, and a study conducted at the University of Georgia showed that older adults could decrease their risk of disability by almost half with regular walking! See more on the at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080715152312.htm So why don't they walk more? Is it a lack of understanding or a lack of will? It was found that folks who walked 40 minutes three times a week increased their oxygen uptake 19% and physical function 25%. So by walking they had more energy, and functioned better gene
