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A Bit of Balance in Life

curtis_franklin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:30:10 +0000

I’ve done a podcast on learning about food after the whole heart incident — virtually nothing I learned was good. While I’ve learned to eat much healthier fare than I did before (and lovely Carol has learned to fix dishes that are both wonderfully healthy and delightfully tasty), there’s always a battle between eating the things you’ve learned to love and eating the things you’ve learned are good for you.

Judith Woodburn has written a wistful look at the dilemma, A Time in Life for Pie and Beer, in the New York Times. She talks about the issue from the caregiver’s point of view, but there’s a lot in the piece that I recognize. I’m not in the shape her father was, and I can afford much more balance in life, but recognizing that our food culture puts us in a bit of a fix — and that food is far more than simple fuel in our society — is a critical part of learning to keep the things you put in your mouth from killing you.

Thanks to Instapundit for the pointer — Glenn is always good for thought-provoking links.

Rehab — Until the Podcast

curtis_franklin — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:05:32 +0000

My next podcast is going to be about cardiac rehab. To be honest, I’ve just been so busy with work and life that I haven’t had the time to put the episode together. To tide us over until then, I decided to post some of the photos Carol took of me during one of my early rehab sessions.

In general, I go to rehab three times a week, spending about an hour and a half there each time. While there, I’ll spend about fifty minutes doing aerobic exercise (stationary bike, NuStep, treadmill, and arm machine) and twenty minutes or so lifting weights. During the whole time, I’ll have a heart monitor attached so the nurses can keep tabs on my heart activity. So far, I seem to be handling everything well — at least, that’s what the nurses tell me.

Speaking of nurses, Angela is great at offering encouragement and keeping the atmosphere upbeat — I haven’t had experience with rehab nurses who do it any other way, but the team at North Florida is great. Here is Angela getting me set up on my least-favorite machine, the arm cycle.

That machine takes some work, and I seem to spend a lot of time concentrating and looking quite serious while I’m turning the hand cranks.

Of course, I have to work my legs, too, and the stationary bike is good for that. At the half-way mark on my time, I let the nurses know and they check my blood pressure. So far everything is looking good — my BP goes up (indicating my heart is working) but not too much, and when they check it one last time before I leave it tends to be slightly lower than when I came in. Today’s check out BP? 100 over 58. Not too bad.

The part that I’ve really been looking forward to is weight-training. I didn’t realize, though, just how weakened I’d become. The photos below show me working with 7-pound dumbs, and by the end of a dozen reps I was ready to put them down. I’m working my way up in both weight and reps, but it’s going to be a while before I’m pushing any sort of serious iron.

I do several exercises including front arm extensions…

and good ‘ol arm curls.

By the time I finish with the routine, I’m ready to sit for a little while, but at least I’m up and moving, getting some exercise and feeling better. I’m to the point of truly looking forward to September, when I get some numbers back on my heart function. I feel like they’ll be good numbers, but the confirmation will be nice.

Podcast to come, but work for revenue comes first, so look for the episode sometime next week.

Today’s Third (and Final) Podcast Episode

curtis_franklin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:32:30 +0000

The final podcast episode for this morning — the third of three. In this episode, I talk about the wild and wooly process of learning what I could eat, and why anything that I might actually want to eat would kill me in short order. This was the part that, had I not already been scared out of my wits, would have terrified me. It’s become much easier to deal with as the panic has subsided, but this is still one of the areas that many folks trip over. It’s a biggie.

If you want to subscribe to the podcast, you can do so on iTunes or directly from Feedburner, or feel free to listen using the embedded player below.

Music in this episode is by High Places / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

[podcast]http://www.cf2group.com/podcasts/heart/CF_LA_Heart_4.mp3[/podcast]

Today’s Second Podcast Episode…

curtis_franklin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:28:28 +0000

The second podcast episode for this morning — the second of three. In this episode, I talk about the process of learning about cardiac rehab. I knew that I enjoyed walking, but I never dreamed how important it would become in getting me through this process. I also talk a bit about the mental and emotional sides of rehab — they’re far more important than many people think.

If you want to subscribe to the podcast, you can do so on iTunes or directly from Feedburner, or feel free to listen using the embedded player below.

Music in this episode is by High Places / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

[podcast]http://www.cf2group.com/podcasts/heart/CF_LA_Heart_3.mp3[/podcast]

Podcast Update 1

curtis_franklin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:24:50 +0000

A new podcast for this morning — the first of three. In this episode, I talk about the process of learning about my medications, and the importance of doing my own research.

If you want to subscribe to the podcast, you can do so on iTunes or directly from Feedburner, or feel free to listen using the embedded player below.

Music in this episode is by High Places / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

[podcast]http://www.cf2group.com/podcasts/heart/CF_LA_Heart_2.mp3[/podcast]

Rapid-fire Podcast Episodes

curtis_franklin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:17:39 +0000

This morning you’re going to see three quick posts with brand new podcast episodes. Why three in one morning? Deadlines, friends, deadlines. I’ll have more from the world of Interop later this week, plus other news and (I hope) a dose of bloggy goodness.

If you want to subscribe to the podcast, you can do so on iTunes or directly from Feedburner.

A New Podcast Begins

curtis_franklin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:19:43 +0000

I’m starting a new podcast project today, and I’m not sure how many episodes it will have. In the episodes I’ll talk about how I’ve learned about my heart — and what I’ve learned. The project is part of a great class I’ve had this term, Designing On-Line Curriculum, at the University of Florida. You can download the podcast episode here, or listen with the embedded player below.

Let me know what you think — more episodes will be coming later this week.

Music in this episode is by High Places / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

[podcast]http://www.cf2group.com/podcasts/heart/CF_LA_Heart_1.mp3[/podcast]