A Few Positive Steps

I didn’t mention this at the time, but a couple of weeks ago I had a bit of scare. It was Friday afternoon, and I was at work, and all of a sudden I started to feel bad. Actually, more weird than bad: slight shortness of breath, light-headedness, and it felt like someone had their hand on my chest and was giving me a push. Not a shove, and it certainly didn’t feel like an elephant sitting on me, but it was enough to get me freaked out. So after calling my doctor, I asked a friend to drive me to the hospital, specifically to CMS in Charlotte. Long story short, after x-rays, EKGs, having the nurses take enough blood to seemingly fill up a gallon jug, and then an overnight stay and a stress-echo test in the morning (and that was a barrel of laughs, let me tell you), the final prognosis was… not my heart. Heart was fine, probably stress, try to take it easy, blah blah blah.

The next week I had a follow-up check with my regular doctor. He agreed it was probably a stress reaction to certain things I’ve got going on. At any rate, he told me to come back after a month for some blood work. But in the meantime, he told me, I needed to really get serious about losing weight. Now I had already made some changes with the new year. I had cut back on the number of sodas I drink during the day, and my wife and I have been trying to prepare more meals at home, instead of getting takeout or something from a box. So I had lost a couple of pounds since my previous doctor’s visit.

But if I was wanted to see some real progress, I needed to start getting some exercise. Problem is, trying to find time? I’m usually so rushed in the mornings, and the evenings are no good this time of the year. Finally, I hit upon an idea. I’d take some of the time I had for lunch while at work, and walk to the nearest store and back. The total distance would be 1.5 miles, give or take, and it would also be a good way to see whether I could handle a longer distance. One of my friends is participating in the upcoming MS Walk here in Charlotte on April 22, and she’s hoping to add members to her team. I’d been debating whether to join or not, figuring that getting in shape for the Walk would be some good extra motivation for me to get into shape for myself.

So, lunchtime Friday, two weeks after having to go to the hospital, I set out on my walk Now, I work in an office park, just a little ways north of South Park mall, but this park has been around for a while, so it had nice trees lining the streets and in the median, poplars and oaks that have been there at least 20-30 years. The weather was fine, appropriately cool for a February winter day, and a bit breezy, with high thin clouds and a good bit of sun to warm my face. I had my big leather jacket on, so I had no problems with the temperature or wind. I do wish I had thought to bring some walking shoes, though, but having nice even sidewalks meant I didn’t get very footsore.

The only spot where I had any worries about traffic was the big intersection of Sharon and Colony Road. Four lanes, divided by a median, ugh. Even with a pedestrian crossing, you still needed to keep your eyes open and be quick. But I crossed over with no problems, and a few minutes later I was in the shopping area. I first stopped at a bookstore I like to frequent, browsing to see if there were any new selections, then I went to the store to grab me a quick lunch to take back to work. Then I started back.
Heading back, though, was a bit more difficult than coming out. First that big intersection again, but then I started noticing fatigue settling in. I hadn’t walked for such a distance at any one time, seemingly in years, and I defiantly wasn’t used to it. I was particularly feeling strain in my right knee and hip, so I decided to cut through an apartment complex and shave off a little bit of distance. The apartment complex seemed nice enough, lots of walkways to get by, and two tennis courts, and it did have established, older trees there, but there wasn’t much open green space. I’m not sure I’d want to live there. After a few minutes, I was back on the main road and within sight of my office building. I was very glad to be able to get inside and sit down in my cubicle. Interestingly enough, I didn’t sit down to rest at the bookstore, even though there were plenty of chairs there. I guess I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get back up again.

So, will I participate in the MS Walk? I’m still debating that, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to keep up with my lunchtime walks, so long as the weather remains nice and cool and clear. And I’m going to keep up with the walks even after the event, whether I participate or not. Like I said, I had a bit of a scare, and I have no desire to repeat that visit to the hospital ever again. All it takes is a few positive steps.

Later,