The Need is Constant. The Gratification is Instant. Give Blood!

Today as I was on my way home, I passed a blood drive. It made me stop and breathe thanks for the people who are so willing to donate. There was a time when I received several units of blood in the hospital that litterally saved my life. Somoeone else's sacrifices literally changed the course of my life.

When you are asked to give blood or see a Blood Drive announcement, I am sure the first thing that runs through your mind is the needle that will have to be inserted to facilitate the giving. However, I hope your second thought could be that you may have just saved someone's life because you were selfless enough to take time to give. You are someone's hero and now you know someone who has personally been saved because people gave. Please consider giving. :-)

http://www.redcrossblood.org/

Loss is Hard

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1-3

From the first day I was diagnosed, we became acutely aware of how common it is that some people are having another ordinary day while we were having life-changing hardships laid on us. And some times it feels like our mourning and sadness will go on for an eternity; however, this verse (also a Beatles song that I like to sing) remind me that the difficulties only last for a season and that we can be assured a better day is coming.

Yesterday we lost another member of our support group. This makes several this year. And the news came on the toes of some great news for another of our members. As I was speaking with the family of the member with the good news, we couldn't help but discuss how discouraging the road seemed. It was then that I was reminded of Peter walking on the water. See, he stepped out of the boat on faith, which took a lot of trust. But when he did, the waves got bigger and the storm more horrible. It made Peter take his eyes off of Jesus and begin to sink. Some times I feel our situations begin to flare just when we think we have stepped out in faith. They take our eyes and focus from where they will find rest and peace.

So the real daily challenge is to get our focus, our efforts, our daily tasks, our words, our deeds, our finances, all of our daily happenings to be fixed on the One who can take all of our messes, our storms, our disappointments, and our fears and make them into something beautiful.

RIP those who we love who have gone on before us. Our hearts are with you and your families.

Cardiac Rehab

Just a quick update about starting cardiac rehab. Last week I had a VO2 stress test where they hooked me up to monitors and ran me on a treadmill. I scored a 21.7, which is a few points better than the last one I had in Aug 2010. So, that was encouraging.

This week I have gone to cardiac rehab 3 times. They hook you up to a heart monitor and then take you through a good aerobic routine. It was surprising to me how scientific the calculations were for coming up with the targeted heart rate and exercise routines. They took the results of the stress test, combined with weight, age, etc. and the results of my cholesterol and blood screenings to come up with the goals. I have been impressed with how much I have learned in my first week.

Also, there is a short class each week to teach various heart healthy topics. This week focused on fat and cholesterol. A few things I learned:

You can eat as many egg whites/egg substitutes as you want; however, you should only have 3 whole eggs a week.

The three commonly used items with the highest concentration of saturated fat are butter, sour cream, and cheese. (Who doesn't use cheese on almost every dish?)

They recommend you use olive oil for cooking and grinding up flax seed and using it as butter. I am going to try it, but I'm a little skeptical on how it will taste... Stay tuned.

Having finished my first week, I feel great... and crazy tired. I may just lay around the rest of the day and try to catch up on a little rest. I suggest you do the same (even if you aren't in heart failure). :-)