Good morning! Hope this finds you well-rested and happy. The weekend is almost here!
For those unaware, we wanted to explain what happened in Columbus last Saturday.
It all started when we saw Bob in our cardiology office. Bob's a new patient that just moved to Reynoldsburg (Columbus suburb).
Since Bob's heart attack in 2003, he's turned his life around. Many of his risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diabetes) are now under great control. At the end of our 45 minute visit, like all others, we asked him to join us at Walk with a Doc. He appeared interested and I was happy to see him arrive the following Saturday morning.
The weather was a little rough that day, so we were glad to have close to 100 present.
As I cleared my throat before addressing the group, he raised his hand and
shared,"I'm new!"
Bob's enthusiasm managed to quickly capture everyone's attention.
He proceeded to come up to within a few yards of me before he began to speak to the group,
He took in a very deep breath.
"Hi, my name's Bob and I'm a walkaholic."
What?!
Standing next to my wife, I looked at her, very confused as to what was unfolding. What was he saying and doesn't he know that I'm the one who talks at the beginning. I make a step towards Bob and she grabs my right elbow. "Hold on, give him a second"
Then it hit me. My patient Bob is a lip reader. In the office I had said, "Please join us at Walk with a Doc", he must've thought I said "Walker's Anonymous," Unfortunately, this is not the first time something like this happened to me.
"HI BOB!" responded 90+ people in unison. Once again, my wife is right. Let him go.
Cool as a cucumber, he continued,
"You know it started out innocent enough. I had my heart attack 10 years ago and like everyone else, 4 weeks later I enrolled in cardiac rehab. Back in 2003, I was new to exercise and I didn't understand its powers. During rehab, I did my three days a week, and you know everything was great. My wife noticed I had a giddy-up in my step that she hadn't seen since we were in college. Regular moderate exercise made me happier, more productive, and more fulfilled than ever. Believe it or not, we now look back on that heart attack as a blessing in disguise."
A couple loud, random Amen's! come hurdling in from the back.
What is going on, here? I'm supposed to be up there talking about CoQ10.
"Then, rehab ended, and I was sad again. My blood pressure went back up into the 140's, my HDL dropped, and I couldn't get my blood sugar under 180. I was lost; I didn't know what to do.
"At first, sure I denied it. I made all the excuses. I'd tell my wife I was I going to McDonald's, or the movies, anything to throw her off the scent.
It started with innocent stuff. You know, taking the stairs, parking in the back of the lot, walking to a colleague instead of sending an email.
Stuff that I never thought would add up.
He grabs the podium sides with both hands and looks down to the left
(But, there's no podium at the walk?)
Before I knew it; I was walking for a half-hour or more, every single day.
He was choking up. Long pause.
Melissa, a 31 year-old in the 5th row begins to whistle Go Tell It On The Mountain, swaying her hands high up in the air,
"You're not going to get cancer Bob!" shouted another supporter.
He continued,
"In retrospect, I had all the classic signs.
I thought about cutting down. You know, watching more TV, reading a book on the couch instead of listening to books when I was walking.
People would suggest that maybe I was walking a little too much.
(Who would ever do that? I don't believe this!)
I'd get so angry. I was seeing beautiful blood pressures, my blood sugar dropped to normal - and I wasn't even going to the gym. Honestly, It felt like I was cheating.
Did I feel guilty? When I was sneaking up those stairs, while my wife was on the elevator? Yeah, I'd feel guilty. My memory was improving, my anxiety disappearing, my joints felt better - sure I felt guilty. I was 'hogging' all the walking.
"Then last Thursday; I hit rock bottom. I woke at 6:15 am and thought, I could go for a half-hour before work and no one will ever know. It'll make me feel good all day long. I was right, and although I felt great from the morning walk, I was concerned when I walked into Dr. David's office. It must've been written all over my face, because he asked me to come to the meeting this morning, I knew it was something I had to do."
Thank you for your time and understanding. I needed to do this."
Everyone applauds.
Bob sauntered over to the closest table, grabbed his Starbucks and opened up the New York Times, letting out a big sigh as he settled into his chair.
Our crew of Walk ambassadors rapidly descended on him, smiling and pulling him up to his feet from his arms.
Not understanding, he shook his head and stared over to me, terribly confused. I smiled, nodding my approval.
"Bob, it's okay. Come walk with us. You're family now."
As the 5 of them walked away, I stayed focused on Bob's reaction. It was about 8-10 strides in when I watched a half smile sneak onto his face.
Stay hungry, stay foolish!
David
For this week's walks, please click here.
***We apologize for our emails and website not working from March 11th to March 17th. If you attempted to reach us during that window, we would love for you to try once again as we are now fortunate to have everything up and running. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for the significant inconvenience.***
