Six months out from open heart surgery....I swim a mile!

We went swimming early this morning, to get it completed before my cardiology appointment.

We had planned on swimming 1 1/2 hours.

I am the world's slowest swimmer, mostly because I don't care how fast I am or how I look.  I can't do any stroke where my head is in the water because I am too susceptible to ear infections.  Consequently, most of the time I do the dog paddle, which is the world's most inefficient stroke.  Sometimes I do a "backstroke," but only use my arms, not my legs, so I work really hard at it.  Sometimes I do what Vicky calls my jellyfish stroke, where my legs hang down and I use only my arms to propel myself.  I am not an olympic swimmer.

These strokes are slow, but are very high in movement and effort.  And that's what I am interested in.  I don't care about speed--I care about movement and effort.

After about an hour today I started calculating my distance.  I realized that if I swam for 108 minutes I would swim a mile.  I told Vicky, and she said "go for it," and was encouraging me the whole way by swimming next to me. 

So I did.  For the first time in my life, actually. 

I "swam" a mile, six months after open heart surgery.  Then we went to my cardiology appointment.  I have to admit I did a little bragging when he asked me how I have been doing.

But without Vicky?  Nothing like this.

After the appointment we cycled for 15 miles.

Take home point:  If anybody reads this or cares:  If you know you have a heart problem, get in shape in the same way you would if you knew you were going to run a marathon.  Heart surgery is a marathon.  It is brutal.

Second take home point:  Be married to someone who wants you to get well as much as you do.

Third take home point:  Be married to someone who wants you to get well as much as you do.