What do I know about being fit and active? Who am I?
While the majority of kidney failure is caused by high blood pressure and / or diabetes, everyone's story is unique. I am female and in my mid-20's. My kidney failure is as a result of a crush injury and subsequent hospitalization I sustained two years ago. I spent a great deal of time in the hospital. When I got out of the hospital I could not use my legs, or stand, let alone walk. All of my muscle groups were atrophied, and my arms were weak.
I received in home physical and occupational therapy for 3 1/2 months. During this time I started with "in-bed" exercise, progressed to standing, and then eventually started to make small steps at the end of that time period. For the past 6 months I have been doing physical and occupational therapy in an out-patient setting. I have done a wide variety of workouts to strengthen different muscle groups and increase flexibility. At the end of June 2010 I will transition to exercising in the gym.
It has been a long journey but I have been inspired and motivated along the way!
I do in-center hemo-dialysis and have been on hemo-dialysis for the past two years. Yes, I am exhausted after my treatments, but I make sure to schedule my workouts for when I have more energy.
Because I know how hard it is to get going, especially when you are not standing or walking much, I will make posts on some Mondays called "Mobility Mondays" with bed exercises I have done for those just getting started.
"If you don't use it, you lose it!"
There is more information about my current routine on my page - "Current Workouts"
