The Treadmill Room

The Treadmill Room on the 12th floor of Toronto General looks at first glance like any health club - bikes, treadmill machines, weights etc. until you notice that everyone's moving at about a tenth the speed and we are mostly hooked up to wall oxygen outlets.

There are two groups - those that have had their transplants and those that are waiting. It's easy to tell - those of us waiting are tethered to the oxygen outlets or are carting liquid oxgygen wheelies behind us.

The single biggest determinant, we are told, to a succssful transplant is how fit you are. That also holds for post transplant survival. Challenge is that years of prednisone and other drugs have reduced my muscle mass (and replace it with fat!) so much so that for me sitting on a hard surface is difficult for any length of time. It also means that I can't walk for much more than 5 minutes.

The first few sessions have been about getting the right program at the right levels. How far, how long, how much oxygen etc. Looks like I can manage 20 minutes on the treadmill with 6 litres of oxygen a minute at 1.5 miles an hour and keep my saturation level above 90%. Trouble is that 1.5 miles an hour is almost falling over speed - I have to hang on or I lose balance at that speed.

Same goes for the bike - which I find easier. The stretching and hip and joint work is also critical. At the moment it takes me about 2 hours to do the full routine - with all the stops to check levels and to clean each piece of equipment with anti-bacterial wipes (for which you have to wear gloves to protect your hands).

More later about the community of folks in the room.