One Heart--Two Lives: Managing Your Rehabilitation Program WELL

This is my true story. I share this with you because not only is it riveting and surreal, but it is liable to save you, or a love one's, life. On the January 10, 2007, my heart stopped beating. I was clinically dead! It is with humility and gratitude that I invite you to accompany me on my journey from life to death and back again. But being recalled was only the beginning of my journey to recreate my independent lifestyle. This book is about the lessons I learned on taking charge of my rehabilitation program, which included months of re-learning how to breathe, eat, digest food, sleep, think, walk, and even marital relations. The long days challenged my physical strengths: the nights my emotional ones. It is my hope that my patient's perspective of recovering from a condition my cardiologist described as "About as bad as it gets" will provide an inspirational road map for others whose conditions will almost undoubtedly be less severe. Today I am convinced that my heart stopping taught me a much better understanding of myself, others, and our surroundings. Experience the challenges of a heart patient visiting such diverse places Santa Barbara, Park City, Las Vegas, New York, Mexico and Malibu, and experience the lessons learned from each challenge. One Heart-Two Lives is a valuable resource for heart patients and their caregivers, as well as a road map on how in "Managing Your Rehabilitation Program WELL' from any illness or injury. This is a "from the heart" discussion of a patient's perspective of the physical, mental and emotional aspects of first fighting to live, then fighting to return to an independent lifestyle, then searching for ways to use the lessons to improve his lifestyle, then for ways to continue the improvements, and finally to help others. It is written in the easy to read style, including the medical terms, suitable for jury to understand. Each chapter can be used independently and after chapter 13 is followed by a lessons learned section. The appendix contains chapters on the developing concepts of Caregivers and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and Heart Disease.