The Guys

I got lucky with my rehab class. They're a great group of guys. They were my second try and I'm so glad I moved my class time so I could meet them. I moved my time because the first class I picked wasn't a good fit. The members had been there a while and I was the youngest by (seriously) 40 years. Ouch. Now I know it's very rare for a 30 year old to have a heart attack but how was I supposed to relate to a bunch of 70 year olds?

I didn't. The normally cheerful class was silent the whole time. I might as well have been the smelly kid in the playground no one wanted to play with. These guys had a party going in rehab and someone young enough to be their grand kid wasn't invited. I moved my class time that night and called my sister hoping for some sympathy. In that way that only a sister has, she had me laughing about being "unpopular" in rehab. It is pretty funny isn't it? I got booted out of my first class! WHAT the?!?

I showed us for my next class armed with her advice. "You're not there to make friends. Just do what you need to get done and get better!" I was expecting another round of semi hostile geriatrics. What I got was a whole bunch of honorary daddies and granddaddies. I love my new guys.

Once they figured out I had a "reason" to be there I was taken around and introduced to my new crew. They pointed out the repeat offenders (guys going through another round of cardiac rehab after another heart event) and the "pig parts" (the guys with valves replaced with pig valves.) I met guys like me with stents and was proudly shown bypass scars and one new zipper scar. They're boisterous, they're funny, and they were all more then willing to let a "sweetpea" like me tag along.

It's like walking into a new family. One minute you're the odd one out and the next you're fixing their cell phones for them. We trade recipes and horror stories and they show me the music on their iPods. There's always the joke about the fried chicken and pizza that they're going to bring... next week.

These guys make rehab easier. It's hard being in there and learning your limitations. With a fun, supportive group you end up with friendly competition and a better outlook. The guys "get it." They know like no one else does what it's like to have a heart problem. I'm a lucky girl to have found them.