Yesterday was my first day for pulmonary rehab. In many ways I hadn't known what to expect, but was delighted to discover that at this point, much is about cardio and stretches with a therapist monitoring my BP and oxygen saturation. I had a brief thought of, "Hey, my heart's fine! It's my lungs that are in trouble." My aha moment came quickly because of moments from my past.

When I first met Dr. Karpos, my very fine orthopedic surgeon at St. Thomas in Nashville, I hobbled in and winced, "I need a knee replacement."

He smiled and said, "We usually work from the top down. Let's take a look." I'd already had my other hip replaced so I knew all about hip pain. I wasn't having hip pain. My knee was in throbbing agony pain. What was he thinking! I smiled back.

Of course Dr. Karpos was right. My hip was bone on bone, and my spine had quietly collapsed into a lovely swirling modified S-shape. My knee was fine. I needed my other hip joint replaced. My knee has never again given me a tweak of pain. Thanks, Dr. Karpos.

All of this is to say, I'm reminded of the song Dem Bones:

The leg bone's connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone...

These lyrics could easily be modified to include the heart and lungs to illustrate their intrinsically healthy co-dependent relationship. And this is why my pulmonary rehab focuses so much on my heart.

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While at the Dayani Center yesterday I was introduced to Karen. She was wearing a mask, but looked as fit and healthy as a person could dare to be. She is a double-lung transplant into her third month of recovery. The word inspiration doesn't begin to describe her and the impact she had me. There was nothing Pollyanna about her. She was just normal happy and full of life - perhaps the biggest challenge she faced yesterday was deciding what to fix for dinner.

I became a sponge. I wanted to soak up every upbeat positive word. Her energy was electrifying fabulous.

Then I met another person who was pedaling to nowhere in front of me so we didn't chat beyond introductions, but I learned from Karen that he was 3 weeks into recovery of a double-lung transplant. I nearly did a back flip off my treadmill.

This is the dealio. Except for those quiet times in Santa Fe when I processed my fear and grief, I've been driven to be as positive as humanly possible for a woman who lives alone. I think I've done well. Along the way, I've met some very nice people. I've tapped into support groups and online discussion boards... and have often wondered, "Am I the only one who embraces hope? Is there something wrong with me that I find gratitude throughout my days? Am I a donkey-fool?"

During my first day at pulmonary rehab the light that illuminates my hope became ever so much brighter. It was the best day ever.

Now I have to dash to the Dayani Center for a breathing class. I'm also going to sign up for tai chi and other classes.

As always, thanks for listening. I couldn't do it without you. Later!