A Clear Mind

I’d like to share a letter from a patient who asked us to share her story, but would like to remain anonymous at this time  until she feels ready to share more.  Her story had a great impact on us because she wanted to prevent any health complications by taking the initiative to seek help from our clinic.  After her Cardiac Stress Test, she was given an exercise prescription and dietary consult.  Here is her story….

 

A Clear Mind

My transformation to better health began in January 2014. Another New Year had begun and “improving my health” was once again at the top of my list of goals. With all of the health, nutrition and fitness information out there, I was completely overwhelmed and feeling very hopeless.

My family history of heart disease, along with an inactive lifestyle, poor eating habits, a life-long struggle to maintain a healthy weight and feeling generally unwell at age 40 were causing me increasing concern about my health. I had tried to do it on my own, and I had also been through several programs which were meant to help me with these issues, but they were short-term or something I couldn’t afford to attend for a long enough time. To recover from 30+ years of disordered eating isn’t something that happens in a few weeks. It was finally time to find something that was going to work and offered long-term support, but I really didn’t know where to turn.

It was completely by chance that I drove by the new clinic and saw the Cardio Connect sign on the building. I wondered what it was about so I looked them up online and somehow managed to find their website that hadn’t even launched yet. I contacted the clinic to inquire if I would be eligible and Lori Hart, RN responded to me explaining that I could get a referral from my family physician, which would allow my appointments to be covered through Alberta Health Care. This was very encouraging. A few days later, I received the referral and booked my appointments to see Sydney, the dietitian and Dr. Fahoum and Lori Hart RN, for the heart tests for the personalized exercise prescription. Everyone at the clinic was so friendly and professional and I could feel that they had a sincere desire to support me on the journey to better health.

When I went to my appointments, I made up my mind to disregard all of the health information that was currently swirling around in my head and instead, just listen to what Sydney and Dr. Fahoum tell me in terms of nutrition and exercise. In my initial meeting with Sydney, something just clicked. By this time, I was so diet-weary, but she didn’t talk about dieting at all. Instead, it was all about getting back to the basics by following the food guide to get the nourishment I needed so my body could function more efficiently, as well as focusing on intuitive eating to get in tune with my body’s natural hunger and fullness cues, which was exactly what I was interested in. The personalized exercise prescription from Dr. Fahoum gave me the confidence to participate in physical activity again and I am now incorporating additional activity to help keep me moving more throughout the day.

I’m now a couple months into my new healthier lifestyle and I’ve learned that small changes can have a big impact. I now make time to pre-plan meals and snacks, which allows me to easily fit in more fruits and vegetables every day. This has taken the anxiety out of my life when I feel the rumble of hunger in my stomach, or when lunchtime rolls around. But honestly, the biggest change I’ve experienced has been in my mind, which now feels clear and focused. I no longer spend time searching online for health information and instead, I’m letting the professionals lead the way. I feel like a new life is emerging and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me.

Want to learn more about protecting your own health or the health of your loved ones? Contact us.