I have often dealt with patients who have just begun physical therapy.  They tell me they know it is important but doing the therapy is painful and exhausting as they begin.  I have always told them that their therapist won’t push them farther than it is safe for them to go.  I have also encouraged them that as time moves forward and they have more practice the exercises will become easier for them.

Now I am involved in a 12 preparation for a 5K run.  Today starts week three.  For the first week we ran 30 seconds and then walked 30 seconds for 20 minutes with a .5 mile walk prior to and following run/walk sequence.  The second week we used the time of 60 seconds in place of 90 seconds.  Now this week we will be using 90 seconds as our time interval.

Just as I start to feel comfortable with the routine, the routine changes becoming progressively more exerting.  Now a lot of the comments patients have made to me about their therapy make a lot more sense to me.  In addition to the physical health benefits of this class, the class is making me a better chaplain for my patients.  Literally it is hard to understand what some really feels until, “you walk a mile in their shoes”!