training and getting my black belt in
Tae Kwon Do before my transplant
of course. I also used to do a lot of
Pilates, often at home in my garage.
And before my transplant I taught
aerobics at Voight Fitness Center and
it was there that I began Spinning
before it was what it is now.
Overall, I love to try new things and
decided with all this kicking and
fighting I needed a balance, so that
is when I started doing Yoga, which
had led me to where I am today.
What types of yoga
do you practice these
days along with
your regular fitness
routines?
I try and take out my mat almost
daily and meditate and do my own
sort of practice. When I do yoga, I go
back to my old stomping grounds,
City Yoga (in California). They teach
a combination of different yoga
forms. My staple workout is The Bar
Method. I find that it gives me the
energy of a dance class and allows me
to stay strong, get stronger, stretch,
and get in my cardio, all in an hour.
I go to the one on Third Street (in
Santa Monica, California). Many of
the instructors are ex-dancers or
still dancing, and they are all very
well trained in the technique. It’s the
sort of workout that the more you
do, the deeper you go, so it’s always
a challenge. It’s based upon the old
Lotte Burke technique, which was a
floor ballet technique used to rehab
ballet dancers in the 50’s and 60’s.
I take a great jazz class downtown
on weekends with Kim Blank, and
can be seen at various Zumba and
hip-hop classes throughout the city
of Los Angeles.
How difficult was it
to get back into your
old fitness routine
What were your
motivations to get fit
again after receiving
your new heart?
My motivation to live was my
eleven-year-old daughter, Jade. My
motivation to get fit – again my
daughter Jade. There was one night
when I was lying in the hospital
trapped in my own body, unable to
move or speak. The room was white
and I was truly ready to let go. I
could not take the pain and the fear,
and I truly wanted to die. I looked
for the light and could not find it.
Everything was white, and I thanked
God for my incredible life and was
ready to pass on. I found myself
sitting in someone’s huge palms.
Then all of a sudden I smelled my
daughter’s dirty hair (she used to
ride horses and we would fight over
her washing her hair—it stunk). I
then realized I could not leave her;
she kept pulling me back. So I made
a pact with God. If you let me come
back to being Jade’s mom again I will
spend the rest of my life giving back.
So I guess, even though I was not
aware of it that was the beginning
of Ava’s Heart. I just wanted Jade to
have me the way I was before, and I
wanted to see her grow up.
What kinds of things
did you do in your re
-hab sessions that you
continue to do today?Walking; I walk everywhere I can. I
now have a golden retriever named
Cody, and we take walks three times
a day. It is a great time to think and
be aware of your surroundings. I
remember lying in the hospital bed
trying to just move my toes or lift a
foot or bend a leg, praying I would
be able to walk again. Pilates is what
got me back to being me. I worked
three times a week with my dearafter having a heart
transplant?
I need to clarify something here.
Most people, after having a heart
transplant, are up and walking in a
few days and home in about two weeks
with intense clinic appointments. My
situation was very different, because
the disease I had destroyed all my
muscles. So after being in an induced
coma for two months, and once I
awoke, I was still on a ventilator and
trapped in my own body. I could not
move a finger. None of the doctors
expected me to live or at least to
ever walk again. Being a dancer, or
let’s say being in great shape, saved
my life. It was horrible. I cannot
even put into words the amount of
patience, time, discipline and sheer
inner strength I needed to get myself
moving.
The rehab at the hospital was pretty
amazing. At the start they would put
me in a cardiac chair. It had a crank
on the side and my physiotherapistwould turn it until he got my body
standing. It was like torture. Slowly
I could feel my muscle memory
coming back. I was in the hospital for
four months, then six weeks of rehab
and went home in a wheelchair.
I pushed myself hard. The most
difficult thing, and it took me six
months, was going from sitting to
standing and from lying down to
sitting up. On the other side of it
all, I was fascinated how each day I
could see a bit more improvement.
I knew what my body needed, and
it longed to stretch. My mind would
tell my body to do something and it
just would not - could not - do it.
There were many times during my
rehab that I felt I could just stop, and
just be happy to be alive. However,
there was no way I wasn’t going to
win this battle, so I fought hard with
myself.