HOSPITAL REHAB CENTERS LET PATIENTS CATCH THEIR BREATH

Vicki Frank, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation supervisor at Southeast Missouri Hospital, checked on Herman Jansen of Scott City as he arm-pedaled.

Charlie Weber of Cape Girardeau operated a pullover weight station to improve upper body strength at the St. Francis Center for Health and Rehabilitation.

Even the shortest of walks used to leave Earl Peetz short of breath.

The 70-year-old Jackson man grew up on a farm. He regularly walked more than two miles to school.

But heart, lung and arthritis problems have taken their toll.

In recent years, he couldn't walk up the hill behind his house without frequent stops to catch his breath.

He was too out of breath to mow his lawn.

But that was before he began working out in St. Francis Medical Center's pulmonary rehabilitation center last year.

Just walking around the track was difficult at first. Today, he routinely walks for 20 minutes on the treadmill as part of a twice-a-week workout at the rehab center on Mount Auburn Road.

"I feel much stronger," said Peetz.

The center helps Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients, including those coping with chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

The primary cause is smoking, said Linda Lawrence, who directs the rehab center.

Usually people who are short of breath are less active, and over time they do less and less, she said.

"They then become weak because it takes so much effort to do anything when struggling to breathe," she said.

Many patients, she said, are more limited from inactivity than from lung disease itself.

Exercise helps, along with teaching patients the importance of a proper diet and how to use the diaphragm to breathe better, Lawrence said.

"We try to improve conditioning," she said.

"They have to use a lot of energy just to breathe.

Rehab involves two exercise sessions a week for 10 weeks, as well as informational sessions. The exercise program is individualized for each patient.

After that, patients keep coming back to work out twice a week as part of a maintenance plan.

"People can exercise even if they are on oxygen," Lawrence said. "We also offer oxygen here if they don't want to drag their own oxygen tank around."

For rehab patients, working out is a social occasion.

"They become friends with each other. They exchange phone numbers and call each other," said Lawrence. "It is such an emotional lift."

Peetz said, "It's like one big happy family."

Across town at Southeast Missouri Hospital's cardiac/pulmonary rehab center, John Smith works out on the exercise machines.

The 57-year-old Scott City man had open heart surgery last April. He began exercising at the hospital in November.

He works out three times a week at the center. Each workout lasts about an hour.

Smith's heart problems left him breathless when he would try to walk at West Park Mall. But exercising at the rehab center has increased his stamina.

He can make two laps now around the mall.

Smith isn't ready to retire. He wants to return to his job as a railroad conductor for Southern Pacific.

Paul Blattner, 72, of Gordonville has gone through the 12-week exercise program. But he continues to exercise as part of rehab's maintenance program at Southeast.

Blattner has had a series of heart problems. He had bypass surgery seven years ago and last year had further surgery.

"I think it has helped," Blattner said of the workouts. He said he wouldn't be as diligent about exercising if he had to do it at home.

Like St. Francis' rehab, patients at Southeast Missouri Hospital's rehabilitation center get to know one another. The exercise sessions become a social occasion.

Wives will often accompany their husbands to the center. The wives will chat while the men work out.

Spouse support is important, said Vicki Frank, who runs the rehab center.

"Most of our patients are men and they have to lose weight." Frank said it takes more than exercise to lose weight.

The patients must follow a healthy diet. But that won't happen unless their wives cook meals that conform to a proper diet, she said.

Southeast's rehab center opened in September. About 50 patients work out at the center three times a week.

The center has helped patients as young as 38. Most of the patients, however, are in their 60s and 70s.

The patients' heart rates can be monitored from a single computer as they exercise.

St. Francis' rehab center has been around longer and has more exercise equipment. About 50 to 60 patients work out twice a week in pulmonary rehab. The hospital also has a rehab program for cardiac patients.

Most of the pulmonary patients are 65 years of age or older.

Jean Avery of Whitewater is glad she began working out. She suffers from bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

She used to be too short of breath to do even the simplest of household tasks.

She still suffers from shortness of breath. "But I have gained strength to where I can do most of my cooking and laundry," said Avery as she took a break from exercising earlier this week.

Avery wants to work in her wild flower garden again.

She enjoys working out with the other pulmonary patients. "The camaraderie here is so uplifting," she said.

Avery said doctors should push more patients to participate in the rehab program.

Lung transplant patient Rhonda Abbott, 42, of Jackson has to use oxygen when she works out.

Abbott said she doesn't mind exercising at the rehab center. "You don't feel embarrassed because you have oxygen on."

She said getting out the house is a plus too. "You get depressed after a while staying in the house all the time," Abbott said.

Abbott said exercising helps. "You have to work your lungs," she said.