Nick's Story
Moving more, means giving more
After surgery for angina, Nick started moving more. With a new lease on life, he’s walking, working out, and volunteering at the local foodbank.
"Being active enables me to care for my family and volunteer for my local food bank."
As a former school teacher and leader of the local youth club for 25 years, Nick has always tended to put others before himself. He says that he’s lived with high blood pressure for as long as he can remember.
However, two years ago Nick recalls feeling lethargic and not his usual positive self. He’d always enjoyed going to the gym, but he felt he couldn’t seem to find the energy to go. It wasn’t until he was walking to a football match with a friend that he realised something wasn’t right, he felt breathless and struggled to keep up.
Nick contacted his GP and following some tests he was diagnosed with Angina and underwent surgery to help manage the condition.
How Nick moves more
To aid his recovery, a specialist nurse advised Nick to join a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation programme run by his local leisure trust. The programme involved one hour of activity followed by an informative talk about ways to self-manage through healthy lifestyles. Nick recalls “sometimes I didn’t feel like going, but when I got there and started doing the activities, I always felt better”.
Nick found the talks and networking opportunities to be useful as he was able to meet and share experiences with other people living with similar conditions. As his fitness has improved, he is now able and enjoys taking his dog, Daisy, on longer walks.
How Nick feels now
The benefits that Nick experiences are wider than improvements to his physical health. Being more active enables him to better support his wife who has mobility issues and he also plays an active role in caring for his wider family members too.
Moving more also empowers him to volunteer at his local foodbank twice a week. One year on, Nick has the strength and stamina to collect trays of food from supermarkets and deliver food parcels to families in need. Nick finds great reward in volunteering, as it enables him to meet new people and support his community.
Nick’s confidence has grown so much that he has renewed his gym membership and now attends twice a week. His new goal is to feel fit enough to swim again.