{"id":8696,"date":"2010-11-12T09:32:38","date_gmt":"2010-11-12T14:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utnews.utoledo.edu\/?p=8696"},"modified":"2010-11-12T10:23:54","modified_gmt":"2010-11-12T15:23:54","slug":"local-mom-runs-marathons-thanks-to-utmc-cardiologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/11_12_2010\/local-mom-runs-marathons-thanks-to-utmc-cardiologist","title":{"rendered":"Local mom runs marathons, thanks to UTMC cardiologist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Robin<\/a>

Robin Laird, right, and her daughter, Brooke, posed for a photo during the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota.<\/p><\/div>Nine years and three defibrillators later, Robin Laird, a patient at The University of Toledo Medical Center, shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Laird recently ran a marathon in Minnesota as a Medtronic Global Hero, which is an award given to 25 long-distance runners from across the world who benefited from medical technology, such as Laird\u2019s defibrillator. <\/p>\n

\u201cVigorous physical activity is not uncommon in a patient with a defibrillator; we actually encourage it. As doctors, we advise patients to return to physical activity soon after surgery because it is good for them physically and for their quality of life,\u201d said Dr. M. Yousuf Kanjwal, Laird\u2019s doctor and director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories and the Center for Atrial Fibrillation at UT\u2019s Heart and Vascular Center.<\/p>\n

Laird was 36 when she was diagnosed in 1999 with ventricular tachycardia. The aerobics instructor said the diagnosis came as a complete surprise. When she first began having dizzy spells, she attributed it to too much caffeine until she passed out while running. Laird was determined to not let the heart condition stop her from exercising. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was so busy when I found out. I was married with two young girls. I thought I would not be able to do anything again,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I remained positive and my main thought was not if I would be able to be active again, but when.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/a>

Robin Laird, right, and her daughter, Brooke, gave a big thumb's up before heading out to the race.<\/p><\/div>It is her positive attitude that helped Laird gain a nomination from family and friends to run in the recent Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very cool to take part in the marathon and meet the other Medtronic Global Heroes,\u201d Laird said. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand how big of a deal it was until I got to Minneapolis. I think it is important for people to see men and women with heart issues still lead an active and healthy life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living an active life is possible even with a defibrillator, and patients are actually safer when working out after having the device installed, according to Kanjwal. The defibrillator serves as a pacemaker and can shock the heart if there is a cardiac problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a month, a patient can resume some form of exercise,\u201d he said. \u201cWe discourage contact sports like boxing, football and lacrosse because a hit can impact the defibrillator, but most exercise is allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laird switched to the doctors at UT Medical Center two years ago because of the personalized service and caring staff. She said the experience of her caregivers is unmatched, and she enjoys the encouragement she receives from the UTMC doctors. Laird had her most recent defibrillator placed in April at UT Medical Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Kanjwal understands I live an active life, and he encourages me to keep doing everything I want to do,\u201d Laird said. \u201cWhat is most important is to listen to your body and yourself. If you are diagnosed, you can\u2019t give up; you have to keep living.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UT Medical Center patient Robin Laird, who received a defibrillator last spring, ran the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":327,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}