A unique group of Halifax-area residents known as the Organ Grinders are working together to stay motivated in their quest to keep healthy and fit.
Every Wednesday evening, the group meets to challenge their physical limitations. They do push-ups, jumping jacks, and run laps. They are passionate about keeping active, but that is not the only thing they have in common.
“I received two new lungs 18 months ago,” says group member Jessica Carver.
“I had a double lung transplant in 2007,” says Trevor Umlah, co-founder of the Organ Grinders.
“Shawn had his heart transplant about eight years ago and we have kidney transplants, two of our recipients are kidney transplants as well,” says coach Courteney Osborne.
A lifelong hockey fan, Umlah played the game until cystic fibrosis made it impossible. Following his transplant, he did not know if he would be able to renew that passion.
“I thought I was going to be the boy in the bubble type thing, I had no idea what to expect,” says Umlah. “I went into it blind and was really surprised how quickly I came around and how supportive the doctors and everybody were to get back at it and live a normal life.”
Part of living a normal life for Umlah is participating in the weekly boot-camp style workouts with the Organ Grinders.
The workouts are supervised by two trainers and Osborne says, although the sessions are designed with the group’s unique needs in mind, she pushes them as hard as any athlete.
“One of the things we found out is, with a heart transplant, the nerves aren’t connected back to the heart the way they were before, so it takes a little time for the heart to catch up with what the athlete is doing,” says Osborne. “So, we have to take those types of things into consideration when we’re planning things.”
The Organ Grinders have all been cleared for exercise by a physician. Among transplant recipients, physical activity is not just allowed, it is encouraged.
“Some of the medications you’re on encourage obesity, diabetes, poor bone density, so our group is exercising to counteract all that,” says Ulmah.
Some of the group’s members are training for the Transplant Games, which are taking place in Moncton this summer.
“I signed up for five events,” says Carver. “The scariest one would be the three-kilometre road race. The thought of that, I don’t know, I’d much rather sit on the couch, but even if I come in last, at least I’ll do it.”
Osborne says her goal for the group is to help each member reach full potential.
“When they were sick before, they would have lost their fitness level, so we want to get them back up and into some type of routine that they’ll continue, even after the games, and show them that everything is possible now that they’re healthy again,” says Osborne.
The Organ Grinders meet from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evenings. The group is open to anyone who has received a transplant.
