PORT TOWNSEND — When Carole Marshall was growing up, she wanted to write a novel that would touch readers’ hearts.
Now, she has written a book that will keep her readers’ hearts beating.
Titled Maximum Fitness, Minimum Risk, it addresses the concerns people have about exercising after being diagnosed with a chronic illness — heart disease, pulmonary disease or diabetes.
“There’s a negative power that can take hold with a diagnosis of a serious illness. It can beat you down,” Marshall said.
“On the other hand, there’s a positive power in saying, ‘I can do something about this.’ To have some control over the illness — that’s very powerful.”
A former Peninsula Daily News columnist, Marshall worked for nine years in the Wellness Exercise Program at Jefferson General Hospital, now Jefferson Healthcare.
There, she heard the same questions over and over from new clients with chronic illness who had been told by their doctor to start exercising.
“People with lung problems ask, ‘How can I exercise when I’m already short of breath?”‘ Marshall said.
“People with diabetes ask how exercise can help them. People who have had heart surgery wonder how they can exercise at all. All these questions are answered in the book.”
Three types of people
The book also describes the three main types of people she encountered — the exercise avoider, who is intimidated by the thought of going to a gym; the busy bee, who thinks gardening and housework are sufficient; and the former athlete who is used to pushing any activity to the max.
“The mentality of the former athlete is ‘I’m going to go out and run myself healthy,”‘ Marshall said.
“With a chronic illness, you don’t know how your body is going to respond to exercise.”