A Second Chance at Life: Recovering from Heart Surgery with an E-Bike

We receive many emails from people who are looking to get back on their bikes after a major medical ordeal but are not worried they won’t be able to fully cycle. Doctors often recommend biking as one of the best paths to recovery and to remain active. One of the reasons is that it is easy on the joints. As people begin their recovery they find that getting back on the saddle is not as easy as they hoped and that is where e-bikes come into it. Here is a great story from a fan of the site…

My father was one of those who needed to get back on the saddle. My dad has 7 children, 24 grandchildren, and has been married to Mum for over 38 years. I remember my childhood as an active one. We were always outside playing football, soccer, baseball or basketball. We always had bikes in the garage that we rode on a daily basis. I can remember my dad spending hours trying to keep our bikes maintained for us kids. It was hard to keep seven bikes maintained, but he always managed to keep us on two wheels.

Dad has been living one of his dreams the past few years: commuting to work on a bike and enjoying downhill riding on the weekends. Out of the blue, exactly one year ago, that dream was crushed.

While at work, he began to experience chest pains and difficulty breathing. My dad thinks he’s Chuck Norris so he drove himself to the hospital. Thankfully it was only a block away. The medical staff ran tests and determined he needed an emergency quadruple bypass. Devastated, Dad waited to process the news before calling Mom to let her know.

Up until then, no one even knew he had gone to the hospital or that he was having chest pains. We were terrified when we found out and Dad’s life flashed before his eyes. While he was processing the news before surgery he would not be able to be active on the same level as before, or even worse. Long story short, Dad was lucky, after a long recovery in bed he jumped back on his bike. The experience of riding his bike once again was thrilling. It felt so good! But he wasn’t riding his old bike as it would have put too much strain on his heart, this was a new e-bike he got from one of our partner sites.

You see, the extra support you get from an e-bike allows my dad to ride like he did when they were a kid. It makes it possible to ride a bicycle like before a major incident, just like my Dad experienced. Struggling on hills wasn’t a problem with his new e-bike and it gave him such a wonderful new lease on life that I feel it was worth every penny.

For my dad, riding his e-bike has helped with the healing process. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. Dad has the freedom to ride like he wants to, not dictated to him by a physical disability. An e-bike can do the same for you!