The first week after her heart transplant, Eileen Ryan was a wreck. Overcome by weakness, she couldn't stand or walk. Going home from the hospital, she had to rely on a wheelchair…

"I began resuming a normal life," said this 64-year-old, who lives in Jacksonville, Fla…For three months, three times a week, she practiced walking on treadmills and using weights under the watchful eyes of nurses and exercise physiologists at Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville campus…

"Every patient comes in with a different readiness for change and a different level of motivation," said Deborah Kelly, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation nurse supervisor at the Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville campus.

Chicago Tribune, by Judith Graham, 2/25/2010

Tags: Cardiology, heart transplant, rehabilitation