ONE OF US
In the last decade, 66-year-old today this Medica member is happy, healthy and fit. Scott recently sat down with Medica Magazine to talk about the challenges he’s faced and how he’s managed to persevere. You’ve been through a lot. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced? Scott Anderson has experienced a layo , two cancer diagnoses and a near heart attack. But About 10 years ago, I was laid o frommy job after working at print shops for more than 35 years. A month later I found out I had liver cancer. I went through a bunch of di erent treatments and then had to have a liver transplant. A year later, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had to have more surgery. It felt like such a huge snowball of problems came my way. It was tough there for a while trying to figure out how to survive. Howdidyoumanage tobounceback? I give a lot of credit to my wife. She worked part-time while we were raising our kids. But I wasn’t able to work for several years, so she started working full- time and even took on a second job for a while. She really helped us keep things together. Before I had cancer, I never really exercised. I joined a gym a couple times for a month or two, but I never stuck with it. After I had cancer, I decided I needed to get in shape, so I used my SilverSneakers benefits to join my local YMCA*. Now I’m so dedicated that I consider it like my job to go to the Y. I go four days a week for at least three hours at a time. I go to a lot of classes — spin class, weightlifting, yoga, Zumba, step aerobics and reform Pilates. I’ve lost about 40 pounds, mostly through exercise. I’d like to lose about five more pounds, but I have a hard time staying away from snacks. I really like chips, *Scott works out at the Emma B. Howe Family YMCA in Coon Rapids.
popcorn and Twizzlers®. I probably could lose the weight if I’d just duct tape my mouth shut for a few hours every night! I also have a ton of friends at the Y now, both instructors and other members. The instructors at the Y help me out so much, both with the workout and just talking to me after class about my issues. I love them all. If I wasn’t going to the Y I’d probably be home on the couch by myself eating chips. My friends and the routine are just as important to me as the workout. Three years ago I was able to start working two days a week as a valet at Gillette Children’s Hospital. That keeps me active and walking most of the day. Families pull up with their kids in wheelchairs and I park their cars for them. You can’t believe how thankful I am after working at the hospital and seeing what these kids have to go through. I’ve been through a lot too, but I’m feeling good now. We have three kids and seven grandkids who are all healthy. In a lot of ways, I’m pretty lucky. Our kids and grandkids all live near us. We get to celebrate birthdays and holidays together, and we spend a lot of time with the grandkids in the summer going to water parks, fishing and shell hunting. Every Labor Day we rent a cabin and the whole family goes. You had another health scare a year ago. Can you tell us about that? A nurse practitioner from Medica, Kati Kaushal, came to our house to give me a physical. (See sidebar on page 13 to hear from Kati.) I told her I’d been having some chest pain in spin class and when I climbed stairs. I had just had some chest pain an hour before her visit when I was walking our dog. I have acid reflux, so I thought that was the cause of the pain. She told me she thought it sounded like a blockage in my heart, not reflux, and she was worried I was going to have a heart attack.
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MEDICA MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
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