Red dress dash – volunteering and learning about heart health
February 3rd was a chance to help out my daughter Carrie who works for the American Heart Association AHA. After just writing about heart failure for Senior News & Times and Farm World I am more aware of the dangers of cardiac issues so I was glad to help out.
The event was held at the Old State Capitol downtown Springfield and the dash was down the steps and out under a heart arch that Carrie and Karen who also works for the AHA labored over prior to the event. Some dashed a bit further on this brisk winter day, but we all joined together to raise our heart rate for a moment or two for a good cause.
My job was just to help set up and hand out. Radio personalities, media from television and newspaper all came to cover the event and Victoria Ringer gave a heartfelt story of her own heart scare that touched me deeply.
As a woman this Go Red for Women issue hit home. Carrie reported to the media that, “Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. That’s approximately one woman every minute! But it doesn’t affect all women alike, and the warning signs for women aren’t the same in men. What’s more: These facts only begin to scratch the surface.”
The day was both educational and fun. Learning about this heart health issue just reconfirmed what I already knew that we can’t take our health for granted. So I had on my red shirt and dashed with the group down the historic Old State Capitol steps where Abraham Lincoln has trod and walked under the heart arch that the AHA worked so hard on.
Yes, I was a mom trying to help out a daughter, but more, I was a volunteer who wants to help share the news about heart disease. To travel requires a modicum of health and I plan to take the risks more seriously in 2016 so I can get off the couch and hit the road!
