February 2018
My Journey Continues... As I write this, I am 7 months old. I was informed that I have two birthdays now, one when my mother gave birth to me and the other is when God gave me heros and technology to bring me back to life. This past weekend I met a group of people that welcomed me with open arms. They found out “what I was” and congratulated me and hugged me and called me a miracle. I didn’t know what to do so I hugged them back, said “thank you” and cried, a lot. I felt like I belonged with them. The energy of our hearts connected us all (and all of us have a pacemaker/ICD…so LOTS of potential electricity). This group of people are the SURVIVORS of sudden cardiac arrest. I am going to join in the monthly meetings and continued education of CPR and AED. They have support groups for family and friends, they have friendships, they have something in common with me. I now belong to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Survivors Network. You can become members too, family and friends encouraged. February is HEART month, fitting because everything in February is full of love and hearts and even arrows because of Valentines day. I used to not like Valentines day, but this year I changed my mind. I love the hearts, I love the arrows, I love the “I love you’s”, I love the LOVE! I also love supporting the American Heart Association (AHA)-which celebrates in so many ways in the month of February. This is how I met my survivor network. The boys, Bravo included, went to the Mall of America on Saturday to visit the AHA and practice CPR with the boys. Jack and I had our One Mission heart/be brave shirts on, learning CPR from Eugene and Natasha came over and asked about our shirts. She LOVED them. Jack proudly said “My mom had a Sudden Cardiac Arrest”. American Heart Association is having its annual TWIN CITIES HEART WALK on May 5th in Minneapolis. I want to continue to raise money to give back to them. More importantly, I want YOU to walk with me. Together we can live a heart healthy life and continue to become healthy!! We will not only raise funds, but raise heartbeats!! BE BRAVE HEART shirts will be available again!! These shirts sparked a conversation that led me to the survivors network. These shirts are bringing awareness to SCA and the importance of CPR and early defibrillation. They are empowering people to BE BRAVE. They are getting people talking, asking questions, sharing…they are perfect!! Help me in continuing to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, the importance of CPR and early defibrillation and my ongoing mission to be heart healthy!!! All proceeds will be given to my HEART WALK TEAM to support the American Heart Association!!!