Dear Lorelei, Evan, and Andreas,

There is so much you need to know about my dad, your Pops. To put it frank, he is simply one of the greatest men you will ever meet.

You already know that he can fix anything, from a broken car, to a torn shoe, to a loose button on a shirt. You already know he can create anything, from constructing drawers into a seemingly useless wall, to building all kinds of furniture to organize our belongings, to developing a basement we can use for anything. You already know he will bend over backwards to help out his family and how much he loves all of us, especially his grandkids.

Basically, you already know that Pops is awesome.

What you might not know about Pops is that he is by far the most unselfish person and hardest worker I have ever met. Pops lost his Dad (your Pépère Gagne) at a young age, and as the oldest boy of 5 children, he took on a lot of responsibility to help provide for his family. All of his childhood, he worked a bunch of different jobs to help his mom support the household. When other kids were still sleeping, he was delivering papers. When other kids were playing, he was working in a laundromat. He worked very hard to not only be a great brother, but to also be a father figure.

Pops met Mem’Nise when they were teenagers, and they fell hopelessly in love (gross, I know, but one day you’ll appreciate a good love story). Still providing for his own family, he took on even more responsibilities in order to start a life for the two of them. As they got married and built their home together, Pops continued to put those he loved first by working hard.

Through the years, everyone I have ever met who knows Pops has the greatest respect for him. He has always been valued for his work ethic, honesty, and integrity, and through the years he moved up the ranks in his profession because of these tremendous qualities he has personally and professionally.

I don’t think Pops ever had the dream job he might have fantasized about as a child. I could imagine him owning a carpentry store or rebuilding …

Dear Lorelei, Evan and Andreas,

Soon after I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition at the age of 17, I opened my college acceptance letter. Opening that envelope was a moment to treasure, affirmation that life would move forward and that I still had so many positive qualities to offer this world, despite no longer being able to achieve my life-long dream of playing Division I soccer.

My mom was so excited for me. She hugged me tightly. “So you’re going to major in Art, right?” she asked.

I remember being startled at her question. I’d thought only a little about what I wanted to spend the next four years studying. Yes, I loved art. I could draw and create for hours on end, and  in retrospect it helped enable me to survive the last few months of pain and confusion at suddenly being told I could no longer perform as an athlete.

My answer was a quick, “No.”

Her face dropped as she questioned why. I went into my rational explanation of how majoring in Art was going to give me a foot forward in any career only if you counted the job of “starving artist.” The conversation reversed the usual situation, with the parent trying to convey that the arts are a practical post-secondary option.

My mom then asked me a simple question. “If you could major in anything you wanted, without worrying about what was to come next, what would it be?”

I closed my eyes and knew, but she sensed my hesitancy.

“Follow your heart,” she said. “The rest will work itself out.”

I entered college as an Art major, and loved every minute of it. During my junior year, my mom called to tell me about a career she had just heard about and she thought I would love: Art Therapy. In speaking to a colleague, she learned about this field in which art was brought into the counseling process. I was sold. It perfectly combined my two big passions, helping children and creating art.

I went on to receive my Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, and I currently work in a high school as a counselor and art therapist helping youth in need. I love my job. It seems the …

1. Become certified in CPR and in using an AED 
The training takes approximately 4 hours…a commitment of time that is well worth the ability to save a life in an emergency situation.  If someone were to experience Sudden Cardiac Arrest, the single most common cause of death, CPR can double his or her likelihood of survival.  A Sudden Cardiac Arrest victim’s chance to live falls by 10% every minute without action.  That means that after 5 minutes without help, there is only a 50% chance of survival, and after 10 minutes there is likely no chance.  Use of an AED could increase the chance of survival by up to 70% or more.  These devices have the ability to detect a person who is experiencing Sudden Cardiac Arrest and can deliver a shock if needed to get the heart beating steadily again.  Children can even become trained in these life-saving techniques.  Contact your local American Heart Association office to find out about trainings happening in your area!

2. Check on the availability of AEDs in your community
Do your schools and their sports teams have AEDs?  Do your community centers and public facilities have AEDs?  Are all places where large numbers of people gather equipped with this life-saving device?  Quick calls to the superintendent’s office, head nurse, city hall, wellness official, etc. could provide you with a wealth of information to make sure your community is taking one of the most important steps to save lives.  If places are not properly protected with an AED, make some noise!  Contact the media and make sure people know that more has to be done to keep citizens safe.  Feeling especially motivated?  Fundraise to place AEDs in key places! 

3. Make an appointment with your doctor and get your physical
When was your last routine physical?  Most people cannot remember…
If you are in this group, then there is no …

Let’s think of a heart attack as a problem with the plumbing.  A heart attack is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel, and it can happen as a result of multiple reasons (or combinations of reason) including poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and family genetics.  This blockage, made up of plaque from cholesterol and fatty materials, prevents blood and oxygen flow.  Once oxygen can not circulate, part of the heart muscle dies. There is a decent chance of survival from a heart attack depending on how fast you receive medical treatment.  Heart attacks are more typical in older adults.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest, however, we’ll think of as a problem with the electricity.  SCA occurs when there is an abnormal rhythm to how the heart is beating, and the heart just suddenly stops beating altogether.  There is an extremely low chance of survival with an SCA, with some estimates saying less than 7%.  In adults SCA can occur from a variety of reasons, including as a damage done by a past heart attack.  With young people, however, SCA is typically caused by an underlying, often genetic heart condition that may not have any symptoms or warning signs.  It’s the stories of young athletes dropping dead unexpectedly and tragically on the field.  It’s the stories of the little children who don’t wake up in the morning.  And now it’s thought to be the stories of some of the SIDS victims out there.

Understand how different a heart attack and an SCA are??  When we hear the stories about a young person dropping dead from a heart attack, chances are this was misreported.  We wouldn’t make the mistake of saying a woman died from breast cancer when she actually died from lung cancer.  They are both heart issues, they are both cancers…but that doesn’t make them the same.  They have different causes, manifestations, and effects.  Join my crusade in educating people about these differences!  Through personal research and teaching others, we empower ourselves to lead healthier and stronger lives.

…

“When you are driving in your car, do you look through your rearview mirror to drive forward? Give this a try when you get home, and let me know how it goes,” he joked.

He explained that we look through the front windshield to move forward. The rearview mirror is there for glancing, a way to check on where you’ve been, what might be coming, and how to make a better decision. It’s the same way with life. We need to look forward in order to move forward. We can’t change where we have been, but we can certainly steer our car in a new direction.

Now, I don’t think this was the first time I had been introduced to this analogy, but for some reason this time it really made me reflect. It’s really difficult sometimes to move away from the people we are and habits we have. It’s easier to maintain the course we have had for so long.

There is always a new day, though. There is always a chance to stop and say, “I have this moment to either reflect on what was, or what could be.”

This, of course, can be applied to the way we treat others and the morals we have in our lives, but it is also relevant to our health. It’s important to hear yourself say: “I have the choice to take care of myself from this moment on. I have the choice to eat well, see my doctor, exercise, stop smoking, and reduce the stress in my life. I can let myself remain in the lifestyle that my past has produced, or I can design a new existence for myself…and it can all begin at this very moment.”

So, next time you’re driving, take a glance back in that mirror. Are you happy with where you’ve been? Most importantly, where are you going next?

…

The thing is, it’s fun!  You sweat, you laugh, you feel the burn, and most of the people around you look just as silly.  So who cares?!?

On a recent vacation, I decided to attend the Latin-inspired dance classes that were being offered.  What did I have to lose?  It’s not like I was going to see any of my fellow dancers again, and vacation is always a nice time to try something new and daring (not to mention, it’s also a time when my pants might get a little tighter on me if I’m too lazy).

What a blast!  I was a meringue and cha-cha addict by the end of the trip.  The instructors even said I was a “promising” beginner.  Granted, there’s a good chance they might have said that to everyone, but I’ll hold onto it for what it’s worth.  I worked up a great sweat, learned a new hobby, and had the time of my life.  It made me feel so healthy throughout the trip, both physically and mentally, and it’s something I’ve continued to practice since. 

I know the old gym routine or morning run gets old.  I dread the thought of the typical, monotonous, everyday workout.  We all know we have to exercise, so why not make it something to look forward to?  Check out that hip hop dance class at your gym.  Tell your friend you will finally join her kayaking.  Take some regular walks with a couple of friends who make you laugh.  Kick boxing anyone? 

Make being healthy fun!!  Try something new, even if it’s out of character, and I bet you will surprise yourself.  The good time you have will leave you wanting more, and your body and mind will certainly thank you in the long run.

…

And it BOGGLES my mind.

Despite all the advances in technology and research, some people just don’t want to be told something could be wrong with their health.  Been there.  Done that.  I used to tell myself it would have been much better to not have found out I have a heart condition so that I could have just lived a regular life…but who knows what could have happened had I not followed through with diagnosis and treatment? 

It takes an extreme amount of bravery to squarely look yourself in the mirror and want to know everything going on inside of you.  It takes even more courage to make the appointment to know for sure if you are healthy.  No one wants to experience that moment of bad news.  No one wants to be told they are no longer invincible.  The truth is, though, that even more so no one wants a knock on their door telling them someone they loved has passed away unexpectedly.

My sophomore year of college I was instructed to write an essay about an important personal experience that changed my life.  In my assignment, I explored the moment I was diagnosed with LongQT Syndrome while in high school.  I intensely illustrated every sensation I felt during that moment I was told I have a heart condition that could unexpectedly claim my life at any moment, intricately describing my emotions and the way they played out over the weeks that followed.  The following class my professor “published” our essays into a packet and distributed everyone’s writing project to each other.  It was fun to check out my peers’ important experiences and develop a deeper understanding for the people they were.

That night at 9:30 I got a knock on the door to my dorm room.  There stood Ashley, the girl who sat two seats behind me in class.  The essays were in her hand, and tears were streaming down her face. 

“This is me,” she sobbed.  “Your story is my story.”

For the next hour she told me that in high school they suspected she had LongQT Syndrome because she had passed out during crew season several times.  She was on the crew team in college, but could not find it within herself to finish getting tested.  …

During my senior year, two weeks after soccer season ended, I was told I might have a life-threatening heart condition.  My dreams completely shattered.  Six months later it was confirmed that I have LongQT Syndrome, and competitive sports were no longer an option for me.  It twisted and wrenched my heart in a way that no ex-boyfriend could ever come close to doing to a girl.  My passion had been stripped from me. A piece of my identity was simply stolen away. 

Two months later I was asking my doctor if I could get “one of those metal things” put into my chest in order to play soccer again.  He agreed to let me have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) surgically placed in my chest and wired into my heart.  The device would keep me safe, and considering my relative lack of symptoms, I could return to the field. 

One month before entering college, I had my first ICD implanted.  I went through rehab and trained in the spring of my freshman year with the Division I UMass Amherst soccer team.  I quickly returned to great soccer shape and gave the game everything I had.  The following summer I showed up for official try-outs, nervous and scared because the doorway to the greatest dream of my life was finally in front of me. 

The coach stood before us all, announcing he would not be expanding his roster as originally intended.  I did the math.  There was one spot left on the team.  He needed forwards, and I played defense.

I worked my butt off that week, and I was cut.  I’d never been cut from a team in my life, and here it was, the one team that mattered like no other to me. 

I concentrated on I what I had, not on what I didn’t.  Being cut from that team …

“We’re playing kickball today?  Awesome!!  I love kickball!!”

“You’re cooking chicken for dinner?  Mmmm…that is gonna be so good!  Woo-hoo!”  (The “Woo-hoo” was always my favorite…a classic Matt word.)

Matt loved life, simply loved being alive.  I’ll always remember one of my co-workers explaining to me that Matt was his shining star.  It is so easy to get burnt-out in the human services field and feel hopeless…but then one kid, one shining star, comes along and makes all of your hard work worth every inch of effort.

Matt was different from most of the other kids I have worked with who have similar backgrounds.  Following three years of volunteering at the shelter, I worked for four years at a residential/educational facility for youth, ages 4-19, in need.  Most came from abusive situations with varying emotional, behavioral, and cognitive issues.  Most felt life was not worthy of a positive attitude or the hope that their existence would ever get better.  It was very hard to fault a child for his or her attitude, a child who had never known anything else in life but negativity, violence, and neglect.

Matt has always served as a role model to me, the ten-year-old boy who appreciated everything in life.  Matt has helped me keep a sense of purpose and perspective during those difficult days and trying times.  We all have our days when we feel sorry for what is wrong with us or what we have had to experience.  I’ll admit, I have had moments when I was wondered why heart disease had to happen to me, felt overwhelmed with very emotional work and advocacy, or did not understand the scar on my chest nor the cardiac device underneath it.  The image of Matt’s face in my mind …