A Busy Saturday: The Heart Walk at Busch Stadium and Listen to Your Mother's Show at St. Luke's

This Saturday, May 10, I'll be participating in the Heart Walk at Busch Stadium, on a team to honor my sister-in-law Gerry, who will celebrate the one-year anniversary of her heart transplant in July. 

Gerry's daughter, my niece Jamie, is once again sponsoring a team through her employer, Cassidy Turley, who has donated a special prize (St. Louis Cardinals tickets) to be raffled among Jamie's team members.

Jamie and Gerry will be walking side-by-side with my brother Jim. My sister Kathleen and I will be there along with other members of the Duly and Schneider families and Jamie's Cassidy Turley family at work.  

The  Heart Walk opening ceremony starts at 8:30 with the walk beginning at 9:00. Jamie's company’s meeting spot is in Section 157 in Busch Stadium. 

Here's a link to Jamie's work team if you'd like to  join us in some heart-healthy exercise or donate for this worthy cause.

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At the signing last Saturday for the Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Mom, I chatted with Ellie Grossman, author of of Mishegas of Motherhood.

During our conversation, Ellie reminded me about the Second Annual Mother's Day Listen to Your Mother Show St. Louis on Saturday, May 10 at St. Luke's at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The show features live readings of funny, touching, and inspiring stories about motherhood. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the local charity, Girls in the Know.

With the heart walk being on the same day, I won't be able to make this event, which is disappointing because the brilliant and funny writer Sioux Roslawski is among the featured speakers. 

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If you're in the local area and want to have some fun while supporting a worthy cause, check out one--or both events-- if you're able!

A Day to Remember: Bastille Day, a Book Launch, and a New Heart

For many reasons, yesterday was a day to remember.

Historically, July 14 is Bastille Day, the day the French, and other countries, commemorate the conclusion of the French Revolution.

Locally, several writers celebrated the July 14 Well Versed 2013 book launch with the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild at the Unity Center in Columbia, Missouri. The Sunday afternoon event brought out writers, friends, and family members.

Lynn, Marcia, Donna, Sheree, Linda

For the drive to the launch, I carpooled with Sheree, Marcia, and Lynn, three other Well Versed contributors.

The room was crowded, and several chairs had to be added to accommodate attendees. One of Lynn's grade-school classmates showed up for the event, along with Lynn's critique group pals Sioux and Tammy. Sioux took several photos, including the one on the left.

During the celebration, editor Linda Fisher announced the names of the Judges' Picks in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She also handed out certificates to winners and honorable mentions. Afterwards, several contributors read and signed books; conversations were friendly and snacks plentiful.

During the drive, Lynn, Sheree, Marcia, and I chatted and shared stories about our lives and how we met our husbands. I also told them about how anxious I was because of a call I received that morning.

For my family, July 14 is a day to remember because my sister-in-law has a new heart.

After months of hospital stays, setbacks, hopes, waiting and praying, yesterday morning my brother received a call to be at the hospital around 10 a.m. The transplant team believed they had a perfect match, and if all went well my sister-in-law's surgery would be late in the afternoon or early evening. I thought about going to the hospital instead of the launch, but one of my sisters convinced me we might get in the way. Coincidentally, yesterday was the day of a special Mass for our sister-in-law's heart health.

During the book launch, I discretely checked my phone for news from home. On the return trip, I received a call that surgery was a go for the evening. Late last night I received another call that, according to the surgeon, everything went "splendidly."

This morning when I spoke with my brother, we talked about how it truly was a miracle that his wife now has a strong, young heart, and how grateful we all are for the God-given talent of the surgeon and the medical team, for the generosity of the organ donor's family, but especially to God for the gifts he gives that others share.

So, yesterday will be a day I will remember -- for the book launch and for spending an afternoon with several writing friends, but most of all I will remember July 14, 2013 as the day one family's organ donation gave my sister-in-law a new heart and a second chance on life.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

The winner selected at random to win the Have A Healthy Heart goodie bag giveaway is:

 

BOOKIE

 

 

So, Bookie (aka Claudia Mundell),  if you would e-mail your snail mail address to me at dvolkenannt (at) charter.net I will send everything to you.

 

Thanks to everyone who left a comment.

 

And the chicken dinner reference is to what I should be eating more often to have a healthy heart.

Announcing the Cupid's Quiver Anthology Release and A Healthy Heart Giveaway

February is a month for red, with love and flowers and hearts -- and giveaways.

In the love department, my romantic short story “The Promise of New Beginnings” is among the twelve stories in the just-released Cupid’s Quiver anthology. Oh, and flowers play a large part in my story.

What’s special about this anthology is that it includes stories from some of my writing friends and blogger buddies: Sioux Roslawski, Linda O’Connell, Pat Wahler, and Claudia Mundel to name a few. Cupid's Quiver is available on Amazon Kindle.

In the heart department, last week my sister Kathleen and I attended the Her Heart: Every Beat Counts seminar and luncheon, sponsored by SSM Health Care. It’s the third year we’ve attended the free event. The inspiring speakers included local cardiologists and a young mother who is a heart attack survivor. There were several vendors and lots of activities going on all morning. Lunch was tasty, and although I didn’t win a door prize, they looked fantastic.

While I was at the event, I picked up some handouts and promotional items. Rather than keeping everything for myself, I decided to have a giveaway so I could share them with one of my blog readers. The giveaways include a red-and-white bag to hold the goodies, two colorful pens for writing, a Go Red for Women pin to wear, a nail file to keep you sharp, and several pamphlets with educational information about women and heart disease.

For a chance to win the bag of heart-healthy writerly goodies, be sure to have a mailing address in the USA and leave a comment by February 22. I’ll pick one name at random and announce the winner’s name on Feb 25.  Good luck!

 

National Go Red for Women Day

Today is national Go Red For Women Day to kick off heart healthy month.

 

Heart disease is the Number One killer of women and is more deadly than cancer. 

Over the past two years, heart disease has affected people I love.

* Almost two years ago, my sister experienced shortness of breath and chest discomfort. At first she thought she was coming down with a cold or maybe getting a sinus infection. She went to her doctor, and to be on the safe side her doctor ran some additional tests to make sure the problem wasn't her heart. While my sister was on the treadmill, the technician told her to get off immediately and called the cardiologist in, who told her she needed to get to the hospital right away. She had blockage in several valves, 98% blockage in one, and needed to have surgery. After her surgery and making lifestyle changes, she is doing fine.

* This past October, my sister-in-law, who has had two pacemaker surgeries, passed out during a wedding reception. Over the past few months she has been hospitalized for more than 10 weeks;  twice she was "coded" and had to be resuscitated. After being bedridden for so many months she is going through physical therapy while she gets healthy enough for a heart transplant. I saw her and my brother on Wednesday. While she needs help walking, her color is good, and she is grateful for every day.

* Sadly, this summer I lost one of my writing friends from complications after surgery. She had had several heart surgeries in the past but her body couldn't survive her last one.

The reason for this post isn't to make readers feel bad, but to encourage them to get educated and get healthy. Personally, I need to work on eating healthy, losing weight, and exercising more.

Here's what I am doing:

To get my weight under control and exercise more, I've been going to a Zumba Gold class at a local church. Classes meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It's fun and an inexpensive and invigorating class, intended for older women. The pace is slower than normal Zumba classes, but the energy level is high. The leader is enthusiastic and encouraging and incorporates her faith with fitness.

If you see me today, I will be wearing red, including tonight at Bunco, where I will try to limit my portion sizes and calorie intake.

I hope to make it to Macy's to buy a Go Red pin. 

I've signed up to go to Her Heart: Every Beat Counts Event, a free health event hosted by the SSM Heart Institute later this month. There, I will have cholesterol/glucose screening (for a small fee), blood pressure screening, listen to speakers, be treated to a healthy lunch, and have the opportunity to win door prizes. My sister and I went to this standing-room only event last year. I came away educated and encouraged to make some changes in my lifestyle--which I'm still working on, but progress is slow.

How about you? Do you plan to do anything today or this month to educate yourself about heart disease?