LIHU‘E — Participants in the annual American Heart Association Kaua‘i division Heart Walk raised funds to help the living and remember the dead. Scattered throughout the crowd of walkers were special individuals who sported red caps. These caps signified survivors
LIHU‘E — Participants in the annual American Heart Association Kaua‘i division Heart Walk raised funds to help the living and remember the dead.
Scattered throughout the crowd of walkers were special individuals who sported red caps. These caps signified survivors of heart attack, heart surgery, and stroke, like John Morehead, who wore a red cap for his daughter, Becky.
Anna and John Morehead got the surprise of their lives last year when they found out that their 13-year-old daughter, Becky, needed open-heart surgery. As Anna recalls, “We had no idea of her congenital heart problems until October of last year during a soccer game. She had difficulty breathing, and needed to be taken off of the field.”
They didn’t think much of the incident, assuming that Becky just needed to rest. But when a similar respiratory incident happened three days later, they immediately took her in to see Dr. John Funai at the Kauai Medical Clinic. “We did not want to seem paranoid, but we did it as a precaution,” says Anna, with a faltering smile.
An EKG revealed some abnormalities with Becky’s heart, and she was referred to a pediatric cardiologist on O‘ahu. A few months later, after all of the seemingly endless testing and medical formalities, it was time. In January this year, Becky underwent open-heart surgery.
“The ordeal was stressful, but yet we are thankful for the big, huge fix,” says Anna. Although everything went well with her surgery, Becky was temporarily left with a few emotional scars.
“There was a period of about two months where she seemed depressed, not totally withdrawn, but not quite herself. Luckily, she went on a two-week vacation with her relatives to Kentucky, Norfolk, Virginia, and also Tampa Bay, where she watched the Fourth of July fireworks from a boat,” Anna said.
“When she returned from her trip, she was rejuvenated, and had returned to her old self again. We were thrilled, to say the least.”
The incoming Kaua‘i High School freshman, now 14, leads a normal life typical of any teen-ager. In her spare time she likes to go to the movies and hang out at the mall with friends. As for her open-heart surgery, she modestly says that she does not notice the difference between her life before the surgery and her life now. As she says, “the surgery has no real effect on my life now.”
This is, of course, with the exception of regular EKGs and doctor visits which monitor the condition of her heart. With supportive parents and an optimistic attitude, she is able to successfully move on, close this chapter of her life, and focus on making the most of everyday.
As for everyone who has the preconceived notion that heart disease affects only people in their mid-30s or older on Kaua‘i, she reminds them, “It can happen to anyone.”
Two walkers who take their health seriously are Eddie and Remy Chinen. Although this was their first year participating in the Heart Walk, they are no strangers to walking and maintaining good health. The couple snacked on yogurts while they talked about waking up at 5:30 a.m. every weekday to walk around their neighborhood for at least two hours. Living a healthy lifestyle is of utter importance to them, especially since their parents had heart-related problems. Remy’s father died of a heart attack, and Eddie’s father wore a pacemaker until he passed away at the age of 83.
The couple were happy to be a part of the Heart Walk, being able to get “good exercise” while walking with Remy’s former employers, the Grove Farm Co. Inc. team.
They are eager to do it again next year, hoping that others will “get out there” and join next year’s Heart Walk.
On Saturday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., a sea of walkers and runners in colored shirts outside the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall prepared for the daunting task that lay ahead — a three-mile walk.
The brave individuals who journeyed out were boldly followed (five minutes later) by another group who decided to give their shoes (and slippers) a one-mile workout, all in the name of honoring heart and stroke survivors.
For the sixth consecutive year, the American Heart Association, Kaua‘i Division, along with all of its many sponsors and volunteers, organized the Kaua‘i Heart Walk, the American Heart Association’s annual walking and fund-raising event that was being held on O‘ahu at the same time.
An hour before the Heart Walk was even underway, people began to register and file in through the doors of the convention hall to check out the health fair and keiki activities. Sponsored by Wilcox Health, the Health Fair included blood-lipid testing and cholesterol screening. The cholesterol-screening (with a recommended 12-hour fasting) was an instant hit with walkers.
Cholena Bray of Clinical Laboratories at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, said, “There were 50 people who did a cholesterol-screening in less than a half an hour.”
While most of the people who participated in the screening were “regulars, in their thirties or older,” it was refreshing for the Wilcox Health crew to receive such a large turnout, she said. She also advises everyone to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle by “eating healthy, exercising, and staying active.”
After the brief cardio warm-up lead by event chair Phyllis Stanwood, Sunday Murch, and the Kapa‘a High School cheerleaders, the three-mile and one-mile walkers were off to an effervescent start. The three-mile walkers had the pleasure of walking along the outskirts of Lihu‘e town, up Rice Street, turning left past the Ben Franklin/Ace Hardware store, up onto Ho‘olako, through Vidinha Stadium, onto Kapule Highway, to Ahukini Road, ‘Umi Street, then finally onto Rice Street, finishing their exhausting walk at the Convention Hall. As for the one-mile bunch, they traveled a half-mile on Rice Street to the corner of the Ben Franklin/Ace Hardware store, and headed back to where they started from.
When both groups of walkers returned, they were treated to an assortment of delicious food, drinks, entertainment, and goodie bags provided by the various sponsors of the event.
The AHA dedicates the funds raised to preventing and fighting heart disease and stroke on Kaua‘i by supporting lifesaving research, support groups, public and professional education and community programs.
The Heart Walk itself serves to kindle a heart-healthy lifestyle for its participants through physical activity.
Taren Fujimoto, editorial assistant, is a senior-to-be at Kaua‘i High School.