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Heartfelt reasons for joining UD’s Heart Walk team
3 p.m., Aug. 24, 2006--Alice Daugherty, office coordinator for UD's English Language Institute, was jarred by one recurring fact when she read the family genealogy written by her physician-uncle. “The book contained a good amount of family medical history-related anecdotes,'' Daugherty says. “It struck me how many of my ancestors that I had never actually met had died of heart disease.”
For the second year in a row, Daugherty will be part of UD's contingent at the American Heart Walk on Sunday, Sept. 10. “Raising money and raising people's consciousness about heart disease and stroke is what I can do to help future generations,'' Daugherty, who will walk with her granddaughter Ava Daugherty, said. Marianne Carter, director of UD's Employee Wellness Center, is walking to commemorate her late friend Lea McElrath, who died of a heart attack at age 41, although she was thin and active and had recently participated in the marathon Bike to the Bay. Carter is now trying to recruit Heart Walk participants and captains who each recruit teams of about 10 participants and serve as their leader. Click here to join one of UD's Heart Walk teams. Many participants, like sophomore nursing major Danielle M. Becker, are walking on behalf of a relative. Becker said she has watched her father battle heart problems most of her life.
Others, like Sharon Turner, first signed up to get involved on campus but then found their own family members affected by heart disease. An administrative assistant in the Office of the Executive Vice President, Turner was approached by a colleague to walk on his team when she started at the University six years ago. The next year, she became a Heart Walk captain. “Once I saw it all on the Riverfront and realized what a big deal it is and how many other companies participate, I thought, 'I can do this,'” Turner said. “I find that I can easily recruit at least 10 walkers and plenty of donations just from family, friends and colleagues.” Turner's 78-year-old mother has congestive heart failure, but she has been able join several Heart Walks with her daughter. “She is still here today due to changes that are recommended by the doctors and the American Heart Association,'' Turner said. This year, Turner's younger sister, 43, was diagnosed with a mild case of congestive heart failure. Then Turner's own doctor warned her earlier this year that her cholesterol count was high and her blood pressure was higher than normal. She began incorporating suggestions from the American Heart Association website. Within two months, she said, her blood pressure and cholesterol had improved without medicine.
Article by Kathy Canavan
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