I know it’s hard. That ice cream sundae looks like a creamy boat of
deliciousness. And, man, that pizza seems like it could be the best
thing in your life since Velcro.
To top it off, your gym card has
been lost in the war zone of your pocketbook, and that has been holding
up as a worthy excuse to miss your morning work-outs…and let’s not even
talk about your stress at work.
Here’s the deal, though. No one
truly feels all warm and fuzzy, deep down inside, about making
unhealthy decisions for herself.
It’s hard. We all have our
choices to make, and sometimes they seem beyond impossible. I’ll throw
an idea out there for some personal heart health motivation. Maybe,
just maybe, this can be made easier by trying to put a new perspective
on our lives.
Here is mine.
Three and a half years ago
I traveled to the Bukoba region of Tanzania. With the group Jambo
Tanzania, I helped set up a medical clinic out of an abandoned shack.
For most residents of the local villages, this is the only medical care
they ever receive. Many do not survive in between the two year
visits. When I watched children dying of malnutrition, dehydration,
and other ailments to which I rarely gave a second thought, I realized
I am a lucky lady.
Having been diagnosed with a life-threatening
heart condition at 17, I recognize that had I lived in certain other
places in this world I probably would never have been diagnosed, and I
certainly could not have been treated. As I held a little girl dying
from malaria in my arms, this fact slapped me right in the face.
Luckily,
we were able to save that little girl, and the trip was an eye-opening
experience to me. Don’t get me wrong, though…it wasn’t all stress.
The native dancing and singing were beautiful, the late night
festivities were a blast, and the artwork was fascinating. One of the
most memorable moments, however, was meeting a 70-year-old man we were
treating for an STD. He had fathered over 60 children in the local
villages and was asking if we had brought any of our American Viagra
for him. It was interesting to try to explain to him the various
reasons that we thought he should stop procreating. Trying to describe
our modern concept of child support was a whole additional ball of fun.
So, let’s go back to the fact that we have choices.
That
fact alone makes us very lucky. We have the ability to choose our
foods at a supermarket, rather than scramble for any morsel available.
We have the luxury to choose in which fashion we want to work out, from
ballroom dancing classes to kayaking lessons, rather than exercising
from the need to run or walk everywhere we go. We have the
extravagance to set up routine doctor’s physicals, the privilege to
choose what kind of occupation we have, and the power to say “yes” or
“no”.
We have the ability to give ourselves all the attention we
deserve. It’s a pretty sweet deal, so embrace this freedom. Find a
new perspective that you can put on your 
life, and find the courage to move toward loving yourself in the best way possible.
At
17-years-old Michaela was diagnosed with LongQT Syndrome, one of the
conditions responsible for causing Sudden Cardiac Arrest and claiming
the lives of many young people unexpectedly. Michaela turned her
obstacles into opportunities when she became Miss Massachusetts 2006
and began to speak nationally and internationally regarding SCA and
heart disease. To learn more about Michaela please visit: www.michaelagagne.com.
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