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Choose
to Move: Journal #7
Sept. 10, 2002
I
was a bit stressed out as the weekend approached. I
was going to visit two former college roommates whom
I hadn’t seen in five years.
The last time I saw them, I was a size 8 ... now I’m
not. So, of course, I was worried about how they would
react to the drastic change in my appearance.
I should have known there was no reason to worry. These
two women, whom I lived with while attending Utica College,
are like my sisters. Shavona Robinson and Kristal (Rodiguez)
Neal welcomed me back into their lives as though they
had just seen me the day before.
It goes to show, true friends don’t judge you by your
appearance, and there are certain people who always
will be special in your life regardless of how often
you see them.
Our reunion was centered around Shavona’s birthday party,
but the event also was to celebrate her life.
You see, she almost died about a year ago. She went
into congestive heart and lung failure, which was the
start of a long fight for her life. Thankfully, she
still is here to share her story.
Before I started the Choose to Move program, I knew
a lot of people were affected by heart disease, but
I’m learning first-hand just how far-reaching this problem
is.
My first real brush with it was when my brother-in-law
died from a heart attack two years ago. Now, I almost
lost Shavona, one of my closest friends in the world.
And as I was getting ready to leave for New Jersey,
where Shavona and Kristal live, I found out another
of my friends had a heart attack Thursday. Again, thankfully,
he now is recovering.
I’m sure there are many people who have been affected
even more personally than I, that’s why we all need
to be aware of how devastating heart disease can be.
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