"My mind sees that I am nothing, my heart sees that I am everything, between these two poles my life unfolds."

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I Heart You All :)

I see hearts everywhere I go as well - this was taken last spring in Brantford, Ontario :)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Since February is Heart Month, I thought I'd share these two short clips from The Heart and Stroke Foundation. Our family was shocked shortly after Christmas when my my aunt Donna (she's just 61) had a heart attack. She was operated on a few weeks ago and required a quadruple by-pass! Looking back, she says she occasionally found herself short of breath, but that was about it for warning signs. Heart disease isn't called the silent killer for nothing. The evening prior to her heart attack she had indigestion, felt a bit "off," went to bed and slept well. The following morning, shortly upon waking, she had the attack.

Even though Donna is only related through marriage, this has been a huge wake-up call for all the women in my family - in particular her daughters. There's a misconception out there, that heart attack and stroke (for the most part) affect only men - turns out that it's now the #1 killer of women. There are a lot of resources out there to assist us in living healthy lives - I think we should heed the advice, starting with -  visiting our doctor for a yearly checkup!



Men, we want you to take care of yourselves as well :)

36 comments:

  1. Dear Jane,
    You know that we both see faces, and now I know that we both see hearts too! I see them everywhere, in oil stains in the parking lot, in rocks where I walk, in the clouds...everywhere! I heart hearts!
    Happy Valentine's Day!
    Love,
    Kay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know Kay, I'm starting to believe you when you say we are very similar!!

      Delete
  2. Oh, and I forgot to say thanks for these two videos. Can watch them later after my husband is awake!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I see you are either up very late or up very early...!!

      Delete
  3. Pleased to know your Aunt is now better. Heart attacks, one just never knows with any illness at any age these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so right - we never know - if only we all had a crystal ball.

      Delete
  4. I'm so pleased to hear that your aunt is alright; she's still so young! Those commercials are so haunting; I guess that's the point. Along with an annual checkup, we should eat properly, get some exercise and reduce stress in our lives. Stress brings on so many problms!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Martha, Lol, I agree - she is young and the reason I laugh is that I never thought there'd come a day when I thought 61 was young! Sixty's the new 40 - at least by the time we get there :)

      Delete
  5. Those commercials are excellent at getting their point across, aren't they? Glad your aunt survived to tell the tale! Have a great Valentine's Day, Jane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are very blunt and certainly hold your attention. Hope your's was great as well.

      Delete
  6. Hi Jane - Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. Great message-videos'. wow
    Love Gail
    peace.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gail, They get the message across in a no-nonsense way, that's for sure. Hope your Valentine's was special :)

      Delete
  7. Happy Valentine's Day Jane!!!!!! I'm glad that your aunt is doing well, but that was a very scary close call. They haven't done nearly the research on heart disease in women that they have in men--and women often don't have the same signs or the obvious signs that men present. We ♥ you AND your blog Jane!!
    Dianne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dianne & Duffy - I hope your Valentine's Day was a good one! And now that it's been determined heart disease is the #1 killer of women, research will hopefully be ramped up.

      Delete
  8. Those ads are short and to the point, that's why they work so well. I also worry about sudden heart attacks and strokes, for myself and others. You just never know! I love heart shapes,it's the main theme on my Christmas tree every year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, they seem to come out of nowhere, but there are ways to minimize our risks and we've all heard them - the trick is to implement them into our lives...

      Delete
  9. Hi Jane! Wow..I LOVe the tree-heart..that image truly stirs my soul..it is gorgeous!
    HUgs to you and your Aunt Donna..wishing her well and healing sparkles!
    Thanks for these vids..very important for us all!
    Huugs and thankyous!
    Victoria

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria, Your comments are always a blessing! Hugs and thank you back :)

      Delete
  10. Love the phot, Jane. You have such an eye for a good picture! Yes, I think the commercials are very effective. They really chill me when they come on and if I don't feel like going to the gym - they insprire me! Glad your aunt is okay!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Francie. If you expand it, the moss and markings really make the pic - I'm thinking of framing this one.

      Delete
  11. Thanks for all of your comments everyone - I appreciate you all :) The thing I neglected to mention in my post, was that my aunt hadn't been to the doctor's in many many years - had she gone for in for regular exams, including blood work, her condition may never have gotten to the stage it did... She's recovered very well, thank goodness. Dianne is correct in stating that they haven't done the research on women as they have in men - hopefully that's changing.

    Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and remember that a little bit of high quality dark chocolate everyday has been proven to be good for the heart... lol!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you Jane for the educational post, and so glad that your aunt is better now! Just love that photo of the heart carved into the old tree! A great reminder to take care of our health, and heart!
    Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I trust your Valentine's was lovely Elisabeth! Did you end up making another dessert? I printed yours off and plan to use it in the near future. Everything in moderation and our hearts will be fine :)

      Delete
  13. Women's hormones protect them, to a point, before menopause, and it is so easy to become complacent.
    I read your post just before we went out last night, but didn't have time to comment. When we were out I started having chest pain and immediately thought of this! I'm actually getting a chest cold, and they often start this way, but I always somehow forget, so I spent the night thinking my time was up and lamenting the fact that I have never seen the Northern Lights or Niagara Falls!!
    I am so glad your aunt is doing well, and I wish her continued good health.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tracey, that is too funny!! If nothing else, you at least know where your dream vacation should be :)

      Delete
  14. It is really hard to tell what can help. My mom has suffered two strokes and she does go to the doctor regularly and eats healthy. I think the biggest problem might be she doesn't get enough exercise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John, I'm sorry to hear this about your mother - how distressing for your family.

      Delete
  15. Love your message. I too got chills. You know that is spot on, my husband had a heart attack and open heart surgery, I stead on him all the time about what to eat, exercise, doctor appointments and I eat what I want, little exercise, and run from doctors, who am I kidding! Great post.
    Have a great week,
    Lisa
    P.s. you find the coolest trees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa, It's the human condition to think it can't happen to us and as women we tend to take care of everyone else and ourselves last. In my aunt's case, it's the exact same situation, she's always put herself last.

      Delete
  16. Walentynkowe serce w drzewie jest cudowne. Dzięki za przypomnienie, ja niestety nie dbam o siebie za bardzo :-(.Pozdrawiam. *** Valentine's heart in the tree is wonderful. Thanks for the reminder, I unfortunately do not care about myself too much :-(. Regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Giga, I think a lot of women don't take care of themselves like they should and we should change that.

      Delete
  17. I love the heart in the tree trunk. Makes me wonder under what circumstances it was put there many years ago when the tree was young.

    #1 Killer of Women!!! Thanks for posting the videos, they are so well done and these postings drive the point home even further. Thanks Jane for helping to hammer the message home to us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I wonder myself at what point in the tree's life this heart was carved into it. Who knows, maybe it was on a Valentine's Day...

      Delete