On a more serious note... - More Than Your Average Mom

Those of you who know me ~~in real life~~ outside of this blog, know that I am personally a huge proponent of charities and non-profit organizations as a whole, but I have a special place in my heart for children’s charities, especially those serving children with heart conditions. I will tell the full story another time, but this post is not about me… My daughter was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect at 5 weeks old and went on to have open heart surgery at 3 months of age. A friend of mine, a cardiac nurse from Ontario, whose son is the same age as mine had gone through a similar diagnosis a few years prior with her son. She was and continues to serve as a pillar of strength for me, having answered all my late night emails and facebook questions and concerns and helped really guide me through the journey I was about to embark on. I can honestly say I don’t know how I would have made it through the whole process if I didn’t have her there, virtually holding my hand… Did I not mention that I’ve never met her in person before?! Oh ya… There’s that! From all that I know of her she’s a beautiful, caring, and giving person. She’s young and healthy, and a very unlikely candidate for any type of medical condition, nevermind a stroke. But, as the cliche says “bad things happen to good people”, and while you could probably pick out the good things that could come from this, the chain of events that spiraled from this caused her unsuspecting family to have had 3 open heart surgeries on 2 people within a 4 year peroid.

I’m writing this post to raise awareness for the warning signs of strokes and heart attacks. I know heart attacks are different, but equally as important, and can have similar warning signs.

I saw this video some time ago and it always made me laugh because it would totally be me. After reading the Full account of what happened on my friends blog, this video came directly to mind.

I encourage everyone to have a look, as well as to educate yourselves on the warning signs of a stroke or heart attack. Your local heart and stroke foundation is a good place to start! Please, take care of yourselves and be aware of what your body is telling you, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, even if it seems silly.

We’re collecting funds for Aislinn and her family (hope she’s not reading this right now) to purchase a gift card for fresh delivered meals from Copper County Foods. If you feel so inclined to help with her recovery efforts, please check out the paypal link here.

Thanks again to all my loyal readers for your support! Keep your eyes peeled later this month, I’ve got a FANTASTIC giveaway planned that I can’t wait for!!