Go Red and Me

Earlier this year, the Mrs. International pageant partnered with the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement to encourage awareness of heart disease symptoms and risk factors in women, encourage healthy lifestyles, and end heart disease and stroke.

One in three women die of heart disease each year. When I think of my sisters and me, or my mom, my grandmother, and me, or my good friends Stephanie, Kelly, and Laura, I know that one in three women is one too many. Both of my grandmothers had diabetes, heart disease, and different types of cancer. Grandma Lim had a stroke a year or so before she passed away this March, and Grandma Platt had heart problems for as long as I can remember. She passed away in 2006. Both of my grandmothers were very young and very close to me.

So many people think that working out is for vanity, to look good in a bikini or to be a perfect size 4 or 6, or whatever they think a perfect size is. To me, getting my 30 minutes of exercise is necessary because I love my heart. I love Bobby. I love life. I think about the children I will have some day, and how I want to be around to babysit and nurture my grandchildren. I know that's a lot of thinking ahead for a 26 year-old, but I think this way all the time. I want to encourage women and men to love your hearts -- if not for yourself, for the people you love. My husband's grandfather died of a heart attack when he was relatively young. I want Bobby to care for his heart too, because I want him to be around for a long time, with the quality of life that comes through taking care of yourself and your body.

I was thrilled when I heard about the partnership, because while all of us are passionate about our personal platforms, no woman I know is one-dimensional. We're multidimensional, and we're compassionate, and in general we talk a lot. We have the ability to get this message out there. Also, heart disease is so prevalent that every woman competing in our pageant at the local, state, and national levels has a personal connection to this issue. As we become advocates and join the cause, we're each more likely to care for our own hearts as well. From every direction, it is obvious that this partnership is a good thing. I just joined the "You're the Cure" mailing list, received my Shop for a Cause day passes (see the blog above), and researched ways that all of us can love our hearts. I hope you will join me on my journey as I begin to work with the American Heart Association and Go Red in addition to my work for children of divorce. If we're going to be there for our children, we have to be there. We have to love our hearts. There isn't any other option than to take care of ourselves. I hope you will begin to love your heart for yourself and your family today.