Heart Disease: Jaida's Personal Story
As some of you may know, I had quadruple by-pass surgery July 2007 at the age of 49. Heart disease first touched my life when I was eleven, which is how old I was when my dad died at age 34 from a sudden heart attack. I suffered my own mild heart attack when I was 32 years old and since then, it’s just been a fact of my life. I have lived with this condition for 18 years and I have been very fortunate to have benefited from the technology and research that has been developed since my dad suffered his cardiac arrest in 1969.
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for men and women in developed Western countries with cancer ranked as the #2 cause of death. However, cancer research and education garners about two-thirds more funding than heart disease does. Women do not realize they are affected by heart disease until they have their first, and often fatal, heart attack. The symptoms women experience frequently do not follow the “classic” heart attack signs and therefore, women tend to blow off how they are feeling and attribute it to something else. I know I did. I experienced three separate episodes of cardiac distress and only two of
them exhibited the same type of symptoms.
I was dancing one evening with Folk Infusion when suddenly, I could not catch my breath. I was desperately sucking in air, chest heaving, all that cardio activity forced the capillaries and arteries to develop new secondary pathways to get around the blockages as well as strengthened my heart muscle. MD advised me to take it easy for several weeks. Isvari practically had to sit on me to prevent me from dancing too soon. I did not want to admit that Old Heart Disease had come a-knockin’ on my door again even though I know full well that it is a progressive disease. However, once again, belly dancing saved me. Without the benefit of dancing regularly, I would never have known how close I was to having a fatal cardiac event.
So, this Hafla for Heart Disease fundraiser is special to me. It is dedicated to educating people, women in particular, about heart disease. What better backdrop to share this than through belly dance, an art form that attracts mostly women, is an enjoyable cardio building exercise, and the primary reason I am still here today.
Folk Infusion, the dance troupe with whom I perform, is sponsoring a Hafla for Heart Disease on Saturday, August 16th 2008. The fundraiser will be held in my back yard and all proceeds will go to the American Heart Association. The suggested donation is $5 and tickets are now available. Performers and volunteer worker bees get in free.
There will also be a prize drawing and those tickets will be $1 each. We have over $1000 in valued items and more to come. Some of the nifty items being donated for this prize drawing include a $350 in certificates for services at Side Show Studios tattoo parlor, beautiful Cookie Lee jewelry, awesome Kuchi items from Black Tassel, Jamba Juice and Morton's Steakhouse certificates and several gift cards and items from local merchants.
To purchase tickets and get directions to the event, please contact a Folk Infusion member.
If you have questions regarding the event or you would like to contribute or perform please contact me before July 31st. We will be finalizing the programs and performer line up at this time and want to ensure that every contributor/performer is listed in the program.
Thank you for your interest and consideration.
As some of you may know, I had quadruple by-pass surgery July 2007 at the age of 49. Heart disease first touched my life when I was eleven, which is how old I was when my dad died at age 34 from a sudden heart attack. I suffered my own mild heart attack when I was 32 years old and since then, it’s just been a fact of my life. I have lived with this condition for 18 years and I have been very fortunate to have benefited from the technology and research that has been developed since my dad suffered his cardiac arrest in 1969.
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for men and women in developed Western countries with cancer ranked as the #2 cause of death. However, cancer research and education garners about two-thirds more funding than heart disease does. Women do not realize they are affected by heart disease until they have their first, and often fatal, heart attack. The symptoms women experience frequently do not follow the “classic” heart attack signs and therefore, women tend to blow off how they are feeling and attribute it to something else. I know I did. I experienced three separate episodes of cardiac distress and only two of
them exhibited the same type of symptoms.
I was dancing one evening with Folk Infusion when suddenly, I could not catch my breath. I was desperately sucking in air, chest heaving, all that cardio activity forced the capillaries and arteries to develop new secondary pathways to get around the blockages as well as strengthened my heart muscle. MD advised me to take it easy for several weeks. Isvari practically had to sit on me to prevent me from dancing too soon. I did not want to admit that Old Heart Disease had come a-knockin’ on my door again even though I know full well that it is a progressive disease. However, once again, belly dancing saved me. Without the benefit of dancing regularly, I would never have known how close I was to having a fatal cardiac event.
So, this Hafla for Heart Disease fundraiser is special to me. It is dedicated to educating people, women in particular, about heart disease. What better backdrop to share this than through belly dance, an art form that attracts mostly women, is an enjoyable cardio building exercise, and the primary reason I am still here today.
Folk Infusion, the dance troupe with whom I perform, is sponsoring a Hafla for Heart Disease on Saturday, August 16th 2008. The fundraiser will be held in my back yard and all proceeds will go to the American Heart Association. The suggested donation is $5 and tickets are now available. Performers and volunteer worker bees get in free.
There will also be a prize drawing and those tickets will be $1 each. We have over $1000 in valued items and more to come. Some of the nifty items being donated for this prize drawing include a $350 in certificates for services at Side Show Studios tattoo parlor, beautiful Cookie Lee jewelry, awesome Kuchi items from Black Tassel, Jamba Juice and Morton's Steakhouse certificates and several gift cards and items from local merchants.
To purchase tickets and get directions to the event, please contact a Folk Infusion member.
If you have questions regarding the event or you would like to contribute or perform please contact me before July 31st. We will be finalizing the programs and performer line up at this time and want to ensure that every contributor/performer is listed in the program.
Thank you for your interest and consideration.
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Sacramento
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