People Ask Me Why I Walk…
By Maria Mac, Bayer Study Manager in Pharmaceuticals
It’s personal for me. I walk in the annual American Heart Association Heart Walk and raise funds for heart research with a passion. Here’s why.
Six years ago, during agility training, my husband noticed that our son, Matthew, was getting tired easily. He thought Matthew’s wheezing and breathing heavily was due to his mild asthma.
We brought him to his pediatrician, thinking that he would prescribe an inhaler. However, when the doctor examined Matthew, he said he heard a loud murmur that he’s never heard before.
So we took Matthew to a cardiologist. After looking at an echocardiogram, the cardiologist noticed that Matthew’s aortic valve was damaged, causing a leakage, which is known as aortic insufficiency. Due to this leakage, his left ventricle is enlarged for his age since more effort is needed to pump blood.
The diagnosis was very difficult for my husband and me. We still struggle with the “why” since Matthew’s cardiologist says it is not congenital and there is no history of it on either side of our family.
Matthew has certain restrictions in physical activities, such as no contact sports or isometric exercises that may strain his heart. Currently, his body and medications have been keeping him stable, and he sees his cardiologist every six months to ensure his condition is not getting worse. We do know that at some point when he’s older, Matthew will need a valve repair or replacement.
This will be our fifth year doing the AHA heart walk, and Bayer has been supporting this great event for the past 20 years. I am extremely proud to work for a company that cares about people and gives back to the communities around us through programs like this.
We know the money we raise, and the support from Bayer, will help to save and improve the lives of those with heart disease, especially Matthew. We are grateful each day he remains stable with the help of his medications and we continue to pray he remains this way for as long as possible. In the meantime, we continue to raise money each year for the American Heart Association so that they can continue to fund research. Our hope is they find a less invasive method of repairing or replacing aortic valves that will be an option when Matthew needs it.
Want to help? Walk with us on October 22 in the 2017 Greater Northern NJ Heart Walk.
