One year ago, Myra Kirchberg still was at home, trying to recover from the
two heart attacks that struck her within days of each other, the first
while she was pregnant with her twin boys.
Today, after months of recovery and training, Kirchberg is preparing to
run a 5K in hopes of raising money for the American Heart Association.
After the heart attacks, the second of which struck shortly after she
gave birth to Ethan and Ryan, Kirchberg entered cardiac rehab.
When her rehab was ending, she was looking for a new goal to work
toward. She says she wanted to find something positive in all of the
negative surrounding the birth of her two boys.
"It should have been a happy and joyous time, but there was this
horrible stigma surrounding it," Kirchberg said.
So Kirchberg decided she would run a 5K, and came up with the idea for
the Crystal Lake Classic run/walk, which will be held this weekend, to
raise money for the American Heart Association.
Even though the Crystal Lake woman's heart attacks could not have been
prevented through diet and exercise - they were caused by a rare condition
triggered during her pregnancy - Kirchberg says she wanted to get into good
enough shape to run a 5K and to hopefully avoid any future heart
problems.
"One of the statistics that I have learned through my ordeal is that 90
percent of heart disease is avoidable," Kirchberg said.
So Kirchberg started running on a treadmill, working her way up to four
miles four times a week.
She believes it is important to continue her quest to stay in shape
because it is setting a good example for her children.
"My daughter sees me on the treadmill and asks 'Are you keeping your
heart healthy mom?' My kids will hopefully grow up with a desire to remain
active and exercise because they see us doing it," Kirchberg said.
"It has nothing to do with losing weight, or obsessing about how I look.
It has everything to do with staying healthy. I'll do whatever it takes to
be around for my family."
Kirchberg's doctors have given her a clean bill of health, but she still
needs to see a cardiologist twice a year.
And she knows there are many others out there who must do the same
because of their heart problems.
Because heart disease impacts so many people, she said, she wants to
help raise money for the American Heart Association.
"Everyone basically has someone they know in their lives they can think
of who's been touched by heart disease," she said. "We're trying to get
people to think of someone they can walk or run in honor of."
