One month after Michele Gorden’s 40th birthday, her busy life as a mother, wife and dental hygienist at the Health Science Center came to a sudden halt. After waking up with nausea and chest pains in September 2005, she was rushed to the emergency room to find out that she was having a heart attack. An angiogram would determine that the cause was due to plaque in a narrow artery. Friends, family and colleagues were shocked to hear that she, “the picture of health,” would suffer from a heart attack.
Unfortunately, Gorden’s story is not uncommon. One in five American women is currently living with some form of heart disease – the number one killer in women. The January/February issue of
San Antonio Woman magazine features a multi-page section about the American Heart Association’s (AHA)
Go Red For Women campaign, and women who have been affected by heart complications or stroke.
Go Red For Women is a nationwide movement to empower women to love and save their hearts through lifestyle choices and actions. The AHA each year generously donates millions of dollars to institutions conducting cardiovascular research, which includes the Health Science Center. By wearing red on Feb. 3, National Wear Red Day, you’ll help support the ongoing research and education regarding heart disease.
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| Two HSC employees are featured in the January/February issue of San Antonio Woman. | |
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Gorden’s full story is featured in a section titled “Surviving the Unexpected: Lessons from the Heart.”
Anne Leonard, R.N., M.P.H., research nurse in the division of neurology at the Health Science Center and the Audie L. Murphy Division of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, is a passionate volunteer of the AHA and is also featured in the magazine. Her volunteerism is called “the heart and soul of the AHA” in an article about her continuous dedication to the association.
Fortunately, Gorden is recovering. Although she has had to slow down from her typical lifestyle, she’s optimistic about her future.
“I always say that the finest diamonds are made from great pressure,” she said. “Instead of wondering my fate, I will try to take life as it is given to me and live it to the fullest. None of us is indispensable. But we can all do something in some little way to make life and others’ lives a little better while we are here.”
The Health Science Center campus is encouraged to wear red Feb. 3 in support of the women in our lives.
