Heart Walk Raises Over $300,000 for Cardiovascular Health

Master of Ceremonies Stan Morrison welcomed 6,253 to the American Heart Association's 2014 Inland Empire Heart and Stroke Walk at Rancho Jurupa Park Saturday, Sept. 20, raising awareness about cardiovascular health, raising funds and honoring survivors and lost loved ones. Saturday's massive event raised $310,754, which will help fund medical research and local heart healthy initiatives. A live band provided musical entertainment that added to the crowd’s excitement, while visitors perused 25 booths set up around the park offering health products like pedometers, healthy treats, and other promotional items, alongside informational pamphlets and fliers. Spinning boards at some booths offered the opportunity to win prizes, while those who made sure to get their ‘passports’ signed by each booth were entered into a raffle drawing to win additional prizes. For the kids there was a bounce house and photo opportunities were presented with the American Heart Association’s heart mascot, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Saturday’s super-heroic centerpiece: the sleek and majestic Bat Mobile. The crowds were also joined by friendly and leashed dogs in the non-competitive 5K walk, totaling 3.1 miles with a shorter 1 mile route for survivors, which began at 8:30 a.m. The American Heart Association’s annual Inland Empire Heart & Stroke Walk is one of their largest events, and is just one way the organization works to build “healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.” The organization’s goal by 2020 is “to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent.” The American Heart Association also suggests these lifestyle practices for a healthier and longer life: • Weight management through healthy eating choices, daily physical activity and workplace wellness programs; • Quitting smoking; and • Stress management through practicing daily relaxation techniques, positive self-talk and deep breathing exercises, to name a few. Host Stan Morrison, a retired collegiate basketball coach, athletic director and currently the Senior Vice President at Security Bank of California, would like to thank the 6,000 plus participants and the following sponsors for their support of this great cause: • American Heart Association • 1 Love IE • Arrowhead bottled water • Arrowhead Regional Medical Center • American Medical Response, Riverside County • Cardinal Health • City Net • City News Group • Devin Stensrud, personal trainer, sports and fitness training • FitOne Foundation • KFROG • Nature’s Bakery • Necessary Nutrition • New York Life Insurance Company • Northwest College • Riverside Community Health Foundation • Riverside Community Hospital • Riverside County Department of Public Health • Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District • Riverside County Sheriff's Department Explorers Post 880 • Riverside Medical Clinic • Smile Generation • St. Bernardine Medical Center • West Coast University Many families walking Saturday were personally touched by cardiovascular disease, some battling the issue themselves and still others participating to honor the memory of their loved ones. Griselda Quinones of Riverside was joined by members of her family walking to honor her daughter, Jocelyn Carina Martinez, who passed away in March 2001 as a result of tetralogy of fallot, a congenital heart defect that prevented Jocelyn's blood from circulating properly. Jocelyn was just 10 months old. "I'd heard about the walk about three years ago through a friend and I wanted to do it," Quinones, who works with the Riverside Medical Clinic, said. "This year I heard about it again through work and I wanted to register by myself, so I told my family and friends." Quninones noticed a few weeks after her daughter's birth that Jocelyn would turn purple around the mouth when she cried. After taking her to Pomona Valley Hospital, where Jocelyn was born, doctors performed the first open heart surgery on Jocelyn when she was just two weeks old. The family waited about a month after the surgery to get the results, and unfortunately, Quinones explained, Jocelyn's blood was still not circulating properly. The family was eventually transferred to a medical center in Los Angeles and stayed at the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House during Jocelyn's treatment before they came to Loma Linda Children's Hospital, where she began to do better. "She was doing very well. She was eating and gaining weight," Quniones said. Around seven months old and at 18 pounds, Jocelyn developed an infection. She passed away on March 11, 2001, exactly two months before her first birthday. Quinones and her family wore shirts with Jocelyn's photo on them at the walk, with the words "In Loving Memory" placed above her picture. Quinones and her family raised $190, while the Riverside Medical Clinic where she works raised $2,600. "I love to tell her story," Quninones said of Jocelyn. "We can help in some way. Whatever we donate, it can go to research or help families who were like us. If you're not at the hospital, you don't know what families are going through. It's tough." Quniones said she wants to participate in the walk again next year, and spend her time preparing and fundraising. Moreno Valley resident Cherie Jacob and her family were also at the walk honoring the memory of Jacob's brother, Tony Ratliff. Ratliff passed away in June 2011 at 39 years old of a heart attack, Jacob explained. A commercial truck driver, Ratliff was injured on the job in 2009 and lost his job as a result. With the economy crash, he was also facing the loss of his house, causing him to develop high blood pressure from stress. "In June 2011 he went to the hospital with a bad cough and trouble breathing," Jacob explained. "They diagnosed him with pneumonia, but two weeks later he was in the hospital again with the same symptoms. Because he didn't have health insurance, he couldn't get an appointment for another month. He was dealing with congestive heart failure, and went into cardiac arrest on June 7, 2011, and passed away of a heart attack." Jacob said she was very close with her brother, who was just a year and a half older than her. "Before he died he warned me to take care of my heart," said Jacob, who said she dealt with hypertension. "It's a shock to the family still. He was a family guy and we always did everything together. He is missed very much at family functions." Jacob said last year was the first year the family had participated in the heart walk, and wanted to continue to walk in Tony's memory. She said she has also been proactive herself, making sure to get the treatment she needs and work with a "progressive health care system." For more information on Saturday's walk, and other health tips, visit http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG.