"After my heart attack, I wondered, why me? As humans, we all have  "mountains" to vanquish. Some mountains are small while others are large. No matter the size one thing is certain, these mountains are certainly all unique and made up of  seemingly countless obstacles.  I hope to encourage, not only heart attack survivors, but anyone facing adversity in their life to  set goals and try to achieve them. 

Second, when I experienced  my  heart attack, I was caught off guard. I never thought I was at risk. I had to rethink  how to take care of myself and make  healthy choices so I could be around for my loved ones and  watch my children grow.   I want to advocate and raise awareness for not only the work that the Heart and Stroke Foundation is doing to help survivors, supporting  cutting edge heart and stroke research but I also want to encourage individuals to be mindful of their health.

Lastly,  I was diagnosed and treated quickly because there is a good understanding of how this disease presents in men.   I have learned that this is not the case for women. I thought , what if it had been my wife, my daughter, my mom or my sister in my place? Would their odds  have been as good as mine to survive? Currently,  women are more often   misdiagnosed than men and there is  insufficient information on how heart disease  develops and appears in them. This really hit home for me and it's why I have decided to climb for this cause.

Surviving was just the beginning , the best is yet to come.

- Leo "