Heart Walk held in Mount Olive
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 21, 2015 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Bella Weaver likes riding her bike and spending time with her grandmother, Rita McCullen, at the beach.
Saturday morning, 5-year-old Bella and her grandmother were among the nearly 200 people representing 30 teams that walked through Mount Olive to raise funds for the American Heart Association.
"I came out here for grandma to walk," Bella said.
A preliminary figure raised just from the walk is $16,000. But that does not include the proceeds from a silent auction and fundraising other than just the walk, Walk co-chairman Rhonda Myers said.
Last year's goal was $25,000, but more than $40,000 was raised. This year's goal is $35,000.
"We continue to raise funds through the end of the year," Mrs. Myers said.
The approximately three-mile walk stepped off at 9 a.m. with a police escort at the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. A water station was operated by Girl Scout troop 389.
A golf cart brought up the rear to offer rides to anyone who needed them.
"It is like I have remarked over the years, it really is amazing what the Heart Walk has done in the Mount Olive area to have a grassroots campaign that has been conducted over several decades and raises the kind of money that you do without major corporate sponsorships -- it is just a great tribute to the cause and to the leadership and to the workers involved," said Bill Bryan, Mt. Olive Pickle Co. company executive chairman.
Albert Barrow told the crowd that he was diagnosed with epilepsy around 1964 at age 6.
"In 2002 I had a bunch of tests run because I knew that something wasn't right," he said. "The doctors found out that I never had epilepsy."
What he had was a heart condition in which his heart stopped for about 17 seconds then sped up to above 200 beats per minutes.
"So they gave me a pacemaker," he said. "Everybody thinks that a pacemaker fixes it, but it is nothing but a Band-Aid. When my blood pressure drops real fast my heart still stops. But if it drops slow, it comes on -- the pacemaker keeps it going. I just praise the Lord they found out what it is."
Barrow said he has been on disability since 2010. But since then he has suffered a heart attack and mini-strokes and has had five stints put in.
"Recently I just went to the doctor, and he told me, his exact words were, 'You need to park one of them lawn mowers you are cutting on the side and spend the day thankful for the reason you are here for. If you don't know, you need to talk to your pastor,'" Barrow said. "He said, 'You have escaped death twice.' I reckon that is it."
Denise Elliott of Mount Olive said that she does not suffer from heart disease, but was speaking for Rose Davis who works at the Mount Olive Walmart.
"Two years ago she had triple-bypass surgery," she said. "She didn't know she had heart disease. When you look at her she doesn't look her age. She celebrated her 80th birthday last month.
"But what happened her grandson got sick in Walmart and they took him to Wayne Memorial, and she went with him to see what was going on. An attendant there saw that she didn't look just right so she said, 'Let me check you.' When they checked her that is when they found out she had three blockages. They sent her to Rex Hospital. They did the triple-bypass surgery. It went well, and she was able to come home."
Mrs. Davis had only been home for about a week when she suffered a stroke and had to go back to the hospital, Ms. Elliott said.
"They got her taken care of and got her straight," Ms. Elliott said. "She could not be here today because she had prior obligations. But she wanted everybody to know through God, her faith and Rex Hospital and American Heart Society not only is she still here, she doesn't have a bill for that either.
"She wants people to know that even if you don't see the signs there are times when you are sick. So take the time to do your exercise and take care of yourself because not only is it for younger people, it is for older people."