This year, my steps at the 2026 American Hear and Stroke Walk are dedicated to the fighters, the resilient and everyone who has made a triumphant comeback.

Heart disease and stroke have left deep marks on my family. My sister Joni  and brother Bill both suffered strokes and cardiovascular disease has touched nearly every corner of our family tree.

But the fight is also deeply personal in my own home. Twenty-five years ago, when our three children were pre-school to early grade school, my husband faced a critical crisis. He required immediate stents in his heart's left anterior descending artery-the devastating blockage known as the "widow maker."

My daughter remembers being at school, it was raining and that day wrote in her journal, "The sky cries for me." We came painfully close to a reality where my children grew up without a father, and I lost my partner.

Instead, thanks to life-saving medical advancements, we were given a miracle. Those stents bought us a lifetime. Over the last quarter of a century, he has been able to stand by my side as a wonderful husband and watch our children grow into the incredible adults they are today.

I walk to celebrate the 25 years we almost didn't get. I walk so other families can get their own second chances, their own milestones, and their own beautiful comebacks.

Please consider donating to my walk today. Every dollar funds the research, technology, and treatments that keep families whole.