When I was 11 years old, I was living with my mother. My parents had separated because of “irreconcilable differences” and I didn’t have much say as to where I was going to live.

On January first of that same  year, in the middle of the night, the phone rang. I heard my mother speak and then start crying. My father was in the hospital. He had had a heart attack. He was barely fifty, in otherwise good health, but his heart didn’t care. Thankfully, he survived, and with a few live changes in his diet and habits, lived to be 79, but if his girlfriend hadn’t reacted quickly, that New Year’s Day could have been his last.

Heart disease doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care what nationality you are, what religion you practice, what level of education you carry. About 1 in 12 Canadians over 20 years old lives with a diagnosed heart disease. It is one of the leading causes of death in Canada.

RIDE BIG. LIVE BIG.

This Friday, in memory of my father, I’m riding the BIg Bike. The Big Bike is a heart-pumping, cheer-thumping, crazy big, fun ride! It is powered by 29 riders who, for 20 minutes, go around the community and work it out! Each rider raises money by going to their friends and family and getting pledges. I am riding the bike with the Optimist Club of Cornwall’s Dream Team.

As I mentioned, cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for Canadian men and women. As a matter of fact, every 7 minutes, someone in Canada dies from heart disease or stroke. But we can change that. All of the money raised through Big Bike helps support the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Donations are used to help fund critical research that’s preventing heart disease and stroke, saving lives and supporting survivors and their families. That’s important because funding for research is in jeopardy. But we can ensure critical research can continue.

This fight suddenly got more personal for me now as yesterday, I received results from my routine blood test.  Some of my results were high and put me at a high risk of cardiovascular diseases.

We’ve come a long way. The statistics are looking better today than 5 or 10 years ago, but research can help improve the prognosis even more. Please help me reach my fundraising goal by making a donation today.  It doesn’t have to be much, and if you can’t donate online, I’ll be more than happy to pick up your pledge or accept PayPal.  Simply contact me at [email protected] or visit http://support.heartandstroke.ca/goto/julialucio

In the mean time, check out theses pictures of the big bike tour happening right now!

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