Mending Hearts and Health: Survivors Raise Awareness for Cardiac Fundraiser
By: Kim Behrens
Updated: September 20, 2012
BLOOMINGTON--Roni Flener and Ren Cochran are close friends, who some might say march to the beat of the same drummer.
When it comes to their hearts, both have faced significant hurdles.
"Well first I got so weak I just (whew!) I broke out in a sweat," Flener recalls. " I came to, I was soaking wet!"
Flener suffered a heart attack in 1998.
Since then she's faced her share of surgeries.
"I'm still here. And I'm 82 years old," remarks Flener. "Might as well know my age! Well, now you know. 82!"
Her friend Ren Cochran also had a scare two years ago.
"I'm very passionate about letting women know and spreading the word that everybody knows what to look for and all the symptoms," said Cochran.
Turns out heart disease is the number one killer of Americans.
That's why these women, who have been given a second chance, are educating others in hopes of saving a life.
"It is a lifestyle change. Exercising, watching what you eat," explained Cochran.
Cochran is putting that plan in action Saturday at the McLean County Heart Walk.
She says the event is a great way to lower stress while raising awareness about cardiovascular disease.
"By the heart walk, people coming out if there's just one person things start to click with maybe that will help somebody."
The American Heart Association hopes to raise more than $100,000 dollars for research related to heart health such as CPR, pacemakers, and bypass surgery.
"There's always something you can do to help yourself," said Flener. " If you learn about it, and then do it."
As for these women, they say, if more people unite to combat the disease, perhaps one day it can be beat.
Something they hope their hearts will continue to do for years to come.
The McLean County Heart Walk begins at 9 am this Saturday at Bloomington's Chateau Hotel.
All participants are encouraged to bring a donation.
When it comes to their hearts, both have faced significant hurdles.
"Well first I got so weak I just (whew!) I broke out in a sweat," Flener recalls. " I came to, I was soaking wet!"
Flener suffered a heart attack in 1998.
Since then she's faced her share of surgeries.
"I'm still here. And I'm 82 years old," remarks Flener. "Might as well know my age! Well, now you know. 82!"
Her friend Ren Cochran also had a scare two years ago.
"I'm very passionate about letting women know and spreading the word that everybody knows what to look for and all the symptoms," said Cochran.
Turns out heart disease is the number one killer of Americans.
That's why these women, who have been given a second chance, are educating others in hopes of saving a life.
"It is a lifestyle change. Exercising, watching what you eat," explained Cochran.
Cochran is putting that plan in action Saturday at the McLean County Heart Walk.
She says the event is a great way to lower stress while raising awareness about cardiovascular disease.
"By the heart walk, people coming out if there's just one person things start to click with maybe that will help somebody."
The American Heart Association hopes to raise more than $100,000 dollars for research related to heart health such as CPR, pacemakers, and bypass surgery.
"There's always something you can do to help yourself," said Flener. " If you learn about it, and then do it."
As for these women, they say, if more people unite to combat the disease, perhaps one day it can be beat.
Something they hope their hearts will continue to do for years to come.
The McLean County Heart Walk begins at 9 am this Saturday at Bloomington's Chateau Hotel.
All participants are encouraged to bring a donation.
