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REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY | CREATED FOR STUDENTS BY STUDENTS

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July 21, 2013

Why Health? Dad and Me

On May 9, 2012, a 44-year old, African-American male that exercises regularly and eats pretty well suffers from a heart attack. This man is my Father, my Dad, and my best friend. To see him, the man that has given up so much for me, laid in a hospital bed helpless shocked me. I never stopped to think, not even in my wildest dreams, that anything like that could happen. Tip 1: no one is invincible. This situation helped kick start my healthy lifestyle walk as well as wanting to encourage others to do the same. Hopefully this isn’t speaking badly of me, but before and now just a little over a year later, my Dad is more in shape than me. Seeing someone that does more than you in the gym suffer from a heart attack is scary.

My Dad constantly reminds me that we have the same blood running through our veins; we are one in the same and I must be completely aware of the health issues that could arise if I don’t take care of myself. I may pout as he reminds me of this as I lift a burger into my mouth or don’t want to get out of bed to workout, but he’s right and I know he is. I’ll call him my built in accountability partner. Tip 2: An accountability partner is extremely helpful. Get one of those!

To see someone I love in a situation like that, motivated every inch of me to help others as well as myself from having to experience the same thing. My goal is to lift as I climb in my journey which involves teaching, getting the information out there, and getting people involved not just with the project but actively whether it’s walking, running, eating healthy or (hopefully) a combination of it all. So I’ll leave you with Tip 3: GET INVOLVED. Being involved with MyHealthImpactNetwork has helped me stay on course. I can’t possibly motivate others to get healthy if I’m not doing so myself. To speak contradictions is something I choose not to do.

As I look around my community (college and hometown), the information is there but is it being put out there in a way that it is understood or in an outlet used by those it needs to be reached? MyHealthImpactNetwork does that and I’m making myself a part of that. I feel like it’s my duty.

          

 

 

 

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In Partnership with: Poole College of Management, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Science Foundation, Penn State

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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