With All My Heart

Staffer reflects on hard times

With All My Heart

“Take a deep breath. Okay, once more,” the doctor said. That’s how a regular check-up goes, except when the doctor suddenly turns serious. They led my brothers and me out of the room, so the doctor could talk to my mom in private.

All my life I’ve been overweight and out of shape. A simple sprint makes me breathe heavily, yet that’s how all my family is. My parent’s brothers and sisters all have a history of being overweight, so I never thought of it as a problem. I mean, why? If my family is like this maybe it’s genetic right? Not at all.

When my youngest brother, at age 7, was diagnosed with a heart murmur because of his weight, I knew we had to change our lifestyle. It wasn’t normal for someone of his age to get so red and tired after a simple jog or even walk. It made me feel almost guilty because he’s just a kid; we’re the adults who fed him, so technically wasn’t it our fault? We’re the responsible ones who needed to make sure he exercised and ate.

At that first visit with the heart doctor, he told my parents straight up how things were. If my brother didn’t lose weight, he could develop a bigger heart murmur and cause complications later on. I remember coming home that day to the news and looking at the face of my baby brother and just crying. I could lose him, I thought.

This was the start of a whole new life for me and my family. We knew if my younger brother didn’t get healthy, it would bring so many more problems, not only for us but also for him. So, we began eating healthier, more vegetables and less red meat, which was hard considering our culture. We managed to do it though. Then my brothers and I had a weekly walk that not only served as our exercise but a time to talk and visit with each other. They talked to me about school and how hard math or reading was or on whom they were crushing . It made me involved in their everyday life because other than a few afternoons, I didn’t see them.

Though it was a long process with many fights along the way, despite all our hard work, my brother didn’t lose weight. Though on our last doctor visit the doctor didn’t seem as concerned. He told us because of my brother’s growth spurt he’s becoming a strong young man. That didn’t make me feel better though, my baby brother is growing up, but his condition brought us closer as a family. There are family dinners instead of everybody in his or her own room and weekly walks that put me up to date with my brothers’ daily lives. It makes me grateful to God for this test he put us through. I love that little kid more than anything and I’m relieved to say his heart murmur has only gotten smaller.