finding balanceAgeing gracefullyTRUDY DUIVENVOORDEN MITICMost of us are lucky enough to be able to choose our health destiny.Afew months ago theCanadian Heart andStroke Foundation releasedan ad that’s both jarring andprofound. On a split screen thevideo streams two very differentscenarios for life in the senioryears—one from the vantage pointof robust health and the otherfrom the chronic sickbed. “Whatwill your last ten years look like?”asks the narrator as the actor lacesup his runners in the left screenbut struggles his foot into a slipperon the right. “Will you grow oldwith vitality or get old with disease?”Wheels roll across the screen, thoseof the actor’s bicycle on the leftand his wheelchair on the right.Dinner on the left happens at tablewith family over a glass of wine;on the right the actor is in hishospital bed, unable to lift a styrofoamcup without help.“It’s time to decide,” the narratorsays grimly.I think of this ad in the chillyminutes before starting my secondTimes-Colonist 10K run. It’s notyet 8:00 am and the skies aresulking, but more than 12,000 participants have gathered downtownand are buzzing with excitement. I’m surrounded by beautiful bodiesof all ages, shapes and sizes. Giant speakers thump out a warm-upnumber and hundreds of balloons bob impatiently on the breeze. Thenwe begin surging forward and suddenly the start line appears underfoot.The race is on.In many ways society is making it increasingly difficult to connect thedots between lifestyle and health, especially lifestyle today and healthtomorrow. Messages like the one from the Heart and Stroke Foundationare drowned out by a million opposing sound bites that would haveus choose convenience—blowing rather than raking leaves, for instance,and tasty packaged pseudo-food over whole foods that require a bitmore prep work. We have become a people who drive everywhere anddo everything sitting down. When faced with a health ailment, we findit easier to choose a quick medical fix over a long-term lifestyle change.But on this late-April Sunday morning Victoria belongs to the runnersand we are a river of energy flowing up Johnson Street, past trafficlights momentarily stripped of their jurisdiction but flashing defiantlynonetheless. Imagine a permanent, pedestrian-only corridorthrough the city that would pay dividends to both health and the environmentevery time it was used. Imagine doing all your errands andsocializing on foot, and then being healthier for it at the end of the day.Healthcare has become a huge,unsustainable industry in thisprovince: It employs 10 percentof our workforce and this yearwill cost us almost $17 billion,about 42 percent of the provincialbudget. And still it can’t seemto stop the steady erosion of populationhealth; in fact it probablyinadvertently contributes todeclining health by siphoning fromthe budgets of other initiativesthat play less direct but equallycrucial roles in keeping peoplehealthy. Think affordable housing,after-school sports and safer roadsfor pedestrians and cyclists.The breeze picks up as we turnonto Dallas Road and now ourchatter gives way to measuredbreathing. We’re on a long gradualhill and the halfway point is stillahead but the pipers, percussionistsand rock bands help boost theadrenalin that carries us along.Well-wishers cheer and the OlympicMountains are magnificent. NearMile 8, a rainbow suddenly appearsover the water.It must be tough to be a healthcareprovider, to tend to an unending queue of people who are mostlyafflicted with the same preventable sufferings. While fate can be crueland is mum on what’s in store for us as individuals, reputable researchshows that 80 percent of cardiovascular disease and 50 percent ofcancer cases are preventable. Type 2 diabetes need not happen at all.The major risk factors for all these miseries are the same: Smoking,a sedentary lifestyle, overeating, poor food choices and a contaminatedenvironment.I’m grateful for the finish line when it appears. And I’m thankfulfor the safety net of excellent medical care in this province. But Ialso realize that, barring some catastrophe, the long-term state ofmy health depends far more on me than on medication and the healthcareindustry. Any vision I have for my senior years must start withchoices I make today.ILLUSTRATION: APRIL CAVERHILLTrudy Duivenvoorden Mitic salutes her running buddyand all-around source of inspiration, Willa, as well asillustrator April Caverhill who’s busy creating the dazzlingoutfit she will wear for the Goddess Run in early June(supporting four local charities). On Father’s Day, June16, there’s a run/walk at Royal Roads to raise funds forThe Prostate Centre of Victoria.46 June 2013 • FOCUS
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