Her mom had 2 heart attacks in her 50s. Now she models good nutrition and fitness for her kids.

One of the best dishes to come out of 埃德娜K. 麦琴在西德克萨斯小镇上的家庭厨房是炸鸡排. Her fried chicken was pretty good, too.

给埃德娜的女儿, Krissi奥登, and Krissi's older brother, Mark, 和姐姐, 帕姆, 南方的家常菜——总是涂满肉汁——是一种安慰. 埃德娜不做饭的时候，她把家里收拾得干干净净. 当她不打扫卫生的时候，她会在孩子们的学校做志愿者，或者参加筹款活动. 她给每个孩子做了一本剪贴簿，记录他们上学的每一年.

“从小到大，妈妈是个实干家，她坐不住，”克里西说. “在我们家，我们总是开玩笑说你可以从马桶上吃东西."

作为最小的孩子, and an artistic one who loved to paint, Krissi bonded with her mom, a talented seamstress who made the girls' prom dresses. Edna found art classes to nurture Krissi's talent. 她还照顾她的丈夫拉里，他超重，有高血压.

埃德娜花了太多的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽照顾别人，以至于忽略了自己的健康.

吸烟是埃德娜一生的习惯，即使她试过也戒不掉. She didn't prioritize exercise or eating healthy. She was naturally slim and had low blood pressure. 埃德娜确信她不会像她父亲或哥哥那样死于心脏病发作, who died during heart transplant surgery.

50多岁的时候，埃德娜在母亲家过感恩节，突然开始颈部疼痛. It kept getting worse and she went to the emergency room. 是心脏病发作. 埃德娜在她的动脉中植入了支架，以保持血管畅通和血液流动.

A few years later and still in her 50s, Edna had a second heart attack, 然后做搭桥手术，让血液绕过受损的动脉向心脏供血. Her health deteriorated from there. Krissi called Edna every day. But she wasn't the same person Krissi knew growing up. 埃德娜放慢了脚步. 她不是一个实干家. Eventually, she spent years going in and out of the hospital.

"There was always something with her health," Krissi said.

后来，克丽丝结婚了，有了自己的孩子，她一直在为母亲的健康状况而挣扎. She of course ached to see her ill. 但克里西也很生气，因为埃德娜没有好好照顾自己, that she always put herself second, 第三或第四.

Krissi was holding Edna's hand when she died at age 63. Until the end, Edna was thinking about others. The last words she spoke to Krissi were: "What are you reading?" Krissi was 29 and her son, Greysen, was 2.

“如果我能做到，我永远不会让我的孩子们经历这些，”克里西告诉自己.

Edna's absence hit Krissi hard. “我不知道她走后会有多痛苦，”她说. "We did everything together. She was my best friend, my rock, my everything."

尽管如此，克里西还是决定从心痛中得到一些好的东西. She pledged to eat healthier and committed to fitness. 她鼓励格雷森和她的女儿凯特(凯特是埃德娜死后出生的)也这样做.

"They understand this is important,克里西说, whose own heart is healthy, though her cholesterol threatens to tick up. “我想让我的孩子们知道，我为了和他们在一起竭尽所能."

她教现年18岁的格雷森和7岁的凯特如何保持良好的营养和养成健康的习惯. 她在德克萨斯州丹顿(Denton)的家附近参加健身训练营，每周五次. She's leading by example.

“在我的成长过程中，我们没有谈论过这些事情，”克里西说. "We talk about it in my house now. My mom's journey has greatly informed my journey."

当Kat看到Krissi锻炼时，她会拿出瑜伽垫在她身边锻炼. Krissi regularly jogs and bikes with her kids. She has pushup contests with Greysen.

"It's a pretty cool thing to be able to say to my friends, 'I bet my mom can beat you in a pushup contest,’”格雷森说. “她让健身变得有趣."

克里西照顾得很好，在2018年——就在她40岁生日之前——她足够健康，可以把一个肾脏捐给她十几岁的继女, 三一, who was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease.

Unfortunately, the kidney didn't take and 三一 is on dialysis. 这对家人来说是令人失望的，对克里西来说是一种情感上的崩溃. She had to learn to let go. "Once you give (a kidney), that's it. You can't be sad about what happens to it," she said.

治疗帮助了克里西——她失去母亲的悲伤，她对肾脏不能取出的情绪，以及她再也没有肾可以捐给其他孩子的事实, should they ever need it.

"I've learned it's OK not to be OK," Krissi said. 现在，当她想起妈妈的时候，她常常会想起那些快乐的回忆. She's thankful Edna led her and her family to a place of health.

"I was so lucky to have the mom that I had," Krissi said.

发自内心的故事 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.