(tranquil music)
(feet stepping)
(inspirational music)
- What had happened was that I got bilked into body building
right before I got sick.
I was preparing to do my first show at 2012.
Then all of a sudden, I got sick.
I got sick in December.
- He had some trouble breathing
and he was always running out of breath.
Everyone thought it was a cold.
- I couldn't sleep at night.
Waking up gasping for air.
Then all of a sudden I started losing my breath
walkin' to one end of the room,
or I bend over tying my shoes start losing my breath.
- We had actually found out in March of 2012
that I was pregnant.
Found out in April of 2012
that he had congestive heart failure.
(tranquil music)
- Whoo, damn.
That 240 days in the hospital,
it impact me to realize what I have.
What's more important in life than material things.
But you don't realize they take the stuff
'til you don't have it no more.
Being in the hospital that 240 days,
some of that stuff was taken away from me.
I thought I wouldn't be able to make it
to my son's senior night football game.
- It was really tough. (crying)
I sometimes get mad at myself for it
because I wasn't always there for him in the hospital.
That he sometimes, he had to ask me to come up and see him
and it shouldn't never been like that.
He should've never had to ask me
to come up there and see him.
Knowing that I wasn't going up there to see him
like I should, that if I would've lost him...
- I stayed every night in the hospital with him
and I had gotten up to go to work.
The unit manager had pulled me aside and said,
"Are you Ashley?"
And I was like, oh yes, what happened now.
She told me that some of the nurses had brought it
to her attention that our son's senior night was coming up
and it was really taking a toll on Chris
that he wasn't gonna be able to make it.
She said, "I just wanna let you know
"that we're working on something,
"but we wanna make it a surprise."
- It was senior night.
My head coach told us to go over to your parents.
I'm walking over and out of nowhere I see my dad stand up.
That's the greatest feeling in my life.
(clapping)
When I scored the touchdown and I seen my dad in the stands
with his covered in big, giant blanket on him.
I pointed to him and he pointed back.
He knew that was for him.
- I ran into a little friend of mine
who used to work for American Heart Association.
She asked me did I want, wanted my participate
into the Heart Walk (mumbling),
and I said yes. (laughing)
Yes!
- He's had the opportunity to work
with the American Heart Association on several occasions
that has given him the opportunity
to not only be an advocate
for the American Heart Association,
but also teach him things that he had no idea about.
All what I knew, I learned
through American Heart Association.
I knew I was sick back in January.
If it weren't for them,
and what that nurse be teaching me that,
there's no telling where I'd be at right now.
I used to lay on that surgery table
and I was getting line balloon pumps put in me.
I used think why am I still doing this.
What's my purpose?
Right here doing sharing my story,
looking my son graduate go off to playing football,
chasing his dream.
Watch my two little ones go on to preschool now.
Spending more time with them.
Gave pain a purpose.
Got to do that by lettin' people help you.
That was my biggest thing was
to lettin' these people help me.
I know for a fact that if it wasn't
for American Heart Association fundin' most
of the researches they do,
I probably wouldn't be here today.
I truly believe that.
(inspirational music)
They're working on a healthier Kansas City
and there's so much that can be done
that needs to be done,
but it all takes money,
It takes the donations and they need
to keep that focus going 'cause that's the reason
why I'm here today.
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