Strong and broken heart

There are people who walk into your life for a reason and ingrain themselves within you permanently. February is national heart month and it always makes me think of my friend, Amanda Patty. Each of my clients impact me in one way or another, but Amanda really left a full imprint on my heart. Amanda, a young 35 year old, called me out of the blue, back in 2013, and asked if I’d be available to work with her. She’d gotten my name from a previous client of mine who was a cardiologist. After reviewing her medical history questionnaire, along with the attached extra pages (yes, plural) of medical history, it was clear that Amanda had more red flags than the national weather service. I called our mutual friend, the cardiologist, to ask what in the world I was supposed to do with this individual born with a congenital heart defect, who had already undergone 8 open heart surgeries. She replied, “you’ve got this, y’all will get along great, just start slow.” In the beginning, I was overly cautious, constantly measuring her pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure. I finally realized that Amanda knew exactly when she needed to take a break or when she didn’t feel right. In fact, there are very few people that I ever worked with who are as in tune to their body as she was.

We had much in common; our love of family, love for travel, community and helping others. Most importantly, we both loved to laugh together. Amanda was strong physically and really strong-minded and passionate about fighting the injustices of the world. She was never afraid to state her opinion and was always fiercely grounded in her thought process. Her parents, Dee and Seldon always challenged her to be the best she could be and believed in her every step of the way. 

Amanda challenged me to think, I mean REALLY think, like out of the box. She was absolutely brilliant -  an attorney, an accountant, an extraordinary volunteer, she was well traveled, as in she traveled to all 50 states, most of Europe and was looking forward to a trip to Australia. She would have kept us all straight during 2020, politically and health-wise. 

Amanda was always looking to push herself into new dimensions; she was always training both physically and mentally. We were training for her first 5k and looking forward to walking it together. She was training for a trip to Australia with her fiance, but unfortunately, she never got to go. 

After a long battle with heart complications, Amanda sadly passed away on October 18, 2016, but left a legacy. Many have heard me say the phrase “no excuses” and she is one of those reasons that I use that freely. Amanda made no excuses and really lived her life to the fullest as we all should.  I miss her strength, passion, perseverance, integrity, determination, and most of all her smiling face and infectious laugh. I even miss hearing the tick of her artificial heart valve, that I would hear during our rare periods of silence. I am lucky to have had the privilege of working with her and the privilege of working with her adorable parents who started with me shortly after Amanda's death and are currently on hiatus due to Covid. They are both avid golfers, professional storytellers and jokesters (Amanda learned from the best). We still share so many stories and even more laughs. Amanda will continue to live through us all and I am certainly a better trainer and person because of her.

I love what I do.

Happy heart healthy month! Please take good care of yours!

~Thea