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This August I'm walking and fundraising for Heart & Stroke, and I can’t do it alone. Every donation, big or small, brings me one step closer to my fundraising target.
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From Gravel Roads to Green Fields: One Redneck's Journey Back After a Heart Attack and Stroke
Monday 3rd Aug If you would've told me years ago that I'd be writing a blog for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, I probably would've laughed and told you I'd rather be walking a bush trail or sitting in the edge of a field waiting for the sun to come up.But life has a way of changing your perspective.
At 33 years old, I had a heart attack. About a year and a half later, I suffered a mini stroke. In what felt like the blink of an eye, I went from living life without much thought about my health to wondering if I'd ever be able to do the things I loved again.
Those experiences taught me something I never expected: every day is a gift, and every healthy choice matters.
I'm just a Saskatchewan redneck at heart. Give me a pair of worn-out boots, a gravel road, a bush trail, or a quiet field at sunrise, and I'm happier than I could ever be in a crowded city. Hunting has never just been about filling a tag. It's about slowing down, appreciating God's country, watching deer feed across a field, listening to the wind through the trees, and remembering how lucky I am just to be there.
After my heart attack and mini stroke, I realized those moments could never be taken for granted again.
So I made a decision.
Instead of letting my diagnosis define me, I'd let it motivate me.
Over the past year, I've lost more than 44 pounds. There wasn't a secret formula. No miracle supplement. Just determination, better choices, thousands upon thousands of steps, time in the gym, and refusing to give up when progress felt slow.
Some days my walks are about fitness.
Other days they're about clearing my head.
Many of them take me down the same kinds of bush trails and country roads I've always loved. Those walks remind me that healing isn't just about getting stronger physically—it's about reconnecting with the things that make you feel alive.
I still have difficult days. My heart will never be perfect, and there are reminders of that every day. But I've learned that strength isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's about getting up anyway.
It's putting your boots on.
It's taking that first step.
Then another.
And another.
If my story reaches someone who's scared after a heart attack or stroke, I hope they know this: recovery doesn't mean getting your old life back. It means building a new one—one healthy choice at a time.
Celebrate the small victories. The first walk around the block. The first pound lost. The first time you realize you're doing something today that you couldn't do a few months ago.
Those moments add up.
Today, I appreciate the simple things more than ever. A quiet evening on a gravel road. A walk through the bush. Watching wildlife move through a field. Time spent with the people I love.
Those aren't little moments anymore.
They're the moments that remind me why I keep fighting.
If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: your heart may change your life, but it doesn't have to limit it.
Every sunrise is another chance.
Every step is another victory.
And every heartbeat is another reason to keep moving forward.
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