“I think when we leave, we’re actually going to do something different. And I’m going to follow up with some of these people and say what are we doing? I think it needs to be more than just an annual event. There needs to be some little milestone that we can achieve together along the way.”
To date, according to the American Heart Association’s director of Communications Karen Colbert, this was the best Power of Laughter event presented and attended.
Statistics provided by the American Heart Association included that stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and the number one disabler for all Americans. Also, African-Americans are twice as likely than Caucasians to suffer from a stroke.
The afternoon’s event included a VIP meet and greet reception with Coles; free health screenings; exhibitors; vendors; a heart healthy lunch; a discussion on “Family, Intimacy & Me!” facilitated by Sara Oliver-Carter, vice president of Diversity and Inclusion at Highmark Health, and featuried panelists Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Dr. Darryl Canady, University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Health Sciences Diversity Director Mario Browne, MPH, CHES, University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics Dr. Alda Maria Gonzaga and University of Pittsburgh Department of Family Medicine Department Chair Dr. Jeannette South-Paul. There was also a presentation of the 2014 Salute to Volunteerism Recognition Award to Eric Cofield and lots of entertainment.
Coles, who has a stand-up comedy special airing in November on the network Bounce TV, and who showed her interpretive dance skills during a “no-salt” presentation, said, “I fully understand the power of laughter; it’s part of my DNA, it’s who I am as a person and it’s what I do for a living. And when they (the AHA) asked me to participate in this event and spread the message about heart disease, stroke and preventative care, I had to say yes.”
Like Colbert and Castleberry-Singleton, Coles also believes that laughter is the best form of delivery. She said, “Laughter is a connector and a great way to communicate. If you’re hearing a message with facts, figures and charts, that’s hard to take in. …All I know is that it (laughter) works and it’s a real effective way, physically and spiritually, to get a message in and out.”
As one who has always been open about her struggle with weight, Coles said heart health and awareness is important, especially to women of color, because they are usually the “heart” of the family and their communities, and when a woman takes care of herself, “her family thrives, her community thrives and her work thrives.”
One of the more heartfelt portions of the afternoon was the video presentation of three stroke survivors’ stories. The video conveyed the message that a stroke can happen at any age, to anyone, at anytime.
DeCarlo Gilliard, one of the survivors, said, like many, he ignored the signs and thought it was just the affects of being tired. It wasn’t until hours later, when his family made him go to the hospital, that he found out he was having a stroke.
Gilliard, who thought the event was excellent and hopes to see it grow to where thousands can participate, said telling his story “was a humbling experience because as a man, I (thought) nothing like this could happen to me. A stroke was the furthest thing from my mind. I looked at it as I was sick, sleepy, but when I went to the doctor—if my family hadn’t told me to go to the doctor, I might have a different story today.
“One of things I’ve learned is hope. Everyone looks for hope and the way I look at H.O.P.E. is Helping Other People Everyday… It’s an opportunity to tell my story to help people everyday. People I don’t know need to hear this story, so they don’t get in the same situation I’ve been in.”
Pittsburgh Black Nurses in Action representative and Power of Laughter attendee Ruth Wilson said events like the Power of Laughter are important. “They do screenings and you can really assess where your health is and see where you need to improve,” she said. “And if your health isn’t where it needs to be, they have coaches that are here to help guide you to take the steps to get healthy.”
Among all the facts presented, the most important one was that strokes are “beatable, treatable and preventable,” and that as a community, we can work “Together to End Stroke.”
Sponsors for the event included Covidien, UPMC, Highmark, HealthSouth, the New Pittsburgh Courier, KDKA and The Pittsburgh CW.
(For more information on the American Heart Association, visit https://www.aha.org.)
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