John
W. Deakin
Age
67, Retired
Former Police Officer, Also worked for the West Virginia
Department of Highways and Wheeling Hospital
“Push yourself and don’t feel sorry for yourself!”
That is how John Deakin, a retired policeman feels.
John says he is busier now, since retiring, than ever.
Six
years ago John, while visiting his grandchildren in
Montreal had a health scare. John was having a difficult
time breathing and began to turn blue. He saw a doctor
who informed him that his health was very poor, he
had emphysema, and that he could possibly die very
soon if he didn’t stop smoking.
John, a long time smoker, didn’t think that he would
ever quit, but the reality that he would never be
able to watch his grandchildren play hockey again
set in. He gave up smoking. Almost a year ago John
had a serious bout of pneumonia and also found that
he was a diabetic.
With the help of his physician, John entered Diabetic
rehabilitation. There John began walking nearly 1
mile a day on almost every day. The mile was tedious
though and took nearly 35 minutes. The therapist at
rehab checked John’s oxygen level and found that he
needed oxygen. So now John walks with his oxygen and
feels great. He enjoys the walk and says he feels
better than he has in a long time.
When
questioned about his walking habit John had this to
say:
Why
do you walk? I walk for health reasons. It helps you
to lose weight. It helps a lot of your body parts.
Plus, it’s good for you!
Why
do you love walking? The cost is very low and walking
helps my body a great deal. Walking is something that
everyone can do.
What
is your toughest obstacle to walking? My toughest
obstacles were when I turned blue and had to quit
smoking - it was tough. Diabetic and Pulmonary rehab
were also tough, but they helped me to start exercising
daily and eat right. It worked and I feel great now.
What
is the coolest benefit of walking? Walking helps me
with weight loss and it makes me feel a lot better.
What
is your biggest surprise about walking? I think the
biggest surprise was that all of the walking, eating
right, and quitting smoking worked. And with my oxygen,
I feel great!
John
was reluctant to be a profile for the campaign but
wanted to help others.
“If
my story can be an inspiration to others, then I want
to help them to get off their duffs and start walking
too!” So follow John’s example and walk every day!
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