By Mint Bhetraratana
Four months ago,
I found myself at the helm of a flip camera, a device that I was less than
comfortable using, despite being a part of the tech-savvy generation. I was
volunteering at a health conference in Oakland and was assigned to videotape
the day’s events and interview some of the guest speakers. Everyone that I met
was a health professional of some sort, having already found their calling and
belonging to an organization that worked to better the community through public
health means, while I, a Berkeley student on the brink of graduation, was
simply there to help out and explore.
Little did I
know that by the end of the day, I would find something to be a part of, too.
One of the guest
speakers that I spoke with was Dr. David Sabgir, a physician from Columbus,
Ohio who had flown all the way from his hometown to talk about his non-profit
called Walk with a Doc.
“Hmm,” I thought
the first time he told me and which I soon would realize is a common mistake
people make, “Walk with a Dog.”
Of course, Walk
with a Doc has nothing to do with this 4-legged creature (although we do encourage
man’s best friend to walk with us!), but instead, is about encouraging the
community to do the very simple act of walking.
Walking, as is
often dismissed as just a necessary means of getting from one place to another,
has a lot of health benefits. By walking 30 minutes a day, you are effectively
lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reducing your risk of
obesity, improving your immune system, and decreasing stress – thus making you
a healthier, happier person!
With this in
mind, Dr. Sabgir sought out a way, as a cardiologist, to help his patients
prevent the onset of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (which to this
day, is the number one cause of death in America) by encouraging them to be
more physically active…and to do it with them.
So, in 2005, he
founded Walk with a Doc, an organization that not only hosts monthly 2-mile
walks with a leading physician, but which also provides free blood pressure
screenings, healthy snacks, and giveaways like shirts, pedometers, and water bottles
to encourage community members to continue walking long after the culmination
of the event.
It was a simple
idea – the merging of clinical medicine with a doctor’s advice and public
health practice with a blood pressure check and a walk in the park.
I mulled over
the concept in my head and concluded that, as someone who grew up playing
tennis and soccer and even coached others in these sports, and as someone who
learned about the obesity epidemic in public health classes, I wanted to be a
part of this growing movement. (And indeed, Walk with a Doc is growing – with
over 100 walks in the U.S., Australia, and Russia!)
After
reconnecting with Dr. Sabgir after the conference and expressing my interest in
getting involved with a Bay Area chapter of Walk with a Doc, he introduced me
to the program’s director, Liz Mace. To my surprise, she told me that there
wasn’t a Walk with a Doc chapter here, but that she would help me to start one.
I took some time
to think about the task ahead of me: would I be up to the challenge of creating
a chapter of a non-profit, something that I had no experience doing before?
Would I be ready to take on a commitment that I knew would require much of my
free time and energy?
I wasn’t sure
what the answers were to these questions yet, but I decided that I would test
the waters and find out.
And so began my
journey with Walk with a Doc, which would involve several hours of sending and
receiving e-mails, maintaining an Excel sheet that documented my every
decision, talks with local physicians, visits to cafes and businesses for
donations, and other tasks that I won’t go into detail here. I will however,
share with you a few things that I’ve learned thus far while working on this
project.
1. I have to pick
myself up when the going gets tough.
It’s an
unfortunate reality that there will be obstacles in the way of planning an
event –whether it be a cynical opinion or a schedule that doesn’t hold up. It’s
easy to allow these road bumps to add up until the point when you start
doubting yourself. But when that happens, it’s important to remind yourself why
you got involved in the first place; it’s an opportunity to reinforce your
passion and commitment for a project. For me, I like to take a look at pictures
from past Walk with a Doc events and remember the important message that this
organization is getting across to thousands of people. I think of the impact
that an event like this can have on a community and also consider that:
2. If I surround
myself with supportive people, the obstacles can be conquered.
There are times
when an individual can do a task, and there are times when a team of people can
do it better. For public health initiatives, the latter is the better option.
It’s crucial to interact with people who are supportive of the cause and of
you. I was fortunate to come across with and connect with individuals from The
City of Berkeley, Lifelong Medical Center, and Walk with a Doc, as well as the
many business sponsors who believed in this program and who believed in me.
Their relentless support truly helped me maintain the foundation for which I
alone could not support.
Taking the time
to reflect about Walk with a Doc has allowed me to think back to when I first
heard about this program and which brings me to another lesson that I learned:
3. Do not discount
the little things because if you let them grow, they can lead to greater
opportunities.
Four months ago,
I would not have thought that volunteering to take pictures at a health
conference would have led me to creating a Walk with a Doc chapter in Berkeley.
Had I not done the seemingly minor task of taking footage that day, I probably
would not be writing this very essay. The bottom line is – take notice of
everything that is going around you and the opportunities that may come your
way. And if they don’t come, take notice of the things that you are doing and
forge your own path to create something that you feel there is a need for in
your community.
With that said,
I invite you to come walk with us on Saturday, October 19th in San
Pablo Park in Berkeley. Dr. Janet Berreman will be speaking about the
importance of physical activity and nutrition and Heart 2 Heart will be providing blood pressure screenings. In addition, we have
invited Thalassemia Outreach at Children’s Hospital, Diabetes and Sports Health
Camp (DASH), and 10x10 Wellness for Alameda County to speak to walkers about
their respective health organizations. If you would like to volunteer or would
like more information about this event and Walk with a Doc, feel free to e-mail
me at wwad.berkeley@gmail.com.
