Project News
October 6, 2009
“Living Like Champions” Conference
Living like Champions was a Chronic Disease Prevention conference held on Oct 6th, 2009 in Powerview. Four of our Board members were able to attend this conference and have a display table that was placed strategically at the front entrance.
We had the chance to listen to Joel Lamoureux speak candidly about growing up overweight and addicted to food. Joel spoke of his struggles with obesity and the health problems connected to his condition. He managed consciously and courageously to make a decision to emerge from the world of addiction to food into a world of wellness. Joel weighed 562 and lost 350 pounds in a 2 year period. Wow, what a success story!
NEHA, as have the other ten Regional Health Authorities in Manitoba, put a focus on Chronic Disease and on Wellness. We all know that cancer; heart attacks and stroke, along with asthma and other respiratory illness take centre stage as we are forced to watch loved ones succumb to the effects of these chronic illnesses. We watch relatives and friends smoke too much or drink too much and we mourn with them (and for ourselves) as they become a victim of their habit. We see them eat too much and suddenly recognized the unseen presence of mental illness in people where it didn’t seem possible. We choose to ignore the signs. Yet many who read this can too easily call up the memory of someone who has committed suicide. This tragedy happened seemingly out of the blue when we had no idea that their depression had swallowed their esteem, their good sense and the act of killing themselves had became their statement, their last word to us. Joel Lamoureux tells the audience that he could very easily have been one of those people.