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Helping others, like dad did.
Andi Gamboni lost her father John Couch to heart disease just three months before the Heart Foundation Heart Walkers event in Wellington last year.
"I wanted to do the Heart Walk because Dad had always helped others by giving to and volunteering for charities. In honour of him, I wanted to be able to give something back too." . Driven by her father’s zest for life, she walked with her 16-year old daughter and rallied her family, friends and acquaintances to donate to the Heart Foundation, so it can continue its work in heart research, education and cardiac care. She raised a stunning $1,400 for the charity.
In Andi’s memory, her father John was never the shrinking violet, despite living with heart disease for more than twenty years.
Diagnosed with angina at the age of 50, John had to retire early after a quadruple by-pass. He also had to change his lifestyle. Which meant watching his diet, giving up smoking cigarettes and cutting his drinking down to just the odd glass of wine. It also meant he had to exercise regularly.
Ten years later, John experienced chest pains and was again under the knife for a triple by-pass. At 61, he developed double pneumonia and was in intensive care for one month in an induced coma. Again he pulled through and made a good recovery. Six years ago he had a stent put in.
"Dad was not the type to sit still for long! After his early retirement, he took up consultancy work and ran an office for three years. He continued to enjoy life with his wife, family and friends. He continued to travel and was always busy with his charity organisations such as Round Table and Rotary," she says.
Even in the last year of his life, when his health started to deteriorate, he still managed to do all the things he loved to do, such as overseas holidays, theatre trips and entertaining family and friends.
"One of his great loves in life was soccer and for 35 years he had been a very loyal supporter to Brighton and Hove Albion and as a season ticket holder he hardly ever missed a game, she says"
John passed away at the age of 73 in August 2008.
Yet just three months before he died, he was cruising the Mediterranean with Andi’s mother!
"To this day my mum cannot believe he went so quickly, as just the night before he died he was planning their next holiday and laughing and joking; always one to look on the positive side of things."
Regrettably, Andi did not make it in time to England to see her father as she had to travel from New Zealand.
Andi believed John’s zest for life in spite of his heart condition has touched her friends, family and acquaintances, who donated generously to the Heart Foundation and will continue to do so into the future.
