Putnam Heart Walk Kick Off Recognizes Inspirational Honorees
Walk which will take place at Brewster High School on April, 28. They are joined by this year’s walk
chairman Barry Haitoff.
Kicking off the 2013 Putnam Heart Walk, to raise money for cardiovascular disease research, the American Heart Association and walk chairman, Barry Haitoff, introduced the two Inspirational Honorees for this year, John Hackett and Nico DiFabio.
John Hackett of Brewster suffered a heart attack in 2009 that resulted from 100 percent blockage of his right main artery. He endured several hospitalizations and has had more than six stents placed in his arteries. With his body producing plaque at an alarming rate, and suffering from diastolic heart failure and small vessel disease, Hackett agreed to participate in a study through Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. He has an internal device, much like a pacemaker, and an external device that work in conjunction to warn him in the event that another heart attack is imminent. It is Hackett’s hope that this research will help other patients and save many lives now and for generations to come.
Nico DiFabio was diagnosed at 24 weeks in utero, with a complex congenital heart defect and his parents were told that his chances of survival would involve a series of three surgeries over the course of three to four years, two of which would be open heart surgeries. At two weeks old, Nico underwent a cardiac catheterization and at four months, he had his first open heart surgery. Two months before his second birthday, Nico underwent his second open-heart surgery. Today, Nico is monitored by doctors on a regular basis, but he is a normal ten year old boy who loves sports, but is not allowed to play football or other contact sports. His parents are grateful to the cardiologists who have taken his serious, life-threatening condition, and made it into a chronic manageable condition.
With heart disease and stroke the number one and four killers in America, the American Heart Association is hoping to raise $177,000 for research this year at the walk.
This year’s three-mile Heart Walk will be held April 28 at Brewster High School. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the walk will begin, rain or shine, at 10 a.m. For further information call 914-640-3274 or go online to www.putnamheartwalk.org.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
