Friends, Family Walk for Heart Health

By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- With stories of survival and of loss hundreds flocked to Oklahoma City for the American Heart Association's annual walk.

For every step these walkers inch closer to the reason they're taking part in the walk. Some are kicking off a healthy new habit; others came to celebrate their new lease on life.

"I just felt like I had a second chance," Nancy Seely said.

Seely isn't exactly walking; she can't yet. She recently suffered a heart attack, so she's rolling along side coworkers on her segway.

"It happened to me and I had no warning sign, it was silent, it's a silent killer and I understand that now," Seely said.

Heart disease is one that took the life of one of Seely's co-workers. The law office she works for put together a group to walk in her honor and in memory of the person they lost.

"Mike was the first person I saw in the morning and the last person I saw at night for 15 years and all the sudden he is gone and was gone because of a heart attack," Eric Fisher said.

The Oklahoma City Heart Walk raises millions of dollars to bring down high statistics of fatal heart disease.

"We have over $8 million being spent on research right now and it also emphasizes the importance of walking and how important walking is to your overall health," Terri Bailey with the American Heart Association said.

Linda Baggett is walking for a dear friend and coworker who died of a stroke one year ago.

"Actually, he would be really proud of everybody," Baggett said. "He would be really proud of his daughters who make these cool pins for all of us. He was a great family man, great OHP, safety man, great all around guy."