Close to our Hearts: Emma’s Heart Foundation Charity Event ❤️

Emma Atto
Jul 30
6 min read

At Inspire, we know movement is powerful. But sometimes it becomes more than a class, and it is about showing up not just for ourselves, but for the people who become our community along the way.

We’re asking you to show up for one of the Inspire coaches who inspires us every day: Emma ✨

We are inviting you to join us for a very special charity event in August...

When: From 9.00 am Sunday 16 August, bookings open now!

What: A Cycle and Box for the Heart Foundation with Emma + Jonte

How can I get involved: Book via the Inspire App by purchasing a $25 ticket.

100% of proceeds will be donated.

If you’re unable to attend, but would still like to contribute to our fundraising goal, visit https://www.doitforheart.org.au/fundraisers/inspire/inspire-for-heart

For Emma, this community event is a celebration of resilience, gratitude, and the people who inspire us most. Read on to learn why the Heart Foundation means so much to her, and how our community can make a difference together.

Emma’s story

The Heart Foundation’s vision is to achieve "health for every heart”, and reduce the number of Australians impacted by heart disease. Through education, expanded care and support, and developing technology, the Heart Foundation contributes to the prevention and treatment of conditions encompassed by the “heart disease” umbrella.

"Heart disease" is a broad term covering various heart conditions including arrhythmia, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, and more. Our hearts are delicate, intricate and essential to our health, so we must look after them. While our lifestyle affects the health of our heart, many fit, healthy people suffer from heart disease. 🫀

One of those people is my dad.

In the last 18 months, my dad Steve has undergone four open heart surgeries to replace the mitral valve in his heart. He had an earlier open heart procedure in 2017, so he’s endured five in total.

Each surgery is life-threatening, and the risks increase each time. Due to an unknown and undetectable infection, Dad’s mitral valve kept springing a leak, causing fluid to travel into the lungs.

Because of the repeated surgeries, Dad has very little tissue left around his heart, which

has made it difficult for doctors to attach the new valves during the last two procedures. Thanks to improvements in heart technology, Dad’s surgeon manufactured a special patch and casing to reinforce the valve and enclose his heart, such that it’s now protected inside a type of ‘case’ inside his body.

Without the Heart Foundation’s dedication to research and technological development, those materials and methods would not have been available to Dad this year, and the outcome may have been different. 🙏🏻

The best way I can describe the last 18 months is being stuck in a nightmare on a loop. Dad would get sick; we were faced with the prospect of losing him; we walked beside him as he was wheeled into theatre; we cried nine hours later when we received the call saying he made it;we spoke to him while he was in a coma; he recovered for a few weeks in hospital; my mum cared for him for three months at home;he finally recovered and we thought life was back to normal. And then the loop repeated, the symptoms returned, and we did it all again.

It has been the most trying and traumatic time of our lives.

What I’ve learned from this experience is that heart disease can impact anyone, healthy or not. My dad has always been a fit and active person. A footballer in his youth, a surfer for most of his life, and a golfer. He doesn’t smoke and isn’t a big drinker.

Knowing that heart disease can affect us even if we maintain a healthy lifestyle really highlights how important it is to do everything we can to protect our hearts. For me, this could be hereditary, and so in my mind, if I can ensure my heart is at its strongest, then I have a better chance of getting through life without having the same experience as Dad.

I think it is important to educate people about the symptoms that arise from heart disease, as they are often things that are casually dismissed. People often have little concern over being puffed or tired, thinking they’ve just lost a bit of fitness, are getting older or are simply just “under the weather”, but the longer the symptoms are left untreated, the more serious and urgent the condition can become.

It is difficult to understand the reality of having a heart condition. It is completely debilitating. The physical load and recovery are incomprehensible.

My dad has missed out on so much due to his condition: working (he LOVES his job), family holidays, and most recently, walking me down the aisle on my wedding day. My dad could not attend his only child’s wedding day because he was in hospital.

What’s more are the mental health impacts, not only for the person that’s sick, but for the people closest to them. All of us have suffered. For my dad, the heartbreak of making it through a gruelling recovery, and then finding himself back at square one time and time again. For my mum, the exhaustion of caring for my dad and supporting him emotionally through each surgery, only to have to do it again. For me, the strain of keeping my fears at bay so I can be the glue keeping my family together.

This truly only scratches the surface.

Why I want to move with you, our Inspire community.

At Inspire, we spend a lot of time reflecting on what inspires us, and for me, it’s my dad. I am so grateful for the technology that got Dad through his most recent surgery, and I have really wanted to give back and say thank you in some way. I am fortunate to have a platform as a coach, so I thought I could use that to share with our community the importance of heart health, help raise money for the cause, and also celebrate my dad’s recovery.

The Heart Foundation also seemed fitting because as a studio, we lost our beautiful long-term member Judi O’Dea to a heart condition earlier this year. Judi was a pillar of our community and many of us had the pleasure of knowing her, or riding beside her in her favourite class at 9.00am on a Sunday. It only feels right that as a studio, we spent time honouring and celebrating Judi and all of the wonderful things she brought to Inspire in her 10 years as a member with us.

The Inspire team and clients have been instrumental in helping me get through the last 18 months, whether they were aware of it or not. I am so grateful that we can get together and move, because we are lucky to be able to do so. There is power in community, and even more in a community getting behind a good cause.

This will be a morning filled with joy, celebration, and connection. I want every client to take something special away from the experience, whether that’s celebrating life, uplifting someone who may be going through a tough time, or taking a moment to remember someone they’ve lost.

Of course, you can expect my usual style of playlist—songs that make you want to get after it, let loose, and have a boogie 💃🏼. And yes… I’m Outta Love by Anastacia will absolutely be making an appearance.

The energy at the studio is electric most days, but when we come together for something special, and when there’s feeling behind what we’re doing, it is indescribable. It’s a high like no other. I’m looking forward to seeing all we can achieve for this incredible cause together. And, if you want to meet the man, the myth, the legend: Steve Kearney, then you should come along, because he’ll be right there riding with us! 💪