 I definitely want to keep up with everybody else in my life. I want to spend time with my grandkids. I want to spend a lot of time with my grandkids. My wife's a wonderful person. She's very energetic. She likes to do things. She wants to go out shopping. I can walk through them all now. I couldn't do that before. I got involved in volunteer work about 10 years ago, right after I retired. There's a lot of souls out there who are really in need. I don't do it for myself. You feel in this world, if you live long enough, you need to help others. I have a 16-year-old. I have to be active for her. Most of her friends' parents are younger than I am. She plays basketball. She's very active. She's very social. We do everything with her. And that's why it's very important for me to maintain the circulation in my leg so I can participate in her life. About a half years ago, I started feeling pain in my right calf. I started to experience discomfort with my leg. I could walk about one block and my legs would start cramping. I couldn't do anything that I used to be able to do. The pain was so bad, I couldn't walk any further. I had to sit down and rest. I was finally diagnosed with PAD, which I was totally unfamiliar with, had no idea really what it was. I didn't know what PAD was. So what is PAD? And if you've never heard of it, should you be concerned? PAD stands for Peripheral Arterial Disease, and it affects about one out of 20 Americans over the age of 50. PAD means clogged arteries in the legs. And just like clogged arteries in the heart, having PAD can put you at higher risk for having a heart attack or stroke. What also concerns people is the impact PAD has on their lives. I felt like I had gone from a person who had a lot of energy, a lot of friends, a lot of activities into the pit of being an old person who was no longer going to be able to walk. My legs would be complaining, literally, that I'm abusing them, you might say. I couldn't afford to be without a job. And if the cramping got so bad I couldn't do work performance, then I would lose my job and there wouldn't be any income. And you sure can't live like that. Even though PAD can interfere with your day-to-day activities, many people who experience symptoms don't talk to their doctor about it. They think that discomfort is just an unfortunate natural part of getting older. But there are certain signs and symptoms you can look for that can be an indication that you have PAD and they start in your legs. When you're walking, it's like a vice goes on your leg and it cramps it like that and it closes down until you absolutely cannot walk. Your muscles actually tighten up on you and you just get to the point where you can't walk at all. And I would come in from a walk in the winter and I'd get in the shower and the bottom soles of my feet were snow-white, it was like there wasn't any blood there. So if you notice cramping or even fatigue or heaviness in the muscles of your legs, that could be PAD. Especially if it happens when you walk or climb the stairs and goes away when you stop and rest. Also look for pain in your legs or feet that disturbs your sleep or color changes in your feet like paleness or blueness. You can have PAD without having any symptoms at all. Certain conditions and habits increase your risk of developing PAD. I smoked like a house for many years. I did not know that my blood pressure being high could be a contributing factor to PAD. I have a heart condition and the doctor says I might have had a mild heart attack at one point. Andrew, Mike and Rita all have risk factors that made PAD more likely. Your chances of getting PAD may be increased if you are over the age of 50, especially if you're African-American. If you smoke or you're used to smoke. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. If you have vascular disease or you've had a heart attack or stroke or if you have a history of these in your family. If all this is starting to make you think that could be me or someone I love, talk to your healthcare provider even if you don't have symptoms. There is a simple test he or she can give you called an ABI. It compares the blood pressure readings in your ankles with the blood pressure in your arms to help determine whether you have PAD. If you do, your doctor will talk to you about your options for staying in circulation. Either with lifestyle changes, medication or perhaps surgery. And after treatment, things may start looking up. I don't have any problems walking. I don't have to stop all the time. It doesn't interfere with my job anymore, which I did before. Within two weeks after I had the procedure done, I had to go with a contractor to look at the concrete work that had to be done around the property. I walked a whole 45 acres without even stopping. Someone told me in my neighborhood yesterday because she walked so fast. And I'm like, oh, this is really good because no one knows I have anything wrong with me now. And that's what I really like. Deep breaths. I like yoga because it's quiet. I'm a quite chatty person. So when I'm at yoga, I can't chat. It gives me time to free my mind. It's the one class I've discovered. No one cares what you look like in. And no one cares what you're doing as long as you're doing something. If you vegetate, you disappear so far. And I'm concerned that you have to keep busy and doing things. And here's the back where I did a great wall. That's the healthy walk of that wall. You have to tell me about it. Rosetta's on my case about my eating habits as well as my exercise habits. She's a good first sergeant. Don't wait until you get PAD to change your life. Start now and you may help prevent it. Quit smoking. If you're having trouble, talk to your healthcare provider about a smoking cessation plan. Make sure you know your blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels. And if they're high, work with your doctor to lower them. Follow a heart-healthy eating plan and aim for a healthy weight. Finally, try for 30 minutes of physical activity a day, every day. I don't care if it's in a mall. If you walk up and down 30 minutes, if you walk in your neighborhood, if you walk with your dog, you walk on a treadmill. You walk around your house for 30 minutes. You have to do it because your leg will stop circulating. The blood will stop. If you exercise, you get so that it becomes a habit. You become, if you will say, addicted to it. And if you don't do it, then you feel that there's something out of your day that you missed. With diet changes and regular exercise, it helps your heart. It helps your circulation. I feel fantastic now. The earlier you take steps, the more likely you'll stay in circulation. Enjoy the things you like to do. Decrease your risk for heart attack and stroke and maybe even save your life. Staying in circulation is not only a health issue. It's a whole way of life. Stay in circulation. Stay in circulation. Don't let go. To find out more about how you can stay in circulation and take steps to learn about PAD, visit www.aboutpad.org.