A Tauranga woman who lost her family to heart disease tells us her survival story
‘I am the last of my generation Judy Leggett cuts a lonely figure as she walks by herself through a Tauranga cemetery. Being the sole survivor of her family is a harsh legacy, but she is determined to escape the disease that has claimed the lives of so many loved ones.
Judy (66) has outlived all of her siblings – three brothers and one sister. Both of her parents and all her grandparents died of heart attacks, and she also lost two uncles and two cousins to heart disease. “I am the last of my generation left alive today. But I still feel my brothers and sister with me. I can feel their spirits sometimes,” she says quietly.
There are days when Judy can’t help but wonder why she has been spared the same fate as the rest of her family, but she says she refuses to live her life in fear. She leads a healthy lifestyle, getting plenty of exercise and avoiding sweet treats. And while it is hard not to worry about what may be in store for her two daughters and four grandchildren, she refuses to even consider the likelihood that heart disease might kill her too. “I keep as healthy, active and positive as I can, so I’m sure I will be around for many years to come,” she says.
Judy’s brother Ian Johnson was the first of her siblings to die, at the age of 42.He had his fi rst heart attack in his thirties but no-one expected him to die so young, leaving behind his devastated children. Max, Judy’s eldest brother, also had a heart attack in his early thirties but was leading a healthy lifestyle and managed to stay alive for longer than his brother.
“He died four years ago, at the age of 62. He had visited his doctor and been given the all-clear just three days before he died,” says Judy. “on the day it happened, Max went out for a run, then returned to work and had a heart attack, passing away on his office floor.”
Judy’s youngest brother, Peter, was tragically killed when he was hit by a truck at the age of 16 – so there’s no way of knowing if he would also have been struck by the family curse. But it was the death of her sister Sandra, aged 57, which Judy found hardest to bear. Sandra died on the operating table after a triple bypass operation.
“It took a long time for me to come to terms with her death. I had a breakdown and was in bed for six weeks,” Judy says. “But time does heal. Grief never goes away, but it gets easier. I pulled myself up and got on with life, more determined than ever to stay healthy and beat this terrible disease.
“I think the hardest part about having no siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunties or uncles alive is not being able to say, ‘Remember when?’ and reminisce about the past.” Judy, who made a list of promises to herself after losing so many family members, has her blood pressure and cholesterol carefully monitored.
“I’m very strict with my diet and I make sure that I exercise every day. I start the day with low-fat breakfast cereal and for morning tea I have a muesli bar. I eat a lot of vegetables and just a small amount of meat. If I want a dessert, I have a low-fat slimmer’s pudding.”
Suffering the deaths of so many older relatives has taken its toll on Judy’s two daughters, Sharon (44) and Donna (41), and she is supporting them as best she can. “I’m a really positive person. I have Christian faith and I’m a strong person – that’s what gets me through.”
Judy, who lost her fi rst husband to cancer after nursing him for 21 months, works as a volunteer support person, helping others through the trauma of cancer and heart disease. “I want to do all I can to raise awareness about heart health,” she says. “Hopefully, it might spare others the kind of tragedy my family has been through.”
Vicky Tyler