Hello everyone and welcome. I’m Laura Greco, your host and you’re listening to SuperPower Mommas.
Today, we are speaking on a topic of great interest because it concerns how we live our lives. The topic is self-improvement tips to a healthy family, so I’m sure everyone would be interested in this and especially because I have this wonderful guest. Her name is Judy Feldhausen and she has always, in her life, had a heart for people. Her corporate employment ranges from electronics to cosmetics, but it doesn’t really matter what she’s doing because she believes in donating her time as an important part of her life and is chair on the National Resource Concert Conservatory Commission and the Lieutenant governor of, oh, I don’t know how to say that, Judy.
Kiwanis.
Kiwanis. What is that?
So, Kiwanis is a national organization that helps children no matter where they are with their social presence and with their health presence.
Wow. Her highest honors are being named Illinois Woman of Achievement listed in the Cambridge Who’s Who and named her Community’s Businessperson of the Year.
Because of her own family history of cardiovascular disease, she founded the Cardio Wellness Group, whose mission is to eliminate heart disease using screening and nitric oxide therapy protocol, so that the families stay healthy and connected.
So welcome, Judy. I’m so excited to have you here on the show.
Well, thank you Laura. I am absolutely honored to be your guest today.
We’re going to have a wonderful conversation, especially when we think about the topic that we’re talking about, which is self-improvement tips to a healthy family. So, to begin with, you are a momma of two children and you just told me you have four grandchildren.
I do. I love them so dearly.
Yeah. You haven’t shared your story yet and I’m going to ask you in a minute about that. This topic is something very dear to your heart, as you mentioned. And I’m excited to have you here to talk about that.
But to begin with, and let’s ask you this, we always ask this, what is your momma superpower?
Well, my momma superpower actually started when my children were young. I think we develop our superpowers throughout our life, but mine specifically became self-health, not self-help, but self-health, especially around the heart and the gut.
I look to help people every single day.
When I was a child, I was actually living in New Jersey and I know Laura, that’s where you are now. I was living in New Jersey. My dad was in the Air Force. And when I was six, my sister was six weeks old, my dad had a major heart attack. In fact, he had a fatal heart attack. And so I grew up, I left the state and my mom moved back to her mom because family is so important. So, I grew up without a dad and I really didn’t think about it until I had children.
And when I had children I thought, “Oh my gosh, my dad was so young when he passed. What if I pass when I’m young? What if I have the same things that he had?” And so I started looking for ways to find out, number one, do I have that genetic predisposition that he had? And number two, in any case, how do I become as healthy as I can so that I can be there for my children, so that I can pass on the things that are important to me, my legacies to my children in a wonderful way because I have the energy and the health and the mental clarity to do that. So that’s how I actually started my journey and have become so passionate about health for myself, my family, and my community.
Beautiful. So, you took what was a challenge for you and turned it into something actually bigger than you. Started with you and your family, but created something really amazing, for others as well. Right?
Absolutely. And I look to help people every single day. And when I’m out, I get information about people and how they are living their healthiest life and what they are doing because I don’t have all the answers. I’m on a journey myself and I want to learn what other people are doing, how they’re keeping their health where they need to, and if I can share anything that I know with them, I am so blessed to do that.
And I think you’ve really touched somewhat on that, maybe you want to expand on how this superpower of yours has really assisted you as your children were growing up and, by extension, your grandchildren.
Being able to find a way to do all of it on a daily basis just became a focus to take care of me so I could take care of them.
Oh, absolutely. So I found that, as my children were growing up, that I focused so much on them that I didn’t have the energy. To tell you the truth, when my daughter was about four years old, I was following the plot of Sesame Street. Before my daughter was born, I didn’t know that Sesame Street had a plot, and it just like, “Oh, Maria is getting married. Oh my gosh!” It’s like, “Oh, what have I done?” I felt that, for every year she was born, that I was actually losing 10 IQ points and by the time she was five, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t. I don’t have the energy. She’s my focus.” When my son was in school, I became a den mother for Boy Scouts.
I was in such a place that I didn’t have the energy. And so I wanted to have more energy. I wanted to have better mental clarity, not just for me, but so that I could help them. And as they grew, their homework became harder and harder for me, not just for them. And I needed the energy to play with them after school. To play ball and volleyball, and run after them in the yard. So, having my health became so important to me. Being able to find a way to do all of it on a daily basis just became a focus to take care of me so I could take care of them.
Wow. And, Judy, I just applaud you because your awareness kicked in, because it’s true, when we become moms, of course when they’re really little babies, we spent a lot of time taking care of them. But then, it can become a consuming and to the point where we’re losing who we are, and as you mentioned, even the energy to keep up as a parent. So, I love that you highlighted that point and that you created that awareness for yourself and then you began to expand your superpower really into assisting yourself and, by extension, others, including the example that you’ve set for your children. Beautiful.
We are at a point where we’re going to take a break and I already explored your website and you have some great videos, by the way. You have Neva, I remember, I see Neva Recla. I invite everyone to go and visit where Judy’s website is. Please tell everybody where they can find you.
My website is cardiowellnessgroup.com.
We’re going to take our break. Thank you for joining us. We are talking on the topic of self-improvement tips to a healthy family with Judy Feldhausen. Sorry. So please, come back and wait for us because actually we’re going to extend this further into the idea of how the heart health and how we parent really matters and how they’re connected.
To listen to the entire show click on the player above or go to the SuperPower Up! podcast on iTunes.
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