By Sarah Sanchez

I’ve experienced a lot of deaths of friends and family members in the last few years, but the hardest death I’ve had to deal with was when my grandma passed away recently. I was very close with my grandma and saw her every week for the last few years. She was admitted to the hospital right before she passed. It seemed as though she had signs of dementia, and she would scream, yell, and not recognize me when I visited her. It was hard to see her that way.

We were told that she was getting better and that she should be okay, but a few days later she passed away. After her passing, my aunt told me that on the second-to-last day of my grandma’s life, my grandma kept calling out my name. Not only did she remember me, but she was asking where I was. I wasn’t at the hospital on the day she was asking for me because I was “too busy” to visit her that day. Now that she’s gone, there is nothing that could’ve been more important than to be with her that day. There is nothing that could’ve been more important than to say “I’m here grandma.”

How many times have we used the words “too busy” when someone asked us to do something? Maybe you were too busy to hang out with your kids. Maybe you were too busy to listen to your spouse’s story. Maybe you were too busy to visit your parents. Or maybe you were too busy to just spend time with your family, phone free.

My grandma’s passing changed my perspective about being “too busy”. When my family decided to hold a last minute brunch to celebrate my grandpa’s 80^th birthday and my other grandma’s 70^th birthday, there were plenty of excuses to keep me from going. For example, I had to go to work, I had errands to do that day, I didn’t have a gift, I was an hour away, and I still needed to get gas. It seemed like I was just “too busy”. But still, I decided that I needed to be there. So I rearranged my schedule, picked up a card, got gas, drove the hour to Long Beach in the middle of the day, and spent time with my family. Lo and behold, it ended up being the best decision I made all day.

There are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, but we can’t make time for our families? Work will always be there, errands can wait a day, but our loved ones will not be alive forever. So next time you have an opportunity to be with your family, rearrange your schedule, do everything you can to be there, and then cherish that time you have with them… because we should never say we are “too busy” for our families.

By Sarah Sanchez

There’s always a few days in your life that you’ll never forget. For me, it was when I was visiting my doctor, just before Thanksgiving, and she walked in and told me that my bad cholesterol was twice as high as it should be. The doctor said if I didn’t get my cholesterol down as soon as possible, I was at risk for a heart attack, diabetes, and infertility. That last one hit me hard, considering I just got married and having children is all we ever talk about. I remember staring at her, trying to process the information I was just given; trying to hold back the tears that suddenly filled my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. There was a possibility I couldn’t have kids, and I had high cholesterol at 23.

The doctor told me to change my eating habits, and to stay away from carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol.  She prescribed medication, and sent me on my way. I walked out of the doctor’s office shocked and confused, with no idea what to do next. I cried a lot that week. I went into a bit of depression after imagining that I might not be able to give my husband a child because of my eating habits. I replayed the conversation in my head, confused on how this happened. My husband and I barely ate out because of finances. I cooked chicken or turkey meat almost every day, I don’t drink soda or coffee, and I rarely drank alcohol. I just didn’t get it.

That following Sunday, my husband and I went to our couple’s small group and I completely broke down. Surrounded by people I had just barely met, I held my husband’s hand, told them everything, and I cried. I let it out. And I’ll be honest, I felt better. They were so supportive, offering recipes, a group diet, and prayer. I couldn’t believe the love I got from them, strangers that suddenly became my support group in a time of need.

After my breakdown, I just snapped out of my depression. I was motivated. There was no way my eating habits were going to be the reason I couldn’t have kids. My mind was set: something had to change.

With love and support from my husband, I spent the next three months changing my lifestyle. I monitored everything I ate and developed an exercise routine. I went on a protein shake diet for the first two weeks, and then maintained my weight by eating smaller portions of strictly healthy food. I also downloaded the “My Fitness Pal” app, which helped me realize what’s actually in the food I was eating.

It was tough to change everything at first. I felt ridiculous reading labels at Trader Joe’s and then looking up to see an 80-year-old man doing the same thing right next to me. But I stuck it out, and I’m happy to say that four months later, I’m down 12 pounds, I’m off medication, and my cholesterol is normal.

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. This experience helped me to learn how to use low-fat alternatives, realize what foods are actually bad for me, and it also helped me build a closer relationship with my husband, family, and friends. My family was inspired to go to the doctor for routine checkups, too.

I think the most important outcome out of this experience was that I was able to feel better about myself. I’ve had low self-esteem since I was very young, and on every birthday since I was about 13-years old, I wished I was “skinny” when I blew out the candles. But every year, I never did anything about it. Having high cholesterol forced me to lose weight, and now that I have, I feel better where I am. This past year was the first birthday that I didn’t wish to be “skinny” because for once in my life, I felt comfortable with the weight I was at.

In the end, I realized having high cholesterol went from being devastating news to being the best thing that ever happened to me. God always has a bigger plan for us and sometimes we need to stop looking at the problem that’s happening in the moment, and look toward the positive outcome that it can have in the future. So even though I’d never thought I’d say this, I’m thankful to have had high cholesterol at 23.