The Latest Mikey Network News

Men’s Health Week

Leading up to Father’s day this weekend, the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation has declared June 11th – June 17th, as Men’s Health Week in Canada. The week takes aim at creating a conversation among men about what they need to do to remain healthy. With recent news stories about men’s health declining across the country, with one story sharing that 72% of Canadian men are borderline unhealthy and/or unhealthy, it’s worth taking note of ways that men across Canada can improve their health.

The Mikey Network wants to contribute to this change, so we’ve compiled some tips and resources that men can use to better their health.

Tips and Resources on Bettering Your Health

Canadian Men’s Health Foundation

We want to begin by recommending the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation website. It has some wonderful stories about men who have taken steps to better their health, and offers resources on ways that men can improve; including this excellent chart of when you should regularly go for check-ups on your heart health, blood pressure, skin, and much more.

Associated with the  Canadian Men’s Health Foundation website is their brother site dontchangemuch.ca. This site goes further into ways that you can improve your health, including diet tips, ways that you can stay active and how you can even do check-ups or tests on yourself; including how to perform a testicular self-exam.

Heart Healthy Recipes

One’s diet is highly important to a man’s overall health, which is why at The Mikey Network we’re happy to share heart-healthy recipes that we’ve accumulated. These recipes, curated by our Registered Dietitian, Marsha Rosen, are meals that are simple and that you can use throughout the day. Check out our Heart Healthy Recipes page to learn about the 25 different recipes that you can use for a heart-healthy diet.

Physical Activity

Keeping an active lifestyle is essential to having a healthy and longer life. If you haven’t been as active in recent years, it can be incredibly hard to to get back into a regular routine though.

Those who are looking to get back into regular physical activity will often begin simply by signing up for a sport, or by doing a non-stressful activity like walking. Both of which are easy ways to introduce yourself back into a regular routine. Doctors will often recommend that three to five hours of walking or of vigorous exercise a week is the optimum for improving health.

If you’re completely lost, we recommend looking at participactions website. They have a wide variety of guides and recommendations on sports or activities that you can do to become active again; ranging from rock climbing to volleyball.

Quit smoking

There have been countless studies stating that smoking can be detrimental to one’s health. By reducing or removing smoking from your daily routine, you can see positive benefits to not only your heart health but the rest of your body as well.

If you’re interested in quitting, the government of Ontario has a page dedicated to helping you quit your smoking habit, which even includes a smokers helpline. Reach out to them today if you’re interested in taking the first steps towards a healthier you.

CPR and AED Awareness Week

Led by organizations like the American Heart Association, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, June 1 – 7, is CPR and AED awareness week in the United States.

Although this national awareness week is happening south of the border we decided that we’d provide resources to help prepare Canadians for an emergency or sudden cardiac arrest as well. This is incredibly important for Canadians to learn as the Government of Canada states that heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada.

So what can you do to help prepare for an emergency? Below are some resources that you can use to prepare yourself, no matter what emergency you find yourself in.

Resources

The Mikey Young at Heart App

The Mikey Young At Heart Program teaches students how to perform CPR or how to use an AED, which they can in turn use towards their school’s volunteer hours. The programs aim is to help students feel more confident to use an AED or administer CPR, should the need ever arise. Students will learn these life-saving skills in The Mikey Young at Heart app, which is free and available on both android and apple devices.

The Mikey Network creates awareness of this program while going to schools and talking with them about The Mikey Young at Heart app. Although we often go to schools to raise awareness about the app, anyone who is interested in learning more about obtaining life-saving skills can download it as well.

St. Johns Ambulance

The Mikey Network works closely with the St.John’s Ambulance as they’re a preferred educational resource for emergencies and first aid skills. They’re stationed all over Canada, and provide accreditations in various levels of first aid and CPR. They will also sometimes offer opportunities for small free training sessions to go over basic concepts of first aid. If you’re interested in obtaining a first aid certification, we encourage you to go to their site.

peel children safety village mikey

Municipal Governments and First Responders

Municipalities and their city’s paramedics are responding to the requests of citizens who want to learn more about how to respond to emergency situations. Many municipalities that we regularly work with have launched online initiatives and resources to educate citizens on what to do during an emergency situation.

Examples of communities that are spearheading these strategies include the municipality of Peel who have created some great resources on how to use an AED, as well as this scenario on what to do in case of a sudden cardiac arrest. Other municipalities offer courses that are taught by paramedics, including Toronto’s Paramedic Services.

Basics

If you’re looking to learn the basics, St. John’s Ambulance, has this resource.

 

 

Thank You For Making The 2018 Walk of Life a Huge Success!

The 2018 Walk of Life was on Saturday and Team Mikey was out in full force. More than 400 runners and walkers were sporting their Team Mikey gear and raising funds and awareness for The Mikey Network and The Cardiac Health Foundation.

These funds are essential for us to continue our work. Funds raised go towards the Mikey Young at Heart program and provide defibrillators to Mikey’s Kids.

So again, THANK YOU TEAM MIKEY!!

Please take a look at our photo gallery over on Facebook, and while you’re there, be sure you’ve “Liked” the Mikey Network on Facebook.

 

 

Walk of Life: Everything You Need to Know

The 2018 Walk of Life is only 5 days away and we can’t wait to see everyone!

First, if you haven’t registered yet there’s still time. Visit The Mikey Network Walk of Life fundraising site and register now.

If you have registered (Thank you!), we wanted to make sure you have all the information you need.

2018 Walk of Life Event information:

Date: Saturday, May 26, 2018

Location: Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Rd, Toronto, ON

Parking is Free for Walk of Life participants and volunteers.

This year there are lots of options for every level of athlete. Take part in a 3K or 5K Walk, 5K or 10K Run; and of course – The Kids Fun Run!

Every member of Team Mikey will receive a T-shirt, a backpack, a Mikey Network welcome gift pack, and we pay your registration fee for the event.

Event Schedule:
Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Kids Fun Run: 9:00 am – 9:25 am
Presentations and Warm-up: 9:30 am – 9:40 am
WALKERS Start (1KM, 3KM, & 5KM) : 9:45 am
RUNNERS Start ( 5KM & 10 KM): 9:55 am
Chair Exercises for Seniors: 10:00 – 11:00am

After the Walk and Run, there is a BBQ Lunch, Awards Ceremony, and Bouncy Castles & Kids Entertainment, from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Route Maps

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

 

Walk of Life: Mikey Families and Organizations

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Every year the Mikey Network helps to organize a team for the Walk Of Life. The annual event which you can do as a walk or a run is a wonderful way to spend your Saturday. There are tons of fun events that you can do with your family and all of the money that is raised by the Mikey Network’s team goes towards educational programs that advocate for heart health or placements of defibrillators to families or organizations.

As we lead up to the walk, we want to let those that have supported us see where their donations have gone. This week we’re talking about The Mikey’s Kids program and our donations to various organizations.

Mikey’s Kids Program

As a parent, your child’s safety is always a top of mind concern. You want to make sure that they’re always safe and looked after. As we’ve discovered with many families that we’ve dealt with, having a child with a heart condition can certainly be unnerving as it can feel like you’re helpless to protect them.

Can there be anything more terrifying than seeing a child collapse suddenly and stop breathing? And can you imagine the frustration of feeling helpless in such an emergency?

We wanted to help with this, and to give families peace of mind so that they’re not fearful of an emergency because of their child’s heart condition.

Families whose children are at high risk of SCA are provided with a MIKEY, a portable automated external defibrillator (AED), to carry with them at all times so their kids are protected at home, school or play.

Families that are in need of a MIKEY defibrillator reach out to our organization to apply. They’re then given to families, along with a set of instructions on how to use it and maintain the AED. The defibrillators that we provide would not be possible without the donations that are raised at the Walk of Life.

Organizations

The Mikey Network understands that a sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, and for this reason, we want to make sure that they’re as readily available to the public as fire alarms and fire extinguishers are.

To accomplish this, The Mikey Network works with organizations in the community that are in need of a defibrillator. Their needs will vary from helping to save lives with a MIKEY defibrillator; to housing large-scale events with many attendees, such as a sports facility.

This past weekend we provided two new MIKEY’s to the Canadian Ski Patrol’s motorcycle division, which will help them to save lives in emergency situations. This division has been very successful,  saving two lives in 2016 with their MIKEY’s. Pictured below are Marion Karol, VP of Operations for Canadian Ski Patrol, and members of their team.

if you’re an organization that is interested in applying for a MIKEY, you can apply here.