Diana Walker’s Mom, Denise Eckstadt, turned 89 years “young” last week.

The first photo is Mom Denise Eckstadt and her best friend Mildred King, who is 94 years old!  They worked together at the Salmon Arm Hospital, Shuswap Lake General Hospital.  They have known each other for 50 years!  Mildred remembers when our Mom came to the hospital 50 years ago, before she worked at the hospital, when she gave birth to my sister Denny Caldwell…  (Denny is 50, she looks 35, doesn’t she?)

We celebrated Mom’s 89th birthday with 60 people on Sunday, and then with 20 people on Thursday.

Mom is well-known in the town of Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada, where she has lived for over 50 years.  She was a nurse for many years.  She also was a prolific writer, writing a column for more than 10 years, for the local newspaper.  The column was called “Grandma Writes”   She is known as “Grandma” to many people.  Also, she would knit beautiful scarves, and give them away and say — when you wear the scarf, remember this is a “Hug from Grandma”

The second photo is Diana Walker, my sister Roselyn Phare, my sister Denny Caldwell, with our Mom Denise Eckstadt seated in the front.  We celebrated Mom’s birthday with 20 people on Thursday.

My Mom had cancer (that was almost 40 years ago) and she has had congestive heart failure (hospitalized 2 weeks in 2006).  Mom also has glaucoma which has progressed to legal blindness in recent years.

Our Mom has is an incredibly positive attitude, and her mind and brain are very sharp.  She also has been very health conscious since the late 1960s when she had cancer, and had to have her breast removed. 

My Mom loves and eats daily the Sunrider Whole Foods that have been part of her nutrition every day since 1997.  Sunrider products have been a part of our daily lives for everyone in our family, for the past 12 years.

There are so many factors involved in being vibrantly healthy.  Genetics, environment, exercise, nutrition, attitude.   We know that Mom’s mother had stomach cancer and died in her 30s.  Her mother’s mother (our great-great-grandmother) had bowel cancer and died young.   We as a family all do our best to eat healthy, get lots of exercise, drink lots of water, keep positive, and all the other good things that are important for a healthy lifestyle.  

We want our Mom with us for many, many years to come!  And we are grateful every day for the blessings we have in our life. 

Happy 89th Birthday, Mom!

Diana Walker, CEO, Diana’s Healthy Lifestyles