tracy press article by: kevin young

Article written for the Tracy Press website.

The 23-year-old Tracy resident is holding a candlelight vigil for her 52-year-old mother, Valerie, who suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized after a pilates class at In-Shape Health Club on Tracy Boulevard this past Monday evening.

“It’s very easy for me to be organized with all of this that’s going on. It’s a difficult time. It helps me to take my mind off of it a little bit. I have a goal and this is helping me to work through the difficult time,” said Amanda Aldrete, who has also started a blog “Valerie’s Voice,” which gives status updates on her mother’s health, and encourages people to pray and come to the vigil.

According to Aldrete’s blog, her mother took a break from pilates, and during a water break, she said she was not feeling well. When she went to sit down, she collapsed. CPR was administered until emergency medical technicians arrived.

On Wednesday, Valerie was in a coma. But by Friday, Aldrete said there had been some improvement in her mother’s condition.

“The test confirmed that there is some brain activity, that’s the good news. She’s moving, she’s crying, she’s trying to pull the tubes out of her mouth, she’s looking at people whenever they come into the room. The family is remaining optimistic,” Aldrete said.

The heart attack was surprising to Aldrete, since she says her mother leads a healthy lifestyle.

“She is one of the most healthy people I know,” she said. “She had been sick with bronchitis a few weeks prior … she takes vitamins and works out all the time, and she’s really healthy.”

The vigil was something that Aldrete wanted to do since she and her mother are exceptionally close.

“Me and my mom are like two peas in a pod. She’s my best friend. She’s always there for me when I’ve needed her to be. She’s taken care of me more than anyone has. It’s unconditional love,” Aldrete said. “My mom is very much the person that she makes sure she takes care of everybody else before she takes care of herself. She never puts herself first.”

The candlelight vigil for Valerie is this Saturday at 5 p.m. inside the Masonic Lodge, 1601 N. Tracy Blvd. People who attend are encouraged to bring gifts, cards, and say prayers. Three hundred tea light candles will be available for those in attendance. Real candles will not be allowed inside the Masonic Lodge.

Pastor David Beard from Trinity Church in Pleasanton will lead a prayer and bless Valerie. And Amanda says she is going to share a prayer that will be passed out to those in attendance, and is available on her blog.

“We’re going to ask some people to speak and talk about how much my mom is loved,” Aldrete said. “We’re expecting anywhere from 300 to 400 people to come. It may be really huge.”

http://tracypress.com/bookmark/12316344