A Fresh Lease on Life
By Kellie Underhill

One of the first things you notice when speaking with Fred Baisley is his overwhelming enthusiasm and zest for life. His attitude is refreshing, sincere, energising and completely contagious. Spend 10 minutes with Fred and you'll want to eat your veggies and walk a couple of kilometres after supper.

MANGO stands for Miramichi Action for Nutritional Guidance Opportunities and Fred is a member of the Community Nutrition Advisory Group for Miramichi City.

"It's something we see a lot of potential for," he says. "We can see MANGO saving money for the government, for the people, not to mention how much better health-wise it's going to make the community. It's a great project!"

"It's like maintenance on your car, only we're doing it for people," he laughs. "You know, you do oil changes so your motor doesn't go in your car. Well in this case, you lose weight and walk a little bit so you don't take a heart attack."

Fred became aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and exercise a couple of years ago when he began having vision problems.

"I was having a problem with my eyes," he recalls. "I would be working or driving or whatever and all of a sudden I'd lose my eyesight."

His blindness was temporary lasting anywhere from two to 10 minutes.

"If I was driving I'd pull over to the side of the road and I'd sit there and wait," he says.

Fred's sight always returned, but the temporary vision loss worried him.

"I went to the doctor," he explains. "And I went and had my eyes checked, all that type of thing. Everybody said, 'No. You're healthy.' When I had my eyes checked they said, 'No, there's nothing wrong with your eyes.' And I was thinking that's funny because how come I can't see?"

Eventually, the doctor sent him to a group session with a dietician.

"It had nothing to do with my problem," he remembers. "When it was over I went out in the hall and I asked the lady who put it on, 'Was there something that you guys were supposed to do for me? This has nothing to do with my problem. This didn't help me a bit.'"

Jacqueline Forrest happened to be standing nearby and asked Fred if she could help.

He explained about his vision loss and she helped him to get started on the Canada Food Guide.

"You know, Jacqueline was the first person who suggested to me that I maybe should lose some weight and get some exercise," Fred smiles. "I was probably a hundred pounds overweight the first day she saw me. I mean, walking for me was walking out and getting in the car, that type of thing."

Fred started eating at regular times and walking at French Fort Cove for exercise. He lost 83 pounds and his vision problem disappeared.

"The thing that surprises me about the whole experience is that no doctor, nobody except Jacqueline, ever suggested maybe you should lose some weight and walk a little bit. And that's what I did. I still eat the same things that I ate two years ago. I just don't eat as much of it and the meals I have now are at regular times. I was one of these people that went all day and then I'd eat all evening," he chuckles. "I feel better. I walk at least 3 or 4 nights a week. I'm up to 7 or 8 km. It's just been fantastic!"

When Jacqueline started the MANGO Project she called Fred and asked if he would be interested in volunteering some time to help others. Because of his success in losing weight and correcting his vision problem he realised the importance of the program.

"I said yes because I really saw what difference it made. I guess it's one of these things that maybe you don't realise until it hits home," he says. "It's pretty scary when you start to lose your vision and nobody knows what it is. When you go to the doctor and he says, 'You're healthy.' You don't lose your vision if you're healthy."

All the doctors asked him if he smoked and drank. He didn't, but supposes they would have suggested he quit and that wouldn't have solved his problem either. They never mentioned his problems might be weight related.

"I don't know if they're embarrassed to tell you or I don't even know if they associate the size with the problems," he says. "But they didn't seem to pick up on the obvious. I'm not blaming the doctors. I'm not blaming anybody. Everybody tried as well as they could. The system is just not in place and that's what we hope to change."

When Fred first met Jacqueline he weighed 283 pounds. At 5'11" he was at high risk of developing diseases.

"I was a prime candidate for heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, you name it and I was a candidate for it," he says. "I was lucky enough to be able to lose 83 pounds just by simply changing my eating habits and doing a little bit of exercise."

"MANGO is preventative medicine and I think it's the way to go," Fred says. "The cost otherwise is just scary, both in lives and in dollars. So hopefully MANGO is going to make a difference."

One way MANGO will make a difference is in making the community more aware of the problem and what is available to help solve it.

"If you were sitting home tonight and said listen I want to lose weight, most people don't know where to go from there," Fred says. "You'll go to your doctor and the doctor will say okay I'll put you on the list to see a dietician. That's one year from now, if you're lucky, and in that year you forget about it, you lose interest in it."

MANGO is going to try and make a master list of everything that is available so people have answers when they need them.

For people looking to lose some weight and be more active, Fred highly recommends walking, especially on the trails at French Fort Cove.

"The first night I went people must have thought I was crazy. The water was pouring off me and I was growling because I didn't know where the trail went and how I was going to get out and if I ever got out of there I was never coming back," he laughs. "I don't know why but I kept going back. I guess I'm just the type of person that I don't like anything like that to beat me. After a week or so it got a little easier and a little easier then I started looking for longer and more difficult trails."

"When I look at where I could have been if I hadn't of got the chance to talk to Jacqueline that day," he shakes his head. "You know I could have been taking needles now for diabetes. I could have had a stroke, a heart attack. I could be taking blood pressure pills or whatever."

"But I don't take anything," he chuckles. "As far as I know, I'm as healthy as can be."

Kellie Underhill is the editor of Bread 'n Molasses. Her writing credits include The Moncton Times-Transcript, The Brunswick Business Journal, The Atlantic Chamber Journal and The Reader magazine. Send comments about this article to editor@breadnmolasses.com.