the Role of a Lifetime

Page: 1 2 3 (of 3)	Previous | Next

from carefree to concerned

Jennie was born in Urbana, Illinois, where her family lived on a 25-acre horse farm. Her young life revolved around the farm, horses, and other animals. She remembers her father as the force that kept the farm running.

“He did all kinds of manual labor every single day on the farm,” Jennie says. “After he got sick, things were radically different. His big day often became doing something as simple as going to a mall.”

By the time she was 13, the family moved to Phoenix, to escape the harsh winters in Illinois and to get a new start for her father.

“There were a lot of complications and lots of stress, especially for my mom,” Jennie remembers. “She did everything to help get him healthy, and it was hard for him to recover. It was an adjustment seeing him as a different kind of father figure."

To cope, Jennie immersed herself in school and other activities. Her experience is common among those who have had a family member endure heart surgery.

“When people are in the hospital, they are experiencing life and death. Such emotionally charged times can create trauma for a lifetime,” says Barry Jacobs, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist and author of The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers—Looking After Yourself and Your Family While Helping an Aging Parent (The Guilford Press, 2006). “Children will respond and feel more anxiety and an increased sense of vulnerability. Some children in such a situation will respond by trying to decrease their dependence on the parent; some will be more clinging, others more distant.”

Jennie’s connection with her father endured even as her path took her temporarily away from him and into the limelight. During her junior year in high school, she moved to Los Angeles, took acting classes, and made the audition rounds. After a role on the series A Brand New Life, she was cast as Kelly Taylor on Beverly Hills, 90210. “While I was in Los Angeles, I’d call Dad pretty much every day,” Jennie says. “It was hard being away from him, and I felt like I couldn’t see my dad enough.”

About 10 years ago, Jennie moved her parents closer to her ranch near Santa Barbara. Her three daughters, Luca Bella, Lola Ray, and Fiona Eve, are able to spend plenty of time with their grandfather, now 73. The biggest challenge her father has had to face, she says, is his diet.  

“He’s ornery and old-school, especially when it comes to his diet,” Jennie says. “That’s been the toughest thing. He grew up eating all kinds of fatty food—pork back and deep-fried whatever—with lard and butter every day. But he’ll get through all the medicine he has to take and the changes to diet—he can’t have any salt—because he has such a drive to live. He likes to be the center of attention and tell jokes.”

Because of her father’s struggle with heart disease, Jennie sticks to a vegetarian diet. She allows her children an occasional indulgence—but no fast food. “After my husband and I saw the movie Supersize Me, we cut out all fast food,” says Jennie, who is married to actor Peter Facinelli. “We had to do a bit of explaining to our older daughter, telling her about how fried food is bad for the body, but our younger daughters grew up only eating the fresh vegetables and fruits that we’ve managed to stick to. I don’t think we open a can or pull anything out of a freezer.”

Take Care of Your Heart
In addition to promoting heart-healthy living within her own family, Jennie is involved in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign. The program raises awareness about women’s risk for heart disease and provides resources so they can reduce their risk.

“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women,” Jennie says. “Even when you’re living a hectic life and it feels like you’re flying a million miles an hour, women need to take a moment out of every day to acknowledge their heart.”

Jennie says she finds time—even as briefly as a minute—every day to recognize how hard her heart works to keep her alive. “You should love your heart a little more,” she says. “When you take that moment, you’ll bring awareness to your heart and be more conscious of your health.”

For more information about the Go Red for Women campaign, call 888/694-3278.