Naperville Grandpa Walks For Cause Dear To His Heart

NAPERVILLE, IL — One week in late fall of 2019, Santos Chaparro was playing superhero with his grandkids. The next week, Chaparro was in the hospital undergoing a string of tests for what turned out to be congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes his heart to beat very rapidly. After Chaparro underwent surgery to install a defibrillator, his grandson came to visit him in the hospital. Chaparro told Patch his grandson saw the defibrillator and said, "You're just like Iron Man, Grandpa."

Since his diagnosis, Chaparro has become a superhero of sorts, rallying for awareness and research related to heart disease. He and his grandkids recently did a virtual walk along the Naperville Riverwalk for the American Heart Association’s annual Heart Walk.

Chaparro, who has 14 grandchildren told Patch his own diagnosis quickly made him an advocate for heart health. He said it was an "eye-opening experience for me personally just being able to go through that," adding that he thought of all the "memorable moments" that he might have been missing if his condition had not been caught.

Chaparro was eager to sign on to walk when his employer, ComEd, asked for volunteers for the Heart Association's annual event. In total more than 900 ComEd employees joined Chaparro in walking virtually for the cause, raising more than $200,000 total.

The walks took place Friday and Saturday, with walkers encouraged to take 10,000 steps or more for heart health awareness.

Awareness has been among the causes Chaparro, who says he feels "excellent" now, has championed since his diagnosis. "Awareness matters," he told Patch, adding that he's happy to talk about the cause with coworkers, family and even strangers to potentially help them "prevent a serious event in their lives."

"For the rest of my life, I will walk for this cause," Chaparro said.

With such infectious positivity, it's easy to see why Chaparro's grandson was "pumped" to join him in rallying for the American Heart Association and walking hand-in-hand with his "superhero."