Maggi Marshall opens up about her family tragedy to educate the community: 'I don't often share'

RICHMOND, Va. -- CBS 6 reporter Maggi Marshall said a personal, family tragedy compelled her to get involved in the American Heart Association.

"It actually stemmed from a story that I was working on with the American Heart Association. I really connected with a young mom who had a sudden heart attack. She was talking about how her experience and the trauma associated from this sudden, big life event really has shaped her, and we really connected on that level," Marshall said. "And I don't often share a lot about myself, I like sharing other people's stories, but she really moved me to the point of tears at that story, and I opened up to her a little bit about traumatic life event with my dad, who had a really sudden heart incident."

"It was a very normal Saturday," she continued. "He was doing the normal things in the morning, you know, whatever was on the list for the day to do for around the house. And we were having kind of a casual morning, and we thought he was out doing some of that. And by the time we got out to him later, he was on the ground and not moving, and that was it."

"What did the doctor say was the cause of his passing?" CBS 6 anchor GeNienne Samuels asked.

"It was something heart-related that they just didn't catch. And as a result, he passed at 44 years old," Marshall replied. "There was no goodbye. There was nothing. It was just gone."

Maggi Marshall is using her family's tragedy to help raise knowledge in the community. According to the American College of Cardiology, a growing trend shows that heart attacks are increasingly more common in young adults. One in five people under the age of 45 have a heart attack.

"That is the big key in all of this. It's a seven-week campaign, and so we're really going to involve different members of our CBS 6 team in educating people on signs to look out for, as well as sharing other voices in our community to show that we're not alone in going through these experiences and having family members who have had really traumatic events that they've gone through, coming together and knowing your numbers and going to your appointments, that that is how you can live a long, healthy and happy life," she said.

She is also training to raise funds for the American Heart Association over the next seven weeks through the American Heart Association's Leaders of Impact Campaign. She is one of seven Central Virginia leaders nominated to join a nationwide effort to raise money to increase equitable health for all through their commitment to decreasing health inequities related to uncontrolled high blood pressure rates, tobacco use, lack of bystander (CPR), access to healthy food, and life expectancy gaps that can impact 80% of health outcomes.

The campaign kicked off on Thursday and runs through December 7th. You can donate to help Maggi become Central Virginia's 2024 Leader of Impact here.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. If you'd like to share your story, click here to email Maggi and the CBS 6 Newsroom.