Miami Herald - September 12, 2004
Ben Torter, btorter@herald.com

Clarence Brownlee, who has been tapped as the "Honorary Survivor" of the 2004 Miami-Dade County Heart Walk taking place next weekend, is grateful to be alive and able to help others.

"I'm excited to be here because God is so good to us," Brownlee told parishioners during a recent service at Our God Reigns Ministries in Hialeah/Miami Lakes, where he serves as associate pastor. "A lot of times we take things for granted."

But not Brownlee, a 51-year-old former firefighter and resident of Northeast Miami-Dade, who now dedicates his time to spreading a message of hope and faith.

"Pastor Clarence is a people-type person and an excellent family counselor and spiritual leader," said John Lewis, head pastor at Our God Reigns. "No matter what they're going through, he's able to get people to open up and help them go through by sharing his life experiences."

A Miami native, Brownlee grew up in a churchgoing environment, but then lapsed. He started going back to church services in the late 1970s when, after spending a few years of "sowing his wild oats," as he puts it, he decided his life needed a change.

"Everything about my essence knew God had called me to the ministry," Brownlee said. 'I don't know how, but I just knew."

Since then he's discovered that he can use his troubles to empower others.

"One thing I've found is if your parishioners can see you going through real-life situations it helps to strengthen them," he said.

Case in point: Brownlee, who not only suffers from heart disease, but HIV -- which he's been infected with for 18 years. Though he can't be sure, he believes he contacted the virus through infected blood on the job. His first wife Michelle died of HIV in 1996. He now serves as chairman of the Dade County Partnership on HIV and AIDS.

And heart disease is no different.

"By participating in the 2004 Miami-Dade County Heart Walk, I can help South Florida fight its No. 1 killer, heart disease," Brownlee said.

Brownlee first experienced the ravages of cardiac illness in 1973, while attending Miami-Dade Community College on a track scholarship in 1973, when his mother died suddenly of a stroke. She was only 50. Eleven years later his father died of a heart attack at age 59.

He was diagnosed with hypertension in 1979, but it wasn't until 1994, when he was a foam truck operator stationed at the Miami-Dade fire station at Miami International Airport, that the disease manifested itself.

He was in the fire station one night when a couple other firefighters who were fiddling with an electro-cardiogram machine hooked him up to test it. They found he had an irregular heartbeat.

Under fire department policy when an irregular heartbeat is detected, he should have been hooked up to IV and rushed to the hospital, but he was able to talk his fellow firefighters out of it.

"I'm not feeling bad," he told them.

It would be his last day at the fire station.

He was placed on disability, and soon underwent angioplasty for four clogged arteries.

In 1996, after two heart attacks, three angioplasties and two years of being on disability, he retired from the department after 23 years of service.

In the years since, Brownlee says he felt good, and may have become complacent with his diet and exercise.

"Like they say in the clergy," Brownlee jokes, "funerals, weddings and baby dedications were keeping me busy."

But this year he had another major blockage that called for bypass surgery. He says such episodes are necessary reminders that he needs to take care of his health.

"I'm one of those knucklehead firefighters who's not afraid of pain," Brownlee said. "But this heart surgery, sometimes you're afraid to cough it hurts so bad."

That's when the father of six -- ages ranging from 16 to 32 -- with four grandchildren decided to get proactive about his heart disease.

"I want to be able to see my grandkids grow up," said Brownlee, now married to Carol Brownlee. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary on Sept 2.

With her help he's changed his diet.

"I used to love to eat fried foods and red meat. Now I'm consuming more fish, fruits and vegetables," Brownlee said.

Carol is pushing him to drink less coffee and cut down on sugar. And he's walking about two miles every day.

As Honorary Survivor of the 2004 Miami-Dade Heart Walk, Brownlee said he hopes to personally raise $10,000.

"That's my goal, but if I don't complete it before the walk I'll do it afterwards," Brownlee said. "I'm someone that lives up to my commitments."

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