Wildwood Woman Honored by St. Luke's Hospital

Victoria Babu ran her first 10K when she was 19 and didn’t even train for it. She crossed the line last with a police escort, “but by golly I finished it,” she said

Now in her 50s, she’s come a long way. Babu was recently recognized with the 2011 St. Luke’s Hospital Healthy Woman Award. The award celebrates women who not only take steps to improve their own health but also inspire better health in the community. The honorees were treated to a "Spirit Girls' Night Out."

Her job as a broadcaster allowed her to keep up-to-date on health and medical issues. At age 41, she learned to swim in order to complete triathlons. This training changed her life, and when she stepped down from television news for family and lifestyle reasons, she was a personal trainer at the for five years.

Later, she went back to broadcasting full time.

“I was doing the training at the Wildwood YMCA, I was also starting my radio show, I called it Body by Babu,” she said. “Then I did a TV show called Get Hooked on Health with Charter Cable. I was able to continue promoting fitness. I was changing people's lives.”

In 2008, at age 50, she learned life-changing news at her physical exam. She was diagnosed with scleroderma, a degenerative and often fatal autoimmune disease. She aggressively pursued treatment, is proud that she is fighting this condition and has now seen an improvement in her skin and lung capacity.

As a news director and host of her own lifestyle show, Smart Living with Victoria Babu on KTRS 550 AM, she continues to advance health issues and bring important information to our community.

Babu was a triathlete through her 40s. The last was the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon. She swam the strong ocean current in 55˚F water and almost got lost, if not for the help of a kayaker.

“At the end, you step on a step on to get to land, and I kissed that moss-covered step. I’ll never forget it,” she said.

The next leg, an 18-mile bike ride to the Presidio was “climb, climb, climb,” she said, but she was prepared for that. Biking was her forte, she said.

An 8-mile run that included a 400-foot climb up sand steps was the last leg. Five miles into the run she tripped and impaled her knee on a branch, but tied up her wound with her bandana and finished the race.

No one needs to go to those extremes to be healthy, though, she said. It’s all about lifestyle.

“Diet, exercise and sleep,” she said. “Huge. And stress is humongous.”

“I don’t sweat the little things anymore. I learn to control myself, not get worried,” she said. “So things aren’t going to get done because I’m a little tired. All-righty, you’ve just got to prioritize. Put things in perspective.”

“You just can’t wait for something to happen, and too many of us do that,” she said. Babu recently made time to take a vacation with her mother.

“And know your body,” she said finally. “When you have that little voice that says something’s not right, run to the doctor. And don’t be fearful. If I had been fearful, it would have been too late for me.”