Lane Woodall kept on trekking.

She wasn’t out of breath. She didn’t need to stop and rest. In fact, Woodall laughed as she led a group of hikers on a moonlight walk on the Makapuu Point Lighthouse Trail last month.

The only time Woodall stopped was to take photos with her fellow hikers under the full moon.

This was a joy she could not have imagined six years ago when she suffered a heart attack. The heart attack was a wake-up call for Woodall, a single mother of three boys, all of whom lived with her at the time.

"It was definitely an eye-opener," she said. "I didn’t know if I’d live or die."

Woodall, a 55-year-old medical sales representative, can easily recall that pivotal moment in her life. She woke up at 3:30 a.m. and had difficulty breathing.

"I felt some pressure in my chest and started sweating but thought I was having an anxiety attack," she said. "I’d been preparing for a presentation at work."

Woodall tried to shake it off, but when she was unable to stand in the shower she called for an ambulance.

Later, in a hospital room shared with two other heart attack patients — a chain smoker and an obese woman — Woodall said she kept thinking the same thing over and over: "I don’t belong here."

Although she didn’t smoke or drink, she had felt she was just too busy for regular exercise. "I was a typical mom running at 90 miles per hour," she said.

Even before her heart attack, Woodall realized she needed to change her ways and had started Zumba classes, hiking and tennis. But her job remained a source of stress in her life. "I’d been thinking about asking for assistance, but waited a little too long," she said.

Woodall found a more powerful incentive to improve her health when thinking about the impact her heart attack had on her sons. They had difficult questions: What happens if Mom doesn’t come home from the hospital? What if she’s different when she comes home? Will she have another heart attack?

Woodall made changes, starting with her job. She reduced her hours as well as her responsibilities in order to heal.

"I no longer let my job consume me," she said. "When you look death in the door, it changes you."

It took about six months before Woodall could return to regular exercise. Her emotional recovery was trickier.

"It took a while to get over the emotional aspects," she said. "For a while, I’d wake up every morning at 3:30 a.m. to check on myself."

The experience taught Woodall to live a more balanced life, and hiking became an integral part of her recovery. She joined two hiking groups, including Hiking Oahu Trailblazers, and has been a hike leader since 2012.

"It’s great exercise, you get to meet new people and the most rewarding part of leading hikes is sharing Hawaii’s natural beauty with others," she said. "It’s exciting to see the joy on people’s faces as they discover something new."

Woodall has hiked to Kaau Crater above Palolo Valley, through Moanalua Valley and on the Haiku Stairs. But her most memorable accomplishment was on the Halona Blowhole side of Koko Crater, where hikers traverse a natural rock arch to reach the summit.

"The first time, I made it up halfway but turned around," she said. "Next time, I was with the hiking group and the lady in front of me had an anxiety attack. We had to wait 10 minutes for the leader to talk her through it. Seeing her then do it made me more confident, and I did it."

Woodall has lived in Hawaii Kai for 40 years and looks at Koko Crater every day. It’s become a symbol of her recovery.

"Now that I’ve climbed it, it reminds me that I can do anything if I try," she said.

As Woodall hiked back down the Makapuu trail, she and her group bathed in moonlight and she smiled.

"I’ve learned not to take any day for granted and to make every day the best day of your life," she said. "Enjoying the journey is what it’s all about."