Light Painting for AHA

I've seen this done several times and finally took some time to research it yesterday so I could try it EARLY this morning. I think my heart looks pretty good. No photoshop is involved in this picture, it's just me, my camera, and mini flashlight. After experimenting a few times, I noticed I could change the color of the light by putting my hand in front of it to make it red. So cool! I'm sure you will see more.

Now for a story. Three years ago today, Feb 23, 2010, I went in to have a procedure done, known as a Cardiac Ablation. Eight years prior, I was rushed to the hospital emergency room because my heart was racing. At one point, it reached 235 bpm. It was so scary because I didn't know why or if my heart was just going to explode. I was given an IV and medicine to slow it down. When I went in to see a dr. to follow up, he told me this is rare and some people only experience it once but they could fix the problem by cutting my chest open to reach my heart or I could wait and see if it even happens again. I was 21 at the time, and open heart surgery was not something for me.

Through those 8 years, I had a few episodes here and there. It finally got to the point where I was visiting the ER once a month and I knew, something had to be done. I made an appointment with the cardiologist and he told me that they now can do a simple procedure where they go through a vein in your leg, up to your heart and fix the problem. I believe it is because of the funds everyone has donated to the American Heart Association that this research had been done and is now used in most hospitals.

At the age of 21, I could have had a huge scar on my chest but waiting 8 years I have a tiny, hardly noticeable scar on my inner thigh. I now help raise money so that more research can be done on other Heart Problems and maybe someone else can have and easy procedure rather than an extreme. If you want to visit my donation page, please click here.

Thanks for reading my story and looking at my light painting photo. :)