Two years and ten months ago, I went to my doctor for a checkup. I was referred to the local hospital for a heart stress test. I wasn’t worried, and the treadmill test went super well (or so I thought). The doctors thought otherwise and immediately sent me to the Cardiac Care Unit for more tests. I wasn’t allowed to go home and was confined to bed until they figured out what was going on with my heart. That was on a Friday. The following Wednesday, after a battery of tests and an extensive angiogram, it was determined that I needed immediate bypass surgery, and the wait ended up being about two weeks. In that time, I was confined to the cardiac unit floor with strict instructions to take it easy - not an easy thing for me. Since I don’t watch TV and couldn’t go anywhere, when I didn’t have visitors, I filled those days sketching and designing, dreaming up future projects, rather than dwelling on my current circumstances. Thankfully, the surgery went well, and my recovery was remarkable. It wasn’t long until I was back to full speed.

This morning, the first of those many concept drawings I did during my three-week hospital stay was approved as a project for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. (along with a few others) We are excited to start building this fun feature. Stay tuned…