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Surprising News

GaleAtPVH-After-Heart-AttackMany of you have already heard about this, but for some it may come as a shock: three and a half weeks ago, I had a heart attack!

On Monday morning, July 27, 2020, I had a myocardial infarction caused by a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Translation: there was a tear in the lining of one of my heart's arteries; the torn flap closed off the blood flow in that artery, and resulted in damage to the bottom tip (apex) of my heart. What the HECK!? I am relatively young and healthy!

I spent six days and five nights at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. I'm happy to report that now I am feeling FINE and am confident that my physical health will return to "normal" before long. I am doing cardiac rehabilitation workouts for the next few months, and I expect to return to mural painting in the next week or two. I have felt surrounded in the love and care of my husband Doug, my immediate and extended family, friends, neighbors, and church community.

GaleDougWalkInNeighborhoodIf you are curious to read more about my "adventure" and my personal reflections in the last three weeks, please visit my CaringBridge site by clicking HERE. I have posted several journal entries and photos; soon I will share that content on the blog page of my website, too. 

An interesting side effect of this experience is that now I have greater mental clarity than I've had in a long time. Go figure! Whether it's from the complete overhaul in medications I'm taking, or the acuity that comes from an existential crisis, or some other factor (or all of the above), I am grateful and relieved that my brain seems to be operating more efficiently than it was for a long time before my heart attack. I wrote about this new mental clarity in my CaringBridge journal entry "Blessed Lucidity" which you can find by clicking HERE.


What I had been doing before...

Before my cardiac adventure happened, I had just completed a mural that was all about community, love, color, and Mother Earth. 

Gale's Pachamama mural
 
Concrete barriers had been placed to block off parking spaces in front of select local restaurants, to create temporary expanded outdoor eating areas. The City of Fort Collins and the Downtown Creative District commissioned artists to enhance the spaces by adding murals to the concrete barriers.

My mural assignment was for the Blind Pig Pub, which supplied the following words of inspiration for my design: Community, Culture, Love and Pachamama (earth/time mother goddess of the indigenous Andes peoples).

As usual, I posted copious photos of the mural on my Gale Whitman Studio Facebook page as I was painting it... feel free to look at the album with my descriptive captions by clicking HERE

GalePaintingHeartsLeft end of Gale's Pachamama mural




Middle of Gale's Pachamama mural


 

What's next?

I had completed designs for a new transformer cabinet mural for the City of Fort Collins earlier this summer; see photo of my initial sketch below. The cabinet is right next to one I painted in 2015. I was planning to begin painting the aspen grove mural as soon as I finished the aforementioned concrete barrier mural, but when my cardiac thing happened, we put the transformer cabinet mural on hold. I am ready to get started on it in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow my Facebook Page to see regular updates!

Please stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Remember to wash your hands, stay socially distanced from others, and wear masks to protect yourself and those around you. Together, we'll get through this!

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Copyright © 2020 Gale Whitman Art Studio, All rights reserved.


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