What I did after my heart attack..

[Anotbot]

After my heart attack in April 2016, I started to submit my abstract photographs to exhibitions and no-one was more surprised than me when I was being accepted.

And, now two years later, after being in many open and group shows, I have my first solo exhibition opening in Edinburgh.... Why is this relevant and why am I posting this here. The main subject of this show, is my In The Broken Places series, which is a response to my heart attack, where I try to find beauty in those places and things that were part of my treatment and recovery. As I was lucky, I had what was obviously a heart attack, I was in the right place, and I was rushed to a specialist unit (Golden Jubilee, Glasgow) where I was enrolled in a clinical study to hopefully improve outcomes... so yes, I was very lucky.

While recovering in hospital I came across others who weren't so lucky and my next project, Time Is Muscle, aims to raise awareness of the range of heart attack symptoms through art competitions, exhibitions, art workshops and collaborations with artists, doctors and survivors... so if you are in the Edinburgh area and are interested in art, why not drop in to the exhibition, as I would love to hear your ideas on how we could make a difference for those in the future.

The exhibition is free and I will be there everyday it is open.

Dates 8th - 23rd September

Open 12pm - 4:30pm daily, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Patriothall Gallery, 1 Patriothall, Off Hamilton Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH3 5AY

[barniecroft]

I would like to know what your clinical studies to improve outcomes where and if the results helped/benefited you in any way, maybe we can all share and learn?

Thanks

[Anotbot in reply to barniecroft]

The clinical trail is being run at Golden Jubilee Hospital and involves an injection to break up the clots that may form in the smaller blood vessels after a heart attack and cause problems later. It is called the T-Time trial. As it is double blind, I will never know which of the three options I received, nothing, injection of 100%, or injection of 50% strength. The drug used is already in use as a clot buster and is known to be safe, whether it improves actual outcomes will take a some time to discover

[Zena166]

Sounds a great way to work through the process of recovery. I wrote poetry to express my emotional journey. Not as exciting as your photography though! Congratulations I hope it goes well for you. I too would be interested in your clinical trial. I was on a trial comparing Ticagrelor and aspirin with Ticagrelor and placebo. Still ongoing. Well done it’s good to hear such positivity. All the best for the exhibition. Zena

[Anotbot in reply to Zena166]

Hi Zena, thank you. We each find our way of coping and staying positive is much better than the alternative I gave details of my trial to Barniecroft above, and just like yours it is still ongoing. Are you still writing poetry? I used to enjoy it myself, but was never any good. Best wishes.

[Zena166 in reply to Anotbot]

Yes still writing but not very good but that won’t stop me! Good luck with the exhibition. Zena x

[CharlesL]

Well done, take care

C

[Routemaster]

Great work. I wish I lived nearer Edinburgh!

I was three quarters of the way through an Open University module when I developed heart failure and I almost asked for a deferral. I then realised how much of the work I had already done and decided to persevere with it when I came out of hospital. My new module starts soon!

I hope that the exhibition goes well.

Ann