I Have Congenital Heart Disease So I Created These Comics To Show What My Life Is Like (8 Pics)
Congenital Heart Disease is a heart disease that is present at or before birth. So in simple terms, you’re born with a bad heart. There are MANY variations of this disease and it is one of the leading birth defects. I had open-heart surgery when I was a few months old and had a pacemaker operation when I was 17.
I recently started making comics about my life with this illness. Featuring my heart, Brady. Brady is short for “Bradycardia” which is the medical term for a very slow heart rate which is one of the things that is wrong with my heart. This series shows all of the weird and strange things he does. Joking about daily frustrations and struggles I have when my heart doesn’t want to do its job.
I started this series to cope with my own situation through humor and art but to also teach people about an illness they might not know about. Thank you for reading!
More info: Facebook
Mornings
Mornings with a heart that doesn’t like to do its job goes about as well as you’d expect.
Transmissions
When you have a pacemaker there are things you have to get into the habit of doing. One thing is sending transmissions of your pacemaker to your cardiologist every other month. I am bad at this. Sorry.
To-Do List
Brady has one job. But he’d rather be a chaotic evil potato.
Kind Of Works
A lot of things about me fall into the category of “Kind Of.”
Are you an artist? Kind of. Are you okay? Kind of. Does your heart work? Kind of.
Behavior
Brady’s behavior seems to depend on the situation. Sometimes during my cardiologist appointments, he seems almost healthy.
Other times he is actively trying to implode.
Stairs
Climbing stairs feels like climbing a mountain when your heart wants to give out halfway up.
Also, the “We got this. We do not get this” is a whole mood for just how art school and college were in general.
Too Young
When you have an illness like CHD two of the most common things you’ll hear is “You’re too young” and “You don’t look sick”.
I need my pacemaker to get through life every day. When I got it put in my surgeon told me she once put a pacemaker into a two-year-old.
Heart disease does not care how old you are.
More Than Enough
This was a night during my freshman year of art school. I had a really bad CHD scare and contacted my friend. It was late but she still showed up.
I didn’t know what to do or what I wanted her to do. I just knew I didn’t want to be alone right then. She sat with me for as long as she needed to. It helped. A lot.
This isn’t just a CHD thing. If you want to help someone through something you don’t understand. CHD scares, depression, anxiety, episodes, panic attacks, or whatever else. Simply just being there is often more than enough.
It nice to know you aren’t alone when life gets scary.
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Thank you for making these. I have CHD (single ventricle) and no one understands beyond the assumption that I'm just unfit and lazy. There definitely needs to be more awareness and acceptance about it.
Yeah I always used art to cope with my own condition. But realized I could use it to spread awareness and understanding to people who may not know about it. ❤️ I'm glad people have liked it.
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Thank you! Im glad you liked them! I'm planning on making more. (: I try to get a comic up every Friday. You can stay up to date with them on my Facebook page.
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Thank you so much for sharing. My wife was also born with a CHD, transposition of the great arteries, so I kind of understand how brave you must be and particularly making it fun through your drawings.
I'm glad you enjoyed my comics! CHD is frustrating but I always liked dealing with it through art and humor. 😊
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The world is full of suffering.. It's really nice to see people take their suffering and turn it into something good that spreads awareness, joy and laughter. If more people did this we'd all be able to understand each other more and connect better. 💖 Keep doing what your doing! Your really great at it. 😊
Thank you! I'm happy you like my work! ❤️
Load More Replies...
I'm very sorry to hear about all the pain and challenges you face. I hope things get better for you.
Thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed my comics! ❤️
Load More Replies...
Thanks for making this! my baby cousin has CHD and this informed me in a funny way!
Awe thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed my comics!
Load More Replies...
I love these Open Heart Art. As practitioners, we must do our best to remain cognizant of the life-altering nature of CHD, and to advocate for mental, spiritual and cardiovascular health. I have shared your post with my department here at Children's National Hospital in Washington DC. Thank you Thank you thank you. Gil Wernovsky, MD
Thank you for reading and sharing my work!
Load More Replies... As a pediatric cardiologist, these should be mandatory images to read, and learn, and integrate, during training. thank you for sharing them.
Thank you for the comic. My late mother had CHD. We lost her right before lock down. This is what she went through. Thank you for making it very understandable.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm glad my comics make what CHD is like more understandable though. Thank you for checking out my work.
Load More Replies...
The last one is touching and a very very useful advice. Even though I will never be able to understand what you go through, as I'm lucky to have everything functioning normally, but I've always doubted what I could do better than just being available and provide help when needed for my best friend who has symptoms of depression, and those last texts of your post really hit me. Thank you!
Thank you for making these. I have CHD (single ventricle) and no one understands beyond the assumption that I'm just unfit and lazy. There definitely needs to be more awareness and acceptance about it.
Yeah I always used art to cope with my own condition. But realized I could use it to spread awareness and understanding to people who may not know about it. ❤️ I'm glad people have liked it.
Load More Replies... Thank you! Im glad you liked them! I'm planning on making more. (: I try to get a comic up every Friday. You can stay up to date with them on my Facebook page.
Load More Replies... Thank you so much for sharing. My wife was also born with a CHD, transposition of the great arteries, so I kind of understand how brave you must be and particularly making it fun through your drawings.
I'm glad you enjoyed my comics! CHD is frustrating but I always liked dealing with it through art and humor. 😊
Load More Replies... The world is full of suffering.. It's really nice to see people take their suffering and turn it into something good that spreads awareness, joy and laughter. If more people did this we'd all be able to understand each other more and connect better. 💖 Keep doing what your doing! Your really great at it. 😊
Thank you! I'm happy you like my work! ❤️
Load More Replies... I'm very sorry to hear about all the pain and challenges you face. I hope things get better for you.
Thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed my comics! ❤️
Load More Replies... Thanks for making this! my baby cousin has CHD and this informed me in a funny way!
Awe thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed my comics!
Load More Replies... I love these Open Heart Art. As practitioners, we must do our best to remain cognizant of the life-altering nature of CHD, and to advocate for mental, spiritual and cardiovascular health. I have shared your post with my department here at Children's National Hospital in Washington DC. Thank you Thank you thank you. Gil Wernovsky, MD
Thank you for reading and sharing my work!
Load More Replies... As a pediatric cardiologist, these should be mandatory images to read, and learn, and integrate, during training. thank you for sharing them.
Thank you for the comic. My late mother had CHD. We lost her right before lock down. This is what she went through. Thank you for making it very understandable.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm glad my comics make what CHD is like more understandable though. Thank you for checking out my work.
Load More Replies... The last one is touching and a very very useful advice. Even though I will never be able to understand what you go through, as I'm lucky to have everything functioning normally, but I've always doubted what I could do better than just being available and provide help when needed for my best friend who has symptoms of depression, and those last texts of your post really hit me. Thank you!
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