WHICH IS WHERE THE MANUFACTURER WAS LOCATED. AND, WELL, THIS HEART MONTH HITS A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME FOR US HERE AT WKRG II 12, AS ONE OF OUR VERY OWN GOES THROUGH HIS OWN HEART HEALTH JOURNEY TONIGHT WE ARE SHARING THE STORY OF BRANDON SMITH. HE’S A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT HERE AT WXII 12 NEWS, AND HE WAS RECENTLY GIVEN A DIAGNOSIS THAT TURNED HIS LIFE UPSIDE DOWN. JACKIE PASCALE HAS OUR STORY. NEW AT 5:00? THAT’S RIGHT BRIAN, WE’RE TRACKING SOME CHANCES FOR RAIN THIS WEEKEND AFTER WORKING THE MORNING SHIFT THREE TWO LEFT WORK AND I WAS FEELING LIKE CHEST PAIN, SHORTNESS OF BREATH. WXII PRODUCTION ASSISTANT BRANDON SMITH SAYS HE KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG, BUT THERE WAS A AN ANEURYSM THAT WAS FORMING ON MY HEART AND, UM, SCARED ME TO DEATH. SEVERAL TESTS LATER, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH HYPERTROPHIC CARDIO MYOPATHY. IF YOU BREAK DOWN THE WORD CARDIOMYOPATHY REALLY MEANS HEART MUSCLE DISEASE. CAITLYN WALKER IS HIS NURSE PRACTITIONER AT CONE HEALTH, SO IT’S JUST THAT THE HEART MUSCLE IS ENLARGED AND IT COULD COME FROM GENETICS, COULD COME FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. OVER THE YEARS, CAN HAPPEN AROUND PREGNANCY FOR BRANDON, IT WAS GENETICS. HIS FAMILY WASN’T EVEN AWARE OF. SO WALKER SAYS HE HAD THE REACTION OF MOST PEOPLE. WHAT DO I DO? DO I PANIC? DO I NOT PANIC? THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK ABOUT WAS I’M DYING. MY CARDIOLOGIST WITH HER WONDERFUL SELF, SHE SAID NO, NO, NO. I THINK WE GOT A LITTLE TIME TO GET THERE. SHE RECOMMENDED HEALTHIER HABITS FROM DIET TO EXERCISE, AND HE FOLLOWED DOCTOR’S ORDERS. BUT ISSUES KEPT POPPING UP ALL OF A SUDDEN I FELT LIKE MY HEART SKIPPING, BUT IT WAS LIKE SKIPPING. LIKE IT WAS LIKE EXCESSIVE SKIPPING THAT THE TOP OF MY HEART HAD STOPPED BEATING. HE ENDED UP NEEDING AN EMERGENCY SURGERY TO GET A DEFIBRILLATOR IMPLANTED. IT WAS SO SCARY. LIKE LIKE I JUST REMEMBER THE TIME, LIKE I THINK I CRIED EVERY DAY. I WROTE DOWN MY FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS TO LEAVE TO MY FAMILY. BUT AFTER A SUCCESSFUL PROCEDURE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, TWO BRANDS IS ALIVE AND BACK AT WORK FOR THE LAST PICK AND THEN WE’LL HAVE A FOUR SHOT. YOU WOULDN’T KNOW ALL HE’S GONE THROUGH AND THAT’S WHY HE WANTS TO SHARE HIS STORY AND IF I CAN ENCOURAGE ANYBODY, I WOULD TELL THEM TO GO OUT AND GET CHECKED, GO TO THE DOCTOR. THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. GO TO THE DOCTOR. THEY ARE THERE FOR A REASON. WALKER REITERATES THAT THIS IS HOPEFUL AND NOT HOPELESS. WE HAVE A LOT MORE TESTS AVAILABLE, WHETHER IT’S CARDIAC, CT SCANS OR CHOLESTEROL LABS THAT JUST TELL US EARLIER WHETHER IT’S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM AND TAKE IT FROM BRANDON. THE FIRST THING I WAS THANKFUL FOR WAS LIFE, WHO NOW HAS MANY MORE YEARS OF LIFE TO SPREAD THIS MESSAGE. BUT BEING HERE, HEARING THOSE STORIES AND I’M JUST LIKE, COME ON, LET’S JUST LIVE LIFE. LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST, ENJOY THE MOMENT, AND IF I CAN BE HERE TO HELP YOU, YOU HELP ME. I PROMISE I CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BE