cluemegan
Sep 27, 2011
Undergraduate / 'my heartbeat came back in just a few seconds' - Common App [5]
I am attempting to answer the first question.
"Evaluate a significant experience you have faced and its impact on you."
This is my essay. I really just need some other eyes to read it.
The doctor unworriedly said "Now, it's going to get a little worse before it gets better. But you'll feel great in just a second." They hooked up the syringe to my IV and then I waited. A few seconds later I felt it, like my body was shutting down and none of my internal organs could work correctly. I felt doomed. Then my heart stopped beating.
Granted, my heartbeat came back in just a few seconds, but I mostly just remember the flat line on the EKG. On April 16, 2010, I was taken to the emergency room for a rapid, pounding heartbeat. One thing led to another, and the ER doctors administered a drug named adenosine, which essentially overloads your heart with potassium and causes it to cease beating. The human heart is quite remarkable and resets quickly, resuming its normal beat. However, adenosine's greatest side effects are numbness, apprehension, and an evanescent sense of doom. I was diagnosed with a fairly mild heart condition: paroxysmal supra ventricular tachycardia (PSVT). In simple terms, I have an extra circuit in my heart; this circuit is much smaller than the normal one and allows my heart to beat over 200 bpm. It was not a pleasant afternoon in the ER.
The first changes that came from this discovery were purely out of necessity. I became much more aware of my body and how the food I ate and activities I participated in affected me. I cannot have too much caffeine and I must pay special attention to my body when I am exercising because either of these can trigger my tachycardia. While I do miss drinking Dr. Pepper, I am much healthier of a person and more in tune with my body. I am even more thankful for the ways that I am completely healthy, something I never would have recognized without this experience.
My heart condition also taught me that I cannot control every aspect of my life. I can never be truly prepared for my heart to begin beating triple its normal pulse, but I can be prepared to handle the situation in an effective manner. This has expanded to encompass all areas of my life. I used to attempt to control every situation in my life perfectly, and I would become quite troubled if my plans did not work out. Now, I accept the fact that unexpected events can, and do, occur, but I do not allow myself to become agitated over the aspects I cannot control. Instead, I have learned to think on my feet and accomplish great tasks even in adverse conditions.
Though my PSVT is not the most desirable of conditions, I have learned to embrace it. Do not misunderstand; if my heart never enters an abnormal rhythm again, I will be more than ecstatic. But my heart condition reminds me that I am human, and yet more capable than I ever imagined.
I am attempting to answer the first question.
"Evaluate a significant experience you have faced and its impact on you."
This is my essay. I really just need some other eyes to read it.
The doctor unworriedly said "Now, it's going to get a little worse before it gets better. But you'll feel great in just a second." They hooked up the syringe to my IV and then I waited. A few seconds later I felt it, like my body was shutting down and none of my internal organs could work correctly. I felt doomed. Then my heart stopped beating.
Granted, my heartbeat came back in just a few seconds, but I mostly just remember the flat line on the EKG. On April 16, 2010, I was taken to the emergency room for a rapid, pounding heartbeat. One thing led to another, and the ER doctors administered a drug named adenosine, which essentially overloads your heart with potassium and causes it to cease beating. The human heart is quite remarkable and resets quickly, resuming its normal beat. However, adenosine's greatest side effects are numbness, apprehension, and an evanescent sense of doom. I was diagnosed with a fairly mild heart condition: paroxysmal supra ventricular tachycardia (PSVT). In simple terms, I have an extra circuit in my heart; this circuit is much smaller than the normal one and allows my heart to beat over 200 bpm. It was not a pleasant afternoon in the ER.
The first changes that came from this discovery were purely out of necessity. I became much more aware of my body and how the food I ate and activities I participated in affected me. I cannot have too much caffeine and I must pay special attention to my body when I am exercising because either of these can trigger my tachycardia. While I do miss drinking Dr. Pepper, I am much healthier of a person and more in tune with my body. I am even more thankful for the ways that I am completely healthy, something I never would have recognized without this experience.
My heart condition also taught me that I cannot control every aspect of my life. I can never be truly prepared for my heart to begin beating triple its normal pulse, but I can be prepared to handle the situation in an effective manner. This has expanded to encompass all areas of my life. I used to attempt to control every situation in my life perfectly, and I would become quite troubled if my plans did not work out. Now, I accept the fact that unexpected events can, and do, occur, but I do not allow myself to become agitated over the aspects I cannot control. Instead, I have learned to think on my feet and accomplish great tasks even in adverse conditions.
Though my PSVT is not the most desirable of conditions, I have learned to embrace it. Do not misunderstand; if my heart never enters an abnormal rhythm again, I will be more than ecstatic. But my heart condition reminds me that I am human, and yet more capable than I ever imagined.