I'm walking for my hero, my iron man, my survivor, the man I call dad, Thomas Moore Sr. 

For the last 30+ years, I have been blessed to have an amazing bonus parent in my dad. He came into my life at a very young age and became a dad without hesitation. After a fast and fearless young life, my dad thought his questionable choices caused him to have heart issues and his first heart attack in 2004/2005. Little did he know that decades later he would find out he had a life altering genetic condition. In 2005 he got a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in his chest to help regulate his heart and save his life. Since then he has had 4 additional heart attacks, all of which would have been full cardiac arrest, life ending events. The device in his chest has saved his life more than once, making him a SURVIVOR! In May 2014 my dad and I were on a father daughter motorcycle trip to OCMD. On the way home that night, God had us under his watchful eye. There was a lot of traffic which caused us to be going pretty slow at the time and we will forever be grateful for that traffic. My dads unit began shocking him, he dropped the bike, began yelling, I fell off the back and he hit the ground. As traffic came to a hault, I yelled for someone to call 911 and my only concern was comforting my dad and assuring him he would be ok. As I kneeled on the ground next to him, all I could think was "God please save him!" Once we arrived at the hospital I learned that my dad had suffered a serious heart attack, one they refer to as the "widow maker" or "sudden death" heart attack. If a person suffers from this type of heart attack and does not receive immediate CPR/medical attention they will almost always not survive. Fortunately for my dad, his unit saved his life that day and saved me from losing my iron man. 

In May of 2023 my dad had heart ablation surgery. My mom and I sat worrying away in waiting area praying for a miracle. After a total of 20 ablations being completed on his heart my dad was able to make a full recovery and up until April this year has been "episode" free.

My dad is a warrior and the glue to our family. We are so grateful that God and modern medicine have given my dad a second chance at life, more than once. Now my siblings must get tested to see if they carry the gene.

I'm walking for my dad, I'm walking for my siblings, I'm walking for all those out there fighting daily for a chance at life! I want to make a difference and I want to show my dad that his strength has made me want to leave a mark on this world and make a difference! If I can save just one life by giving to such a wonderful cause, it's one more family spared of debilitating grief. 

Join me in my mission and help millions of people, like my dad, benefit from the research the AHA is able to accomplish because of people like us! My dad is "Moore than a beat", he's a survivor!