Melvin Betancourt (right) with the Ford Focus he is customizing. (Credit: MyFox Detroit)
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (MyFox Detroit) -
Melvin Betancourt designed a customized, one of a kind, sinister bad boy look for a Ford Focus. The car is being given away Saturday at Henry Ford Health System's "Get Your Heart Racing Monster Energy Pit Party Exhibition Event" fundraiser.
"It's just like paying it forward that it makes me feel good and it makes other people feel good, too," said Betancourt.
He is a design manager at Ford, but this car guy found a new appreciation for his own parts after coming very close to dying.
"I had the symptoms of a cold," he explained.
Instead, Betancourt ended up at Henry Ford Hospital with a rare diagnosis, Marfan's syndrome, a genetic disorder that destroys connective tissue. It can effect your eyes, lungs and cardiovascular system.
"In my particular case... my heart got enlarged. My aorta got to the size of a softball. I had four aneurysms, and they had to do a dissection of my aorta and replace my aortic valve," Betancourt said.
Once he was diagnosed, doctors were also able to catch the syndrome in his young son. He now gives back to Henry Ford doctors the best way he knows how by designing cars.
"This is my second year working with 'Get Your Heart Racing'. I did a car last year with them, and it became very, very dear to me because back in 2000, Henry Ford Hospital, the Cardiology Unit, ended up saving my life," said Betancourt.
Tuesday, December 4 2012 4:11 PM EST2012-12-04 21:11:01 GMT
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Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger, an institution for generations of University of Michigan students in Ann Arbor, is about to undergo a historic change of address.
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Officials say the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection could be sold to help satisfy creditors if the financially troubled city of Detroit seeks bankruptcy protection.
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If you'd like to contribute to the Oklahoma tornado relief efforts, FOX 2's Amy Andrews says you can drop off supplies at the Democratic Club of Taylor (23400 Wick Rd.) now through Sunday.
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Melvin Betancourt (right) with the Ford Focus he is customizing. (Credit: MyFox Detroit)
