A Testimony to God’s Faithfulness – Part 3
(written in January 2020)
The third chapter in my heart journey happened in January 2020. I took a little time to reflect on the events of the last few weeks to see what lessons God might be trying to teach me through this third heart issue and new chapter on life that He is granting. Each of the three have been unique in their own way:
- 1990-1991 was the first when I had four heart cath procedures to correct the electrical system in my heart after decades of trying to figure out what was wrong. The first was at the University of Utah to identify the problem, the other three at the University of Oklahoma to correct it.
- 2005 was when I had a failed heart cath and then open-heart surgery to do a quad bypass to address four clogged arteries and veins in Omaha
- 2020 is when I had another heart cath to address a blocked artery in Tampa
Any of those things could have definitely ended my time here on earth. Yet it didn’t, and God graciously has given me another lease on life.
This third issue came on fairly quickly in January 2020. We had some travel issues trying to get to St Kitts where I was to facilitate a Mastermind meeting. Due to flight delays and changes, we had a changed connection which involved a long walk in Miami to get from the Delta terminal to the American one due to construction. On that very long walk, I began to experience some chest pain and shortness of breath but chalked it up to being extremely tired and worn down hoping some days in the tropics would take care of it.
That wasn’t the case, and on Thursday, two days after arriving on St. Kitts, I admitted it to my bride that there were symptoms similar to the event back in 2005 and we made plans to return to the US a few days earlier than scheduled landing Miami mid-morning Friday January 17, 2020 and then driving to Tampa so we could be close to our townhouse and some people we know.
If I’m honest, there were signs months earlier but as a normal male, I brushed them off and managed by just slowing down a step. But this time, I knew it wasn’t just a step slower that would solve the issue and agreed we needed to get back to the USA as soon as we could.
We got to Tampa General mid-afternoon on Friday (not the best time to be coming into the hospital with the weekend ahead) and began the process of working through ER admissions until I got moved to ICU around 10:30 PM over 6 hours later. It was a very busy ER so plenty of good people watching to keep us occupied. The cardiologist identified a couple things he didn’t really like and said I would be there until they figured out what is going on.
This is a teaching hospital so I had to wait to get that decision validated a bit later, but they put me in ICU and got me all admitted, lab worked up, and settled about 1 AM. My bride was a trooper taking care of details and getting me the things I needed to spend some days in the hospital. The ICU isn’t a terribly private or quiet environment, and it feels a bit like overkill for a guy just waiting for his turn to get into the cath lab. So, I was basically tied to the bed with little wiggle room.
The cath lab was ultimately the plan so they could go in and determine what was blocked. The attending cardiologist on Saturday added some medications and explained that there was a blockage somewhere but they would need to go in and find it and hopefully fix it with a stent. If all went as hoped, I would be out in a few days and back on the mend. As a teaching hospital the docs doing ‘grand rounds’ with all their students take more time explaining their decisions and orders so it is nice to hear all that commentary and explanation around what is going on and the reasoning behind it.
They came and got me about 3:30 Monday afternoon, and I was back in my ICU room at 5:30 after a successful heart catheterization. There was one artery blocked from my bypass of fifteen years ago; they performed an angioplasty so they could put a stent in to solve the problem long term. They told Nancy it was 99% blocked, so I was definitely living on the edge.
The cath team was exceptionally good at Tampa General with six different cath labs running all day, every day. We were in the right place for the procedure. The team had been together for a long time; the bantering that was going on by the team provided both distraction and levity as they were setting up the lab to do the procedure. Since this is a teaching hospital, at times I felt a little bit like a lab rat. The attending surgeon was constantly providing guidance and didn’t hesitate to grab the controls when he felt it was necessary.
After the procedure, I was wheeled back to my ICU unit for an evening of keeping my legs straight for four hours while the artery reconnected. The procedure was all done with a catheter and different tools that were inserted and run up into the heart area to look for the problem and correct it. Compared to the open-heart surgery I had fifteen years ago, this is significantly less invasive and will allow for a much shorter recovery.
I remained awake during the procedure, so was able to listen to the teaching that was being done for those in the lab. Dr Fadi Matar, who is one of the main cardiologists on the staff, kept me informed about where they were in the process and the steps he was taking to take to correct the problem.
There were some painful moments while lying on the cath lab table for the procedure. As they went to put in the stent, it wouldn’t fit, so they had to put the balloon in to angioplasty the spot and make it large enough to accept the stent. That was a painful event and I asked for pain relief which they provided in the form of nitro. Beyond that it really was a quick and almost painless procedure, although it is strange feeling the cath instrument fishing around inside my heart. I could definitely feel it as they moved from one artery or vein to the next to check out and discover where the blockage was.
Laurie had some fun with the marker board in my room which the care team uses to communicate as they switch shifts. In the box “I would like to be called …” she took suggestions from colleagues and determined that “Cuddle Bear” was my suggested nickname. Fortunately the staff didn’t take her up on that, but she was amused and that was worth something. The grandkids facetimed with us that evening and Jude said “POP! You look like you’re growing a mustache!” I wasn’t so cuddly at the moment although I did assure them that since God is giving me more days, they can be assured of lots of kisses and hugs and tickling to which they all rolled their eyes.
It was about 2 PM on Tuesday that they let me out of the ICU and set me free from the cords and cables that had had me tied up for four days. Recovery from the heart cath went well and by Tuesday morning I was feeling the best I had in some time. It was a joy to cut off my patient wrist band and be set free. I left with a new stent, a couple new drugs and a new lease on life – now my third.
I know cats are supposed to have 9 lives, but I’m wondering how many I will have. This is now my third brush with heart trouble. I’m sure God is working to teach this bull-headed guy some lessons. Here are my thoughts as of today about the experience:
- God alone controls the number of days I will have on this earth. No matter how good medical science becomes, it is no match for the complexity of our human body which God alone created and intimately knows. I will continue to live as long as God gives me breath.
- God has created me on purpose with a purpose, and I’m not done fulfilling that purpose in the patch He has placed me. Life is no accident for any of us, so we need to seek His face and find the purpose He has for us and live that to the fullest.
- God’s heart is to bless us indeed, and to use those blessings to allow us to share the love of Jesus with those around us. He allows things to happen that we may be able to share His goodness and joy through the story of our life.
- As long as God gives me the opportunity to be on the top side of the grass, I need to take care of what He has entrusted to me and share life with all that He allows me to cross paths with.
- God will call me home when my time is done. I know my eternal destination, and have no fear of death, which is a normal and eventual outcome of life. But in that event, I will be freed from all the shortcomings of life on earth and given a perfect body (with no heart issues) to spend eternity with God in heaven.
Life is precious my friends. It is not to be taken lightly or abused and ignored. We can’t just go through the motions but rather need to see it for what it is – a gift from God that is given on purpose for a purpose. We are not here accidentally. We need to grab life and pursue it with all we are and have. Thanks be to God for the blessing of life!
🙂