Another bump in the road

Thank you so much for all your encouraging words regarding our videos.  It was fun to get the kids involved and give you guys more insight into my surgery and also how Noah is currently doing. 

 I’m writing to ask for your prayers once again. We were feeling hopeful after my surgery with how well the feedings were going and the increased energy. It was so nice.  We unfortunately have come to another bump in the road and its pretty big.  After my surgery while I was in the recovery room I started having pretty intense chest pains.  The doctors were concerned and ran some tests.  The tests showed that my troponin levels were elevated. A Troponin test measures the levels of troponin proteins in the blood.  These proteins are released when the heart muscle has been damaged, such as occurs with a heart attack.  The more damage to the heart, the greater the amount of troponin in the blood.  A normal level is .10 0r lower and mine was .395. They ran several tests to check for blocked arteries etc. and determined that I most likely had inflammation around the lining of my heart.  I was to follow up with my cardiologist.  On March 30th I had a black out episode that lasted for a few seconds and took me by surprise.  I saw the doctor a few days later and he was able to pull up my pacemaker recording that told him on that day I had a Ventricular Tachycardia episode that lasted 11 seconds with my heart rate in the 200’s.  This could have led to me going into cardiac arrest if it was a longer episode.  Because of these incidents the doctors want to put in a cardiac defibrillator.  This is where things get tricky.  I have a pacemaker and four lead wires in my heart.  My arteries can not fit any more wires on that side.  Lead wires have an average life span of 12-15 years.  I have had mine for 12.  They might have to consider lead extraction surgery but it is high risk. My muscular Dystrophy is high risk just going under anesthesia.  There is a team of 4 doctors all consulting one another on the best approach and we will talk about the best plan this Wednesday. Surgery will most likely take place at the end of the month.  This has felt intense and emotionally depleting.  It didn’t help that a few days ago I had another bad fall either. Yep! Scraped up my elbow, bruised my knees, my ego lol., and have felt the aftermath in my whole body.  I seriously have considered buying and wearing a rubber suit.  Too many hard falls. It stinks. But you gotta get up, dust yourself off, and keep pushing through.  It also feels good to let out a scream, put on some good music, and laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.  

We all have a story. The one God writes for each of us may go down many paths. No matter where you are on the journey, there is a plan and a purpose to what you experience. If you are struggling, take comfort in knowing you are not alone.  It is hard enough to walk through pain and suffering but if you don’t have Christ none of it will make sense.  I urge you to put your faith and trust in christ if you haven’t already.  Only he can give you purpose, only he can help you make sense of it all. The greatest truth that you can ever hear is that Jesus Christ died but rose again, and that you, too, will die but can rise again into newness of life.

Please pray for us friends. Pray for all the doctors involved, Pray I would not have any more episodes and that God would protect my heart. Pray for Jason and our family that we would lean in to God as we walk through another bump in the road. I know God is not surprised by any of this and that is where I draw my comfort.  We will keep pressing on, we will hold fast to his promises, and we will bless his name in the process.