Recent Adventures in the Hospital

Dear Friends,



Tomorrow, September 25, I will be having a cardiac catheterization at Jefferson Hospital. If you find this surprising, you can well imagine that I am in a state of shock. This is totally unexpected, out of the blue. Remember, I’m the one who has been following a super healthy lifestyle these past years. How could this be happening to me?



These past few days since the cardiologist called to say that the stress test that I took last Monday was abnormal, I’ve been thinking, “This is not happening to me. This is happening to someone else.” But it is, in fact, happening to me, even though I trained on a treadmill for the stress test, after all there was nothing whatsoever wrong with my heart…



Two people have given me new perspective on this situation. My sister, Cheryl, said, “This is a proactive thing to do.” I was thinking of the procedure as a real defeat, but it isn’t, it’s a grace from the Lord. Phil Ryken noted that God was gracious in that like the cancer, they caught the situation early. I can only conclude that God is good to me.



So I ask for your prayers. I don’t know what will come of this. Either the hospital will release me a few hours after the test or they will keep me and do the next stage of treatment which could range from medication to angioplasty to a bypass. It’s one of those situations when all I can do is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing.



Two years ago when I had had a series of medical problems, including surgery three times in six weeks, the Lord reminded me that “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit.” I see this whole situation as yet another pair of pruning shears. I don’t know when the fruitfulness will come, but the pruning continues and I covet your prayers.



Sincerely in Christ,



Cora


Dear friends,



Thank you so much for your prayers.



Last Monday as per schedule, I went to Jefferson Hospital for a cardiac catheterization. After I woke up from the procedure, they just wheeled me into a room on the tenth floor, without even asking me about being admitted. Later the cardiologist came in to tell me that I had a 90% blockage at a critical juncture in the front of my heart and that I was an excellent candidate for single bypass surgery. Thanks. Just what I wanted! How could this be happening to me anyway? I ‘m the one with the healthy diet and lifestyle!



Meanwhile, my friend, Stephanie Fuller, who is doing a fellowship in cardiothorasic surgery at Jefferson found my name on the patient list, looked up the pictures from the catheterization and came to see me. She explained the ins and outs of the surgery involved. When she finished I was ready to sign on the dotted line.



My doc consulted a wide range of cardiologists about what to do. The next day he came in with a clear explanation of alternatives. They could do bypass without even stopping my heart. They break the sternum to get to the heart, take a blood vessel from the chest and graft it onto the heart. They could try balloon angioplasty but the obstruction was in a really inconvenient part of my heart and it might not work. They would have to insert a stent which might not stay put in that location. He was very thorough in outlining all the pros and cons of each alternative. Then he said that he had asked each of the people with whom he consulted, “If this were a close relative of yours, say it was your wife, what would you do?” I thought was a great question! Evidently to a person they said, “I’d try the angioplasty.” So that’s what I chose.



The doctor that he had chosen to do the angioplasty wouldn’t be available until Thursday, so I had to wait. Meanwhile, I got visits form the surgical team who were most anxious to get me into their operating room.



I also got visits from so many friends. And I know that people were praying. I felt so supported. In fact, I felt as though I was being carried through this whole situation.



They did the procedure first thing on Thursday morning, before the surgical team began their day’s schedule. They stood by to see if the angioplasty was going to work before they went to work. I felt like a real celebrity, holding up the progress of the surgeons.



The doctor who did the actual angioplasty was fantastic. He did a very difficult and risky procedure and he did it skillfully and successfully! God is so good to me!



After the procedure you need to lie still for several hours. That was probably the hardest part. After a few hours one of the team came to pull out the tube in my thigh through which they treaded the balloon. That wasn’t fun and I bled a lot. She had to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. As a result the whole lower midsection of my body is more bruised than it’s ever been before. I expect that perhaps my heart is also bruised, yet it was still the less invasive of the procedures. I’m glad to have blood flowing through my heart again. This means being on a regimen of aspirin and Plavix, which I don’t like, but I’m grateful to the Lord for His goodness to me.



I was released on Friday and I’ve been lying low ever since. This has taken more out of me than I’d expected. I’m so grateful to everyone who has prayed and who has been there for me. Thanks so much for your encouragement, your support and your prayers.



Gratefully in Him,



Cora