Recap and a little May miracle

Every Christian has a “Kingdom Assignment”.  This is mine.  I was asked to share this story with my church family on Mother’s Day this year:

The Kingdom Assignment I am currently dealing with is a physical disease.  In January 2011 I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.  This means that my heart muscle is weak and enlarged.  It does not have enough strength to pump blood to the rest of my body.  One of the tests done measured my “ejection fraction”, which should typically be 55-70%.  Mine was 10-15%.  So I was in heart failure.  I was immediately started on several medications which alleviated all of my symptoms.  I was sad and angry to be told that I would be on these medications for the rest of my life.  I did research on-line and the more I learned, the more discouraged I became.  So many people with this disease seemed to no longer be able to work and were not getting any better.  I thought, surely this isn’t the end of my life.  I have a young son; I have people I need to talk to about You, God, and also people I haven’t even met yet.  But during my tests I have met some wonderful people at hospitals and doctor’s offices and have also gained a sense of empathy for senior citizens who I watch struggle just to get into their appointments.

Many prayers were said for me and sometime in July two beautiful ladies here at Eastgate Community Church prayed for my healing again.  I was to meet with an electro physiologist in August and I convinced him to do yet another echocardiogram because I felt that my heart was healed and I did not need a pacemaker/defibrillator.  However, the test showed absolutely no improvement.  So on Sept. 2, 2011 I had the device installed.  It was about 8 weeks before I was completely pain free and felt back to normal.  During the recovery, some days I questioned the decision and again was angry that my life was being disrupted.  But in December I started this blog because I wanted to encourage newly diagnosed people, especially women, because I had only read negative reports when I did my research.  Only God knows who this blog may reach with encouragement and hope.  

Fast track to Friday morning May 3rd - I could not sleep and was feeling poorly.  My husband was praying for me because I had been in Stage 3 heart failure for about 10 days.  My cardiologist has increased my medications on Tuesday and said if that did not help I would need to see another heart failure specialist.  Too much caffeine that day added to my problems falling asleep but I felt different than ever before.  I took 2 aspirin because I thought perhaps I was having a heart attack.  My left foot became numb and then the numbness traveled up my left side and even my throat felt tight.  My chest felt very heavy and I felt like I would probably die.  By now it was close to 2 a.m. and my husband and I began praying again.  I knew that there were still things I needed to do – God had already spoken to me about having a heart to heart talk about Him this summer with someone very close to me.  I reminded God that this plan was already posted on my refrigerator door.  I also reminded him that I still had a little boy at home that needed his mother.  Then I took authority over the disease and quoted Psalm 118:17 - “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord”  My husband was agreeing with me the whole time.  I prayed in the Sprit; I pleaded the blood of Christ, and prayed for myself like I never had before.  About 3 a.m. I felt the peace of God pass over me and told my husband to go to sleep and I went to the living room and read Psalms 1-28.  By 4 a.m. I felt completely fine and dog tired.  I slept like a baby and have been feeling good ever since.  I know that wisdom says we should have called 911, but my grandbaby was coming that weekend and I didn’t want to be in the hospital and miss her.  More importantly though, and my husband and I talked about this later, we knew it was a desperate situation and we just didn’t have time for 911.  We needed help right then!  Only God is able to help you in your desperate moments.  In my heart I know that He was there for me and He will continue to bring me through this Kingdom Assignment and use it for His glory.