What a day may bring forth...




Yesterday my father had a heart attack for the first time.  Just saying that makes me realize that life is moving on at an incredibly fast rate and things that only older people need to be concerned about now apply to my parents and that is a bit shocking to think of them in this light.  But in all of this, we were reminded and blessed by the fact that life is not about what is lived here, but only the preparation for what is to come in the life hereafter.

Yesterday after lunch, Daddy laid down for his afternoon siesta and within a few minuets started feeling a tension and pain in his chest.  It kept getting increasingly stronger and he wondered if it was something that he had eaten as a doctor friend had told him once that indigestion can mimic a heart attack.  So he took some enzymes and decided to try and tough it out for a while.  After about an hour and half of intense pain (level 8 of 10), difficulty in catching his breath, and shooting pains down his arm, it finally started to ease to the point where he could walk and talk easily again even though the pressure and pain were still there.  At that point after asking some advice, decided to go into the ER for evaluation, where they informed him that it certainly looked like a heart attack.  This was confirmed this morning as the CPK tests which show increased levels after a heart attack, went from 0.8 when he went in, up to 9.0 this morning.  It was also confirmed that he has diabetes which does run in his family.

This morning the doctors did an angiogram which revealed that the main vein supplying the lower part of his heart was completely blocked.  They opened it up and put a stent in and blood flow was restored completely.  Fifteen minutes later, Daddy stated that he was already feeling better!  Praise the Lord!  Daddy is resting well and they suspect that he might be able to return home tomorrow sometime, depending on how he heals from the angiogram and when all the heparin comes out of his system.

Here is what the before and after picture looked like.  The dark line is the blood flowing.  In the upper half, you see where it stops at the blockage, and once the stent was inserted, how it started flowing again.

We thank God for His peace and guidance in all of this!  For those of you who were praying for us, "Thank You"!!  I watched my mother and father have peace on their faces as they realized last night how serious this could be.  They both testified that if this was God's time for Daddy to go, they were will to rest in His arms and accept that.  What a blessing and challenge that is for me!  To live life in such a way that when I come to the time where I need to say 'goodbye', I can do it with HIS peace and light in my eyes!  But for now, we rejoice that it looks like Daddy will be with us for a while longer, but only God knows that for sure!
One of these days, each one of us will come to the end of our lives and we will return to our maker.  May we live our lives for Christ so that we don't need to fear that day and it take us unawares.  Proverbs 27:1 says:
"Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth."
We have no guarantee of tomorrow, let us not take it for granted.  Instead, may we remember that each day is a gift and live it for the Glory of Him who gave it to us!  Then we shall not be ashamed to meet Him when He calls our name.

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