Eric's heart

This month has been cold & nasty, but it's also been WARM, sunny and beautiful!! It's crazy how fast the weather and winds can change; Crazy, but encouraging! We're like that too. We go through times when things are really rough, you get stuck in a rut, and feel like there's no way out, then one day the sun comes out and hope is reborn. :) I love those times...when hope seems lost then God just 'shows up'. Whether it's in a gorgeous sunset, a blue sky, a gentle wind, or just really feeling His presence for the first time in a long time. Those moments are priceless to me. 

     So I have A LOT to write about and am beginning to wonder if Tanya's idea of blogging every day is pure brilliance. haha I don't think I'll be able to keep THAT up but I would like to be more consistent.

     I wanted to share briefly about our miracle that's happened within the last month. Eric was born with a heart condition called Aortic Stenosis, which means he was born with 2, instead of 3 heart valves. Up until last May he was supposed to go to his cardiologist once a year for a routine checkups but he'd had no problems with it as of yet. they'd basically said that until he starts exhibiting symptoms such as shortness of breath while walking, any chest pain or tightness, and others I can't remember. Well, to make this story shorter, Eric started having symptoms on a Wednesday while at work. So his boss drove him to the Arthur clinic and I met them there. He was slightly dizzy, nauseous, experiencing s.o.b., and tightness in his chest. The Dr checked him, said it could be the flu or a number of other things that were going around, did an EKG on him and called his cardiologist, but they didn't see anything abnormal and since Eric had an apt already scheduled with his cardiologist the following Monday, they just said to stay home, rest, and see what the Doc said then. That week, Eric and i went back and forth being sick. If he felt well, then I had a migraine, and once I'd start to feel better, he'd get worse. It got to the point that I was like what the heck is going on?! This of course was also right after we'd had a very powerful Holy Spirit night at church AND I'd led worship for the first time the previous Sun am. Hmmm Surprise, surprise...We starting feeling attacked physically, in our marriage, etc... and it was starting to wear both of us out.

     On Sunday am, I had a meltdown and Eric was feeling the worst he'd felt yet but we knew we had to go to church to get prayer so we got there late and slipped in relatively unnoticed. I couldn't stop crying and when ministry time finally came I was relieved! A group of our close friends/fam surrounded us, began praying and speaking words over us and it all changed from that moment on. Eric never felt chest pain again after that. :D Praise God! 

      On Monday, Eric's Dr. said he saw a growth of some kind on Eric's heart. A membrane or something?? He wasn't sure so he said we had to come back the following Tues and have a heart cath and 1 other test to get better pics of his heart. SO, we prayed a lot about finances as well as his condition etc b/c Eric's Doc said he still couldn't go back to work. Well, I'll be honest, I was worried b/c what were we supposed to do if all the income depended on me and what if Eric couldn't work again at all?! Holy cow that's a lot of pressure. AND I WANT TO HAVE KIDS AT SOME POINT!! Hello God...what's going on?? Well, I should've known that God is way bigger that us, and He goes ahead of us and works things out FOR us. :) On the way home from the hospital, Eric's boss called to find out how it went and when Eric told him that he couldn't work for the next week at least, his boss told him to come in for a couple days anyway and they'd let him work but not make him lift anything. They found other stuff for him to do without ANY physical labor! HOW AWESOME IS GOD?? So awesome. 

     We received lots of prayer that week...Thursday night at our small group, Sunday am at church, even Monday night at VLT (Vineyard Leadership Training) at church, and of course through Facebook there were tons of peeps praying. Monday night on the way home from VLT, Greg called and told Eric that God had told him the previous day that he was supposed to pray for him anfd he said he doesn't normally hear God that clearly so he felt like he better do it. Haha :) So, they drove out of their way to come over to our house at 945pm with their kids to pray for us. It was really powerful and Greg said he felt like God was wiping Eric's heart clean. It meant a lot to us that they obeyed God and were willing to follow through. 

     The next morning we made the trip yet again to Springfield to see Eric's cardiologist. He did a heart cath, where they cut open an artery in his groin and send a tube up to his heart to get a better look. And he also had to do a TEE, where they numbed his throat with a "Lidocaine popsicle" then make him "swallow" a camera on a rope??? Then they pull it back up his throat. He loved both procedures. LOL Anyway, long story a little longer (haha) 8 hrs later they took us into the results room which I call the death room to tell us the dealio. I'd been calm up to that point but then my heart started racing as we were waiting. What if it was bad news? I hadn't really let myself think about that yet. We were praying for complete healing, after all. Where's the balance in praying for healing and preparing for the worst. If you're preparing for the worst, is that really faith?? IDK, but anyhoo, When the Dr finally came into that tiny room, he was all smiles. :D He said, it's great news! We couldn't find anything on his heart, he doesn't need surgery...at least not until he's prob 50 and by then they wont have to open you up for open heart surgery. He didn't put Eric on any physical restrictions, which is great! That means he can work, play sports, coach basketball etc. He can also go back to annual checkups vs 6 mo., which will really help out with his Dr.'s bills. So, all around GREAT NEWS!! When the Doc left the room, his parents and I jumped up and started hugging and crying. It was an epic moment. One I will never forget. God is so good. 

     Since then, Eric hasn't had any pain or symptoms of any kind, Thank you Jesus! I know our faith has been increased. Just the other night, we were praying about our finances and yesterday Eric got a new job! A full-time job working for his dad. He's so excited and I am too! he's going to enjoy it a lot more I think and he'll be able to add customer service to his resume' which will be good for the future. 

     God is great, and I'm UBER excited to see where he wants to take us this year. This experience has brought us closer to each other and to God. We were reminded how quickly things can change and not to take a moment that we have together for granted. I love this man with all my heart and I want to spend the next 70+ years (hah) with him. ;)