The Widow Maker

The nurse informed me that the heart attack I had was referred to as the widow maker. I had three blocked arteries. The arteries of my heart are not normal. Which made a stent or angioplasty impossible. As a result of my heart attack, I had insufficient blood flow to my intestines, which culminated in a section of my intestines dying. After my heart bypass surgery, though unrelated to the surgery, my bowels started to bleed internally which required emergency surgery to remove two feet of intestines. During the surgery, my blood pressure all but disappeared. My Kidneys shut down. I was put on dialysis.  I lost 48 pounds in six weeks. When I left the hospital I left with a colostomy bag. Before this I had never heard of nor knew what that was. A few days after being home I had another heart attack. My doctor told me the artery they could not repair had completely clogged and that section of my heart was dying.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28  (ESV)

Blessings...
First was my wife. Without her I would have most likely died. During the internal bleeding, she stood up and fought for me forcing the gastroenterologist to act when he wanted to wait. If she had allowed him to wait I probably would have bled out.

As they were rolling me down a hall for a test I asked myself am I ready to meet God. I realized I was. I had accepted the sacrifice of Christ on my behalf. The peace that passes all understanding came over me and I was ready for whatever the Lord had for me.

One dark night in my hospital room I was tired and exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually. God told me I’ve heard their prayers for you and  I will be with you. He lifted me from my exhaustion and gave me strength to go on.
With this limited space I cannot fully explain, God assembled the staff that was to care for me.
One of the most memorable moments of my recovery happened when I was in ICU. A young nurse was walking down the hallway and looked in. She stopped with tears in her eyes and asked me if she could hug me. She explained, “I am one of the nurses that cared for you, we didn't think you were going to make it, I’m so happy you're alive.”  When I returned to the cardiac care unit, after being in the ICU, the nurses referred to me as the miracle man; they also did not expect me to survive. I am still here because He has a purpose for me being here. God, as usual, is glorious.

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