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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Another Test Of My Faith

 

Gods hands

As many of you might already know we have had a rough couple of months at our home. My sweet hubby had to have bypass surgery on July 2. 

If you follow along on Face book you read how well he was doing. He was a star patient doing everything he should. All his vitals were great, he was eating better, exercising at rehab, and doing all the right stuff.

It was all pretty seamless, or as seamless as emergency bypass surgery can go.

He had only one little problem. He seemed to develop acid reflux. He had never had this problem prior to surgery. 

We did all the usual remedies, cooking more blandly, not eating anything we knew to cause a problem, and took the medications that were recommended by the doctor.

He would get  acid reflux when he would walk on the treadmill at rehab, or here at home, and sometimes with eating certain foods, but to be honest there was no rhythm or reason to any of it. 

Upon going back to the cardiologist for a recheck we pursued the question of what could be causing this.

You see my husband listened to his body once again and did not dismiss what we thought was acid reflux.

The cardiologist was a bit concerned, but not overly. He recommended a treadmill with an echo cardiogram.

The test was done a week later, and it was somewhat inconclusive, so he felt that we needed a more definitive answer to what might be going on so he wanted to do another angiogram.

The Dr. thought he saw a slight difference in the shape of the left side of Doug’s heart, it was ever so slightly smaller, which would indicate less blood flow.

NOT what we wanted to hear, but we truly wanted some resolve.

Gods hand 2

On Wednesday of last week my sweet hubby went through another procedure. 

I knew if everything was clear, and good to go it would take a little over an hour, if not, and they needed to do stints, it would be closer to 2 hours or a little more. 

After about 4-5 hours of riding an emotional roller coaster in the waiting room I finally found out what was wrong with my love.

One of the three bypasses had failed. It was the main artery bypass. 

There were five doctors in the procedure room observing, and discussing what would be the best thing to do since the main artery was 99% blocked, and that is why they did the bypass to begin with.

They decided to do what is basically like a rotor rooter, and clear out the main artery, and they placed 3 very long stints in his main artery.

We are not sure why the original bypass failed, and we will be discussing this with our Doctor further in the very near future. It does happen, but not very often, about .1% of the time the type bypass they used will fail.

(there is a lot more technical information, but I won’t bore you with those details here.)

Gods plan

For now, we are being very thankful people that once again my sweet Hubby was spared, even the Dr. said, “Thank God you did not have a heart attack.”

After a lot of research Doug said, “I don’t understand how I did not have a heart attack.”

I reminded him, “ I do!! you were covered in prayer and for now God has answered my request to keep you here with me for a bit longer.”

You see I call it a request because I realize my ultimate prayer should be...
 “Thine will be done!”
 
But, I also know that God listens to request and this time he listened to a lot of people requesting a return to good health for my sweet Dougie.

The blessing in all of this is that I DID see God’s hand once again. You see I am learning to LOOK for him in every step of my life.



I was looking for God’s hand and this is what I saw………….

The machine that they used on my hubby is fairly new, and not all cardiologist are knowledgeable in using it. One of the Dr.s that is very capable was on duty, and was called in to assist. 

How in the world will 5 cardiologist be able to clear their schedule to consult, and observe for over 2-3 hours while Doug was in the procedure room? Hmmmm? interesting.

Some might think coincidence, but I am a praying wife and I say, “It was Gods hand!”

I don’t have answers why he has gone though so much other than the logical one’s like, eating better, more exercise etc, etc., but I do know I have seen the hand of God many times in the last two months and I am so very grateful.

I will never pretend that I did not have my panicked moments. Sitting that long in a little room wondering if he is going to be alright, or live is not fun, and it was truly an emotional roller coaster.

I can say it was one of the worst days of my life, and yet it was one of the most wonderful too, once I saw him out of that procedure room. I was never so happy to see him in all my life.

We are human, and we have human feelings. One of the greatest is Love, and oh how I love this man, and  I realize we have such a special love that has been blessed in so many ways, but we also have human frailties, of worry, fear and anxiety.

trusting in God

I am still learning like the rest of you to try and not focus on the problem, but the problem solver.

The ultimate test for we humans is always in our faith, faith in the fact that God is omnipotent, and that he knows best in all cases.

We must realize that even though it feels like it is just happening to us, and our loved one’s it actually might be effecting more people than we might ever know about, but God knows the whole story from beginning to end and he will do what is best for ALL, not just for me and my hubby.

That is what I have to trust in, his omnipotence. I will never be able to accept the hurt of a loved one, or the loss of a loved one, but I must always accept that God’s hand is in my life, and he will always do what is best for all, and that my dear friends is the ultimate test of faith in my life.

He never promised us it would be easy, or perfect but he DID promise he will be there to get us through whatever we have to go through in this thing called LIFE!!

You can read about what happened originally Here, be sure and read to the bottom of post.
Another post about Blessings In Disguise…… Here.

 
 

20 comments:

La Vie Quotidienne said...

What an ordeal you have been through. I am happy for you both that everything turned out well.

Take care.

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...

Kathy Sue you and Doug are truly blessed. I can only imagine the day you had (and Doug also)!
Life isn't always easy and it doesn't always go the way we want. All we can do is to remember to do our Best in all things!
I wish for a safe and speedy recovery.
xo
Patty

Karena said...

Dear Kathysue.
I am so thankful that your husband is going to be okay and that he was in many good hand, especially God's!

xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Kathysue wow, what a testament to your faith, I am so happy Doug is doing better.I am sure that was very scary. My daughter had open heart surgery at 4 months and it was very touch and go then, not fun.

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Kathysue wow, what a testament to your faith, I am so happy Doug is doing better.I am sure that was very scary. My daughter had open heart surgery at 4 months and it was very touch and go then, not fun.

Julie Taylor and Danni Greenwalt said...

I am so glad he is OK..Thank God! The one thing I've learned with all the trials my family has gone through in the last two years...I would rather go through life with faith to carry me through than not at all...We have learned to trust in God..all things are to glorify him! When you don't understand why...trust and he will show you the way...

A Perfect Gray said...

kathysue! my, what you both have been through. I can hardly imagine.And just when you thought the problem was fixed...

I will be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Love to you! Donna

La Dolfina said...

Oh my Kathysue, I had no idea!
You two are amazing and your testaments to faith are wonderful. Thank you for sharing your faith journey with us! I am so relieved to hear the positive outcome.
Please give my love to Doug.
You are both in my prayers!!
Love you guys!

XO
Terri

carolyn bradford said...

What a wonderful testimony of your faith…and trust in God's will and plan for Doug's life as well as yours. I cannot even BEGIN to imagine what that feels like while your precious husband is back in surgery for so long! It seems like every day I hear of another friend that is going through something truly scary or terminal…I often wonder when it will be me or my loved one. I listen and read to what you are saying and I know that I will call on you one day to pray for me as well. I count it a privilege to pray for you and Doug and I'm so grateful for your friendship through blogging! I truly will be praying for you both and asking God to give you peace and wisdom as you travel this journey these next few weeks and months and hopefully years and years!! Much love to you!

Elizabeth "Libby" Day said...

Kathysue, I have been out of pocket the last few weeks and am just reading about all the problems you and Hubby have been through. I can so relate and feel your anxiety. My Hubby also had to have an emergency triple by-pass 14 years ago. And we also saw and personally experienced God's might hand of protection and intervention, not to mention blessing upon blessing. We do serve a faithful God! I am so happy that your Hubby is doing so well and that God has allowed you to use this experience to share Him with all of your readers. May God continue to bless you both richly.

designchic said...

Wow…Kathysue, you and Doug have been through so much. So happy he is doing well and our thoughts are with you both…

Merlin said...

My heart goes out to you...having just sat through a surgery for my husband...it is a testament. Good wishes to all. franki

michele said...

so happy to hear you are trusting and seeing His hand in it all. what a blessing modern medicine is! that jeremiah verse is my mom's life verse and very special to our family. hope hubby heals swiftly and completely.

Barbara said...

I am happy that you and your husband have survived, what must have been a terrible experience for you both & your family. These life experiences sure put things into perspective don't they.

May God continue to bless your beloved husband & I wish him a speedy recovery.

Barb (Canada)

Mary Ann Pickett said...

So much to handle for your poor family. Sending prayers.
Mary Ann

Sue said...

God is always faithful to give us what we need. I am so glad to hear that your husband has come through this latest trial, and I hope it's his last for a good long while!

Grace @ Sense and Simplicity said...

Oh my goodness what a difficult day that was. I"m so glad you had skilled Drs when you needed it and that your husband listened to his body. I bet you were never so glad to see your husband as after that surgery.

Woodside Park said...

Kathysue, thank you for sharing this with us. It's a reminder to listen to our own body, stay positive and not lose faith. What challenges you all have been through. Please keep us posted. Sending much love, L

Zoe said...

Reading your story brought me back to when my husband had bypass surgery, and you are so right about the agony of waiting and it being the worst and best day of my life. Keeping you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers.

Karol

Marty said...

Kat;hysue: You have been a tower of strength for your husband and family. Thanks for sharing and reminding us that we need to listen to our body. I send my prayers your way for a complete recovery for your husband.
mdb