Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back!
On a typical day I don’t think about how much energy and effort is required for my heart to pump blood throughout my body in order for me to survive. I rarely spend time thinking or worrying about my heart, or any other vital organs, and if they are functioning properly. I spend most of my days so caught up in life and my massive “to do” lists that I rarely stop and reflect on how precious the gift of life is and how it is truly just a vapor.
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ~James 4:14
On February 16th I was reminded of the fragility of life. On this day, my much loved grandfather (who we call Paw Paw Bill) went into the hospital for treatment of a mild form of cancer that he was diagnosed with before Christmas. The cancer was very treatable and the procedure was not a terribly risky one. When he arrived for the surgery he told my grandma that he wasn’t feeling well and that he felt like he had heartburn. The doctors gave him medicine for the heartburn and went forward with the surgery. When my paw paw awoke from surgery he still was not feeling well. Since the doctors believed that this was only due to heartburn, they sent him home to rest and recover from the surgery. That night my paw paw was rushed back to the hospital with severe heart pain. It was there that he had a massive heart attack.
He was admitted into the Acute Critical Care Unit and the doctors started to work at doing everything they could to make sure he survived. As the next three days went by, they were filled with a few slow progressions and many quick regressions. He suffered from majors blockages in his heart, that could not be repaired by stints; fluid in his lungs, pneumonia, fever, and eventually kidney failure. Because his vitals were so low he had to be put on life support. It seemed that once the doctors got one area under control and improving, something much worse would happen and cause even more complications. It was like taking one step forward and two steps back. Doctors were limited with things they could do because of the recent surgery he had and we were scared that we were quickly losing my paw paw.
Reflecting back on the Sunday before my grandpa’s surgery, my grandma remembered that their home church laid hands and prayed over him. Following this prayer my grandpa told my grandma how amazing it was and how he could really feel the presence of God in that moment. My grandma remembered and cherished that moment so much that she felt compelled to mention this to their pastor (Pastor Jim). She mentioned that she wished they could pray over him again since he had become so ill. At this point we were all searching, hoping, and striving for anything that would heal my grandpa of this horrible condition. Paster Jim, being the loving paster that he is, found a means for this to happen. He asked for her and some members of our family to go into my grandpa hospital room and lay hands on him at 10:45 the next morning (Sunday morning). He said that at that time the church would be specifically praying for my grandpa.
The following morning my grandma, along with my dad and Uncle Steve went into the hospital room to lay hands on my paw paw. The doctors and nurses, although needing to run test on my grandpa, waited outside the room as my family prayed. My grandma, dad, and uncle started praying at 10:45 like Pastor Jim asked and the church joined in, with hundreds of people praying for him at the same time. After about 10 minutes of prayer and right as they started to say amen my dad notice something amazing. While praying, my dad had placed his hand on my grandpa’s wrist. When they finished the prayer he began to physically feel my grandpa’s pulse grow stronger. In that very instance, following the prayer, my grandpa began to make a miraculous turn for the best. Throughout the rest of the day my grandpa’s vitals continued to improve and his heart continued to strengthen even more. That very day, my grandpa and my family experience the healing power of prayer!
I am so happy to say that 2 days ago, 3 weeks following the hear attack, my Paw Paw Bill was discharged from the hospital and sent home to continue recovery there. He still has a lot of strengthening and progress to make, but we are just so blessed to have him home and still with us.
While this experience has probably been one of the scariest my family has experienced in a long time, it has served as a huge reminder of how precious life is. My family also had the incredible privilege of experiencing the healing power of God through prayer. It is so beautiful to me how God can use some of the hardest and scariest moments of our life to bring us closer to Him and bring glory to his wonderful name!
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:13-16
My Paw Paw Bill, Maw Maw Darlene, and Dad
Please continue to pray for Paw Paw Bill as he continues to recover from this heart attack.
