Saturday, March 24, 2012

Good News!


I'm back, with a good report on my crazy heart!  (I was recently diagnosed with a heart rhythm problem... you can read part one and part two, if you are interested)  To ease your pain in reading this post (and to keep me from feeling like such a whiner), I'm going to intersperse my medical report with recent springtime photos from the farm! 


Thanks *so* much for praying!  Yesterday afternoon I went in to see the cardiac electrophysiologist (ie heart electrician~ as opposed to a heart "plumber"!).  I'm really grateful to report that all of my tests came back completely normal… the only "abnormality" being my "athletic heart" that showed up on the heart MRI!  LOL!  (I may never win a sports event, but hey, I'm pretty proud that I've got an "athletic heart!")  So the good news is that my heart is very healthy, but the "electrical wiring" is pretty messed up (totally unrelated to my cool "athletic heart").


The next step will be for me to have a procedure done called an ablation… the goal being to cauterize the spot or spots in my heart that are sending out the bad electrical signals.  Unfortunately it appears right now that the trouble spot is on the outside of my heart.  Typically the problem is inside the heart. An inside-the-heart ablation is done by sending a small catheters up from veins in my legs to the interior of my heart.  It is much more invasive to ablate the exterior of the heart (unfortunately I came across this first-hand report of an exterior heart ablation from a former elite cyclist), so I'm praying that we can avoid that.  There is some possibility that the interior of the right ventricle is the problem spot and if that is the case, it would be a much better scenario. 

In researching this particular heart problem I came across a super-interesting YouTube video that explains how an ablation is done.  So for all of the crazy homeschooling moms out there who, like me, feel compelled to research and learn about medical issues, I'm going to include it here.  Modern technology is totally astounding!  Actually, you could watch this with your children and count some extra science credit today!  You can thank me later.  



I don't have the actual date for the ablation yet, but I think it will be sometime around April 9.  Assuming the ablation is successful I should be able to gradually return to aerobic activity, so that is super-good news.  I may never be able to compete or do longer distance events, but I'm just thrilled that I might be able to bike/run with our family, etc. 


Here's how you could pray...

  • that I won't have any more "V Tach" episodes before ablation
  • that the ablation can be successfully completed inside my heart and an exterior ablation won't be necessary
  • peace for me and for my family as I wait to have the ablation done.


I really don't know how to thank you enough... Your prayers, and concern expressed in texts, emails and phone calls mean the world to me!


The bottom line?  God is good, all the time.  I have really struggled with all of this, but in spite of my faint-heartedness (so to speak, LOL!) I know that God is good.  So I rest in that.


But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in Your hand;
Ps.31:14

9 comments:

  1. Oh Susan. I am praying for you. What a scary time this has been and how sweet of our heavenly Father to care for you as He has. And how cool to have an athletic heart! Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen, I know your struggling thoughts. My son has had cancer twice, a bone marrow transplant and his kidneys failed as a result. But God is good all the time and He has been with us throughout. I don't always understand what He is doing or why this happened, but He has used us for His good. I am glad you are doing well. I know you are thankful, my friend was told there was nothing more they can do for her dtr. It's so much harder when it is the children. Praying for a simple non invasive action for your heart. Remember, He split the Red Sea!! :)

    Isaiah 43
    18Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

    19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Susan ~ Thank you for keeping us up to date on the details. Yes, God IS Good. Always. We trust and rest in Him and His perfect plan. What a blessing to belong to the LORD! I will pray that the procedure would be successful and that it would be completed with as little invasion as possible. And I will pray for the peace of the Lord to be upon you.

    In HIS love,
    Camille
    Isaiah 26:3-4

    ReplyDelete
  4. Okay I was doing good in that video till they started shoving the wire up into the body :-0 Science credit done for today.

    How exciting that may be able to run/bike with your family again. What a huge blessing!

    I have been praying for peace for you and for you to be able to sit and rest. It can be so hard to be the one who can't do a lot.

    I'm so glad you've been updating here and letting us know how to pray for you.

    ~Cinnamon

    ReplyDelete
  5. HI Susan,
    I'll definitely be keeping you in my prayers. My dad had a slow heart-beat ...and so he has to wear a pacemaker. Keep us updated on how things are going!!! Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad you've figured out what it was! Will be praying for you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I will be praying for you and your family!
    Groetjes from The Netherlands,
    Thara

    ReplyDelete
  8. I still can't believe it. I am so glad you are getting things figured out and I know that everything will work out. It's good news that you will hopefully be able to return to some aerobic exercise so you can continue to keep fit. I know how important that is you to you and your family. Please let me know when you schedule your procedure. And let me know it there is anything at all I can do for you and your family. I saw you put your bike on FB :(

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, Susan. I've never commented on your blog before but I wanted to specifically let you know that I will be praying for you and your heart and your family. I'll be looking forward to reading your updates. Lord bless you !

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to contribute by commenting! I read and value each comment and will do my best to reply promptly. Your thoughtful interaction here encourages me. :)