The dreaded day is finally behind me. Kory had his scheduled angiogram yesterday and I was half expecting him to die on the table, and if not that, then at least need bypass surgery as a result of what they found. It just seemed too easy and too sweet and not logical at all if all he needed were stents, because we’ve known he’s been 99% blocked in his left main descending artery for over six years. Time doesn’t really heal those kinds of wounds. I was preparing for the worst, and just trusting God to hold me up for whatever outcome it would be. When I woke up yesterday morning I said, ‘OK, God, you promise to be the husband to the widow and the father to the fatherless, so here we go…” Needless to say, I was sorely mistaken in my expectations for what God had in store and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. It was truly miraculous.
I was blessed with the company of some good friends so I didn’t have to sit through the morning alone. My friend Paula, from Colorado, has been here the last few days so she went with us to the hospital. Sharon, another friend from church, arrived soon after we did and our friend John (aka, Kaleb’s “personal life coach”) showed up as well. We passed the hours with all kinds of stories and I’m sure, entertained (and/or annoyed) the others in the waiting room as well.
When the cardiologist came out to tell us all exactly what went on, he kept using the word, “Lucky” over and over again. “He is a lucky guy…. I was lucky to be able to…. It was lucky this and lucky that…” I finally had to interrupt him and say, “You may call it ‘lucky,’ but I call it ‘answered prayer.’” His eyebrows raised and he continued on…. As it turned out, he tried to get a wire into Kory’s artery from one end, but the plaque had calcified so much, the wire just bent and it wouldn’t go in. He was 100% blocked. He snaked the wire up over his heart and tried to go in from the other side, but the wire bent again. 100% blocked again. He said when he sees as much collateral circulation as Kory had, he knew he’d been clogged up for many years and “it’s never a good sign.” He was sure he’d have to pull out and order up bypass surgery. But, he said, he saw a little “nipple” on the side of the blocked artery and he thought since he’d tried to get the wire in every way possible and couldn’t, he might just see if there was any chance he’d find a soft spot in that. It took some finagling to direct the wire to that tiny little spot and when the wire penetrated, he thought it had just punctured through the outside of the artery wall because he couldn’t believe it himself that the wire was able to enter down into the artery since it was so hardened. It was the miracle of all miracles, right then and there. He was able to slip in a balloon and stretch out the blockage enough to get two long stents in, side by side, about two and a half inches long. He seemed genuinely surprised by the whole procedure and especially the outcome. Me, too!
Sharon, who all morning had been telling me that God told her it was going to be a “Victorious Day,” stood there listening to the doctor with the smuggest smirk on her face and a countenance that just said, “I told you so.” John reminded me to hug the doctor and Paula and I were shouting “Hallelujah.” It was surreal. I had so much adrenalin going through my body I felt like I would melt once I realized he wasn’t going to need bypass surgery. Being thankful doesn’t even come to close to expressing how I feel even now.
It’s all been about obedience for me. We try to listen to the voice of God and obey His leading. People thought we were crazy to not do any medical intervention all those years ago, but God didn’t lead in that way, until now. And I still don’t know all the reasons why the wait was important, but I do know that in that time Kory has done a lot of soul searching and changes to his lifestyle. I know that stents and bypass surgery have a sort of ‘shelf life’ in that they don’t last forever, so maybe it was just to buy extra time before THAT clock started ticking, or maybe we had to wait until we got a surgeon who had the skill (he’s the ‘best’ we’re told) and would hear the nudging of God’s voice to try something out of the ordinary to place a stent. I’m pretty sure six years ago they would have done a bypass, so I’m thankful we were spared that recovery time. I’m hoping we never have to face that, but I know if we do, it will be at God’s leading and just like yesterday, he’ll get us through it lickety split.
Kory’s doing well – just lying down for a few days so the plug they put in his leg doesn’t pop out so he won’t bleed to death (yikes.) He has a lot of color in his face and now I’m hoping his brain starts working again – I’ve blamed many of his lacks in judgment on not getting enough oxygen rich blood to his brain, but maybe now I’ll discover that it’s just the way he is, tee hee.
Everything else that happened this week, pales in comparison.
No comments:
Post a Comment