How I Found My Heart Wounded

In April this year I was feeling good finishing up my masters degree and student teaching at a great school. I was so blessed to be able to reconnect with some wonderful old friends I went to high school with- Shannon and Verena. I was also able to work with Allison, who was a part of my church family for many years. I knew her as a girl and taught her at church more than a few times. What a blessing it is to be mentored by people you love and feel completely comfortable with as they bless you with their God given skills, gifts and talents. God blessed me with the most awesome atmosphere. I felt completely at home. I felt the hand of God.

On April first, I had a luncheon I had to go to at the University. I was running late. My cooperating teacher had been sick and I did not want to leave her too early in the day. When I got to school, I couldn’t find the room for the luncheon because it had to be moved at the last minute. I ran all over campus trying to find where I was supposed to be. My right foot had been bothering me for some time. It was swollen so I thought maybe a kid had stepped on it a bit too hard. My feet got stepped on a lot because I was working with second graders. I finally found where I was supposed to be and breathlessly stepped in with my swollen foot that had gotten worse after my run around campus. After our meeting, my supervising teacher asked me about my foot and told me I should get it checked out just to make sure it wasn’t a “blood clot”. When I got into my car, I called Sion and told him my foot had swollen a lot and he said, “I hope it’s not a blood clot”. This freaked me out a lot! I had not yet told him what my teacher had said. So I went to the emergency room with one swollen foot, only to find out there was something wrong with my heart.

I was in the hospital for a week having heart tests done. I had “heart failure”. But ironically, all of the tests confirmed that I had good arteries, good valves, and believe it or not… a good heart! My good heart, however, was wounded and failing. Maybe a virus attached it. Maybe my difficult pregnancies and miscarriages wounded it. Only God knows at this time.

I have felt the love and prayers of my husband Sion and my kids Evan and Zoanna. I have felt the prayers of my family and friends. I have felt the blessings of old friends, new friends and strangers. I have felt the presence of God stronger than ever. God has allowed my heart to grow stronger. God actually allowed me to graduate in May. I am so blessed!

Please continue to pray for me. In April, my EF (heart ejection fraction) was approximately 15-20%. In May, my EF was approximately 25-30%. I am having an EKG done on July 13th and we are praying for an EF of 40% or more. God can do it!!!