Blink of an Eye

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Listen to this article

It is interesting how we Christians go through life with our plans in place. Of course, everyone, not just Christians does this. We say we’ll do this, that or the other thing, or we’ll go here or there, all without really considering Who is in charge. It is for this reason that I haven’t written anything on this blog for a week or so. Life interrupted my plans to do so…in a blink of an eye.

James makes things fairly clear in James 4:13-17.

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” 14 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.

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

Clearly, I do not do that enough. How about you? Case in point was last Sunday evening (February 16), which turned out to be a lulu with a completely unexpected incident. My wife and I had decided to go visit our daughter and her family in Tennessee. We figured we’d head up on Sunday and return home Tuesday morning. Our daughter had recently had major surgery (women’s things), and needed recuperation and rest so her husband asked if she could come down to our home for a few days for some much needed R and R. Two young boys ages 3 and 5 can suck the energy out of you, especially after a major surgery. So, the plan was in place…or so we thought.

At any rate, we headed up on Sunday and everything went as expected. We assumed all would go according to our plans and we would head back to our home on Tuesday morning with our daughter. Except…that did not happen as planned.

Sunday morning around 1:00 am, my wife Silvia woke me with a start. She was having severe chest pains. She told me in a very weak voice she didn’t feel good at all. I placed my hand gently on her back to comfort her and noticed immediately that she was cold and clammy to the touch. She was sweating profusely. She was actually whimpering, something I’d never heard her do before. We got up and she held on tightly to me as I led her to the bathroom.

Even after relieving herself she was feeling worse. I felt for her heart beat and noticed it was beating wildly like a syncopated snare beat. We called 911 and soon an EMT arrived along with a paramedic in another vehicle.

The lead technician hooked my wife up to a solution and did what she could to stabilize her erratic heartbeat. Unfortunately, the Tech could not get it stabilized. The decision was made to take her into the hospital. I heard one of the medics mention one hospital and the lead medic said if they took my wife there, they would simply transfer her to CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, so she insisted that they take her directly there.

I followed in our car with my emergency lights flashing and all I can say is how weird everything felt. I didn’t know what was going on. Was it a heart attack? Was Silvia dying? There was no reality to the situation. It just was what it was. I seemed to be removed from myself, if you know what I mean. I was simply on automatic without really thinking about the process.

I arrived to the hospital just after the ambulance had arrived and was directed to the Emergency Room waiting area where they said I would be called back in just a few moments. I just sat there thinking “What’s going to happen?” Of course, I started praying and I also began texting everyone I know – at church, Christian friends who did not go to our church and family across the United States. I knew that at 2-3 o’clock in the morning they wouldn’t be awake but the text would be there when they did wake up.

A woman came out with papers for me to sign and then shortly after that, someone from Emergency came out to lead me back to my wife. The room was filled with a number of people including one of the cardiologists who was on call that night; Dr. Thel.

I remember him saying that my wife was having a heart attack right now and was in critical condition. I heard it but it didn’t really sink in. I think I was in shock and disbelief. One medical technician was asking me what supplements and medications my wife took so I had to think about them and list them.

During this time, Dr. Thel (cardiologist), noted that they needed to get Silvia in for a heart cath. They did one and then decided they needed to do another one, the second one with an ultrasound because they could not see part of the artery/vein that leads to and from the left ventricle because it was partly covered.

My wife told me later that the doctor had said to her that the heart catheter “…could either kill you, cause a stroke or I don’t know what else.” I hadn’t heard that because I was so busy talking to the guy who wanted to know which supplements she was taking. I’m extremely grateful I had not heard the doctor say that.

They ended up doing a ton of tests; blood work, catheters and a host of other things. At first, I thought, “Oh sure, how much money can you make off my wife?” In reality, God was in charge of this all the way and I’ll get to that in a moment.

When they took my wife for her second heart catheter with ultrasound, they directed me to another waiting room where I sat and continued texting everyone I could think of as well as continued praying. I was still a bit dumbfounded. Nothing felt real. I knew I was a bit numb from all of it and of course, I was very worried about Silvia.

Eventually the doctor came out and told me they had finished and would be transferring her to a room in the Medical ICU. So I had to go to another part of the hospital and wait in that waiting room. Eventually, the nurses got Silvia situated in the MICU and I was invited to go into her. All of this took place over several hours. It may have been between 5:00am and 6:00am by this time.

Interestingly enough, visiting hours for the MICU were way over, but they let me stay. The doctor came in again to see Silvia and talk with both of us. Silvia was already doing better. Her heart had returned to a normal heartbeat, but due to all the medication they gave her, she was loopy and somewhat out of it.

Dr. Thel told me he didn’t understand how or why she had arrived in such obvious critical need and yet there was no damage to her heart or the arteries leading to and from the heart. I told him it was due to all the people praying for her and that God was in the details (as I had started receiving texts back from folks by then).

Let me interject here that if this had happened in our area where we live, I don’t think the care would have been as good. As it turns out, CHI Memorial is a world renowned hospital, known for its top-notch cardiology as well as other departments. In fact, once people began to text us, we heard from others about how good that particular hospital was in their own or some family member’s experience. I was astounded because here we had planned a short trip, which turned into several more days and a huge turn of events that no one anticipated. Yet, clearly, God was in the details.

The medical teams continued more testing to check for kidney damage. This was good because Silvia had suffered from kidney issues previously but was in remission. My wife had also previously suffered from Wolf Parkinson’s White years ago and had an ablation to burn the nerve that was causing the heart arrhythmias. We thought over the years that she was beginning to have the same issues again because they warned us that it might “grow back.”

The entire cardiology and MICU teams went over Silvia with a fine tooth comb and eliminated every possibility they thought it might be, including a heart attack. So, Dr. Thel was truly flummoxed. He is one of those guys who must find the cause so he can fix it! He would not give up. He told us the next day that he was so frustrated he could not find the source of the problem that he went home that morning and jogged five miles.

Everything looked good for Silvia; her heart, her kidneys, her blood enzyme levels. There was a very slight increase in specific enzymes that indicate a possible heart attack, but apart from that, there was absolutely nothing discernible.

Long story short, after consulting with several other doctors in house, it was determined Silvia had what’s called Prinzmetal Angina (also known as vasospastic or variant angina). This type of angina can mimic a heart attack, but it is not a heart attack. However, it can clearly be problematic and is still dangerous in its own right.

Prinzmetal Angina is when the arteries of the heart start spasming for no apparent reason. These spasms cause the heart to beat very fast and awkwardly because it is trying to fix the spasm and compensate for it. In fact, the entire arterial system in the body gets involved in trying to fix things, which is why Silvia was sweating all over, cold and clammy.

It is a very rare disorder. I could tell though that Dr. Thel wasn’t completely satisfied and he had told me when they had done a catheter that he actually wished he had found some problem that required a stint to fix it. The fact that he was dealing with Prinzmetal Angina was something he could not fix. All he could do was prescribe medications, one of which is a form of nitroglycerin.

My wife’s nephew is a doctor in Oregon. He did his residency in a hospital Emergency Department and he continued there after his residency. When she told him about her prognosis, he was very familiar with it. He told us the only way to determine Prinzmetal Angina is to eliminate every other possibility. We felt much better between what he said and the information we were getting from Dr. Thel.

So Tuesday turned into Wednesday because Dr. Thel wanted to observe Silvia to ensure she did not have another episode. Tuesday evening turned into Wednesday morning with Silvia still in the hospital and no more incidents. She was feeling much better although the medications were giving her massive headaches. Again, her nephew said that was normal and would go away. Dr. Thel said the same thing.

Finally, after two nights without one incident, Dr. Thel felt comfortable enough to discharge her. That afternoon, on Wednesday, Silvia left the hospital and we drove to our daughter’s home. That night we came home and our daughter followed us in her car to spend a few days just relaxing.

Today, over a week later, Silvia has experienced no additional incidents and is doing better. The headaches appear to be subsiding. She’s had no issues like skipped or erratic beats with her heart. She’s simply tired and while she hates it, I’ve reminded her she was in critical condition and needs to take it easy. So, she is slowly getting back into work because the next few weeks are critical to get through.

This entire incident has become another “stone of remembrance” for me. Silvia and I can look back at this situation and know beyond all doubt that God oversaw it and was fully in the details. Even though we had our own plans, God interrupted us with His plans. He knew what was going to happen with my wonderful wife and He deliberately had us in the right place at the right time for medical care.

Would you folks be willing to pray for my wife’s full recovery? She has told me she doesn’t want to be the “old” Oma (grandmother). I think, Lord willing, she will get back to her full self, but it will take time so prayers are greatly appreciated.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective