An Update on the Heart

Happy Monday friends! No, your eyes are not fooling you, this really is week 3 with zero video from the 2 of us. I know, super bummer! I mean what the heck, videos are the best!

I am sure you are wondering when we are going to  get it together and go sit in our car and ramble on about who knows what.  But, I have had a little bit going on lately.

Remember a few months back when I shared this post with you about my heart? Well, this is my follow up, an update on the heart. It’s also an explanation as to why we are posting pictures like this on Instagram….

I hate writing posts like this, they make me cringe. I went back and forth with Michelle on how to even start this letter to you all and how to incorporate some humor into the mix but when it comes to this, I can’t. So, here it is.

I have had a minor set back and a few weeks ago I started feeling symptoms. My heart racing, extreme tiredness, feelings of anxiety, and just not myself. As the symptoms started getting worse I knew I had an appointment coming up with my cardiologist so I looked forward to meeting with him and kind of waited things out.

The day I went to meet with him I was completely full of anxiety. My heart rate was through the roof and I was a mess. I also had all 3 of my children with me because I was waiting on Eric to get to the doctor’s office from work and of course, he was stuck in traffic. (Hello, even more anxiety!)

Every time I go for an appointment I get an echo cardiogram or an ultra-sound of the heart. They get a good look at my heart and can check my complete heart function. On this day my function or my ejection fraction was normal (this is a huge praise) but, another issue came up. I am having a lot and by a lot I mean thousands of PVC’s, premature ventricular contractions, everyday. PVC’s are too-early heartbeats in the ventricle of the heart that disrupt the heart’s normal rhythm and, when you are having over 6,000 of them a day this can lead to all of the symptoms that I am having and be very dangerous.

So, on April 22, about a month from today I will go in for a heart procedure. When I go in they will perform a procedure called a catheter ablation. They will go through 2 arteries in my leg to my heart. Once they are at my heart they will find the part of the tissue that is causing my heart to fire extra beats and they will cauterize and destroy the  nerve that is causing all of these yucky problems.

Once the procedure is complete I will be in the hospital over night for monitoring and so I can lay flat for 24 hours. What the heck am I supposed to do for 24 hours on my back? But, once the ablation is complete the great news is that my heart should be back to normal.

Where does this leave me now? Scared out of my mind. Yes, this is a routine everyday procedure, yes, it will leave my heart feeling “normal”, and yes 24 hours is not that long but it’s my heart we are talking about here.

My heart.

But, I am not going to let my fear and anxiety get the best of me. I keep reading verses like these and saying them over and over to myself.

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Psalms 31:14 But I trusted in you, O LORD: I said, You are my God.
Psalms 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in you.

So, through all of this I ask that you pray for me. Pray for strength and courage. Pray that I not have anxiety and that I have peace about the procedure ahead. Pray for the doctors and nurses that will be in the room with me and that their hands would be guided right. Pray that I would be a glimmer of Jesus to them during this time and that they would see that they are loved. Pray for complete healing. And most importantly, pray for my family. Pray for the people I love more than anything and that they would feel comfort and peace about what is ahead.

This blog is a space that I love deeply and I hate that for the next few weeks I may be in and out. I have good days and bad days and some days I just can’t. But, if you notice I have been a little absent please stop and pray for me, I appreciate it more than you know!

Have a great week friends and I promise to keep you posted!