the heart of the matter

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Cor. 4:7

On Thursday morning my husband Eric woke me up after his shower to tell me he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be going in to work.  He had uncharacteristic heartburn symptoms, felt clammy, and said he felt like his heart was racing.  Not willing to take any chances, I urged him to let me take him to the emergency room.

We both hoped we were overreacting and expected all tests to come back negative.  That is how things went, until Eric got on the treadmill for the stress test.  When his heart rate hit 170, they told him he was done.  However, he passed the echo with flying colors--it showed no signs of blockages.

The rest of the day was spent waiting...for the cardiologist to talk to us, then for an angiogram.  As I sat alone in the waiting room while Eric was having his angiogram at 5:00 in the evening, praying and reading my Bible, I came across Psalm 17:3, "Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing."  Thinking back to the stress echo that had been clear, I felt this was God's assurance that they would not find any blockages.  (There is great spiritual significance to this verse, but that is another post!)  My family arrived around 5:15 and the doctor met us at 5:20 to give us the news that they had found no blockages and no signs of heart disease.

Yesterday we spoke with the electrophysiologist.  There are a couple of benign (not life-threatening) conditions he has his eye on, but until they do an electrical study we won't know exactly what is going on.  It was noon on Friday before he was able to see Eric, and said with regret he just would not be able to study him until Monday.  He is scheduled for Monday morning at 8:00.  We are home from the hospital for the weekend!! 

What it comes down to is this: Eric's "plumbing" is great but something "electrical" is malfunctioning.  His life is not in danger due to the malfunction, but if it continues he could eventually experience dizziness or even pass out.  The hope is that on Monday they can recreate what happened on the treadmill, see what is causing it, and cauterize those heart cells, so to speak.  It is not a procedure without risks, but when you are dealing with the heart, what is?  His chance of something going wrong is less than 2%.

So, we humbly ask for prayers for Eric on Monday.  We are grateful that he is not facing heart disease at 42, and leaning on the Lord with everything we have.  He is our Rock, and we know whatever happens we are always in the care of the kindness of Him who saves.  Times like this are a reminder that our bodies are just earthen vessels, and when they are cracked it is our hope that the sustaining power of Jesus will shine through.