tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20612804006044890382024-02-07T21:20:50.101-08:00My Experience with SCADEdward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-75873002020510905892016-07-15T07:14:00.001-07:002017-02-09T14:21:35.473-08:00Test Results<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">n my last post I had written about the stomach/abdominal pain I was having and the tests that were scheduled. An ultrasound showed I do not have gall stones, but they discovered a mass on my liver. After seeing Dr. Golden, a gastroenterologist, I had an MRI to get that mass checked out. The results of that test showed a hemangioma, approximately 2 cm in size. Dr. Golden said a hemangioma is usually of no concern. Chances are it's been there for a long time. Mayo clinic's definition of hemangioma </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">-</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.2222px;">Liver hemangioma</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 20.2222px;"> (he-man-jee-O-muh) is a noncancerous (benign) mass that occurs in the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.2222px;">liver</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 20.2222px;">. A </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.2222px;">liver hemangioma</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 20.2222px;"> is made up of a tangle of blood vessels.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.2222px;">My next test was a scan to check gall bladder function. That was normal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">I couldn't get in to do the last test, an endoscopy, until July 14. During that time the pain gradually got better until I didn't have it at all anymore. I almost cancelled the test, but the day I was thinking about it I had another bout of pain so I didn't. Nothing showed up on that test. My esophagus, stomach, and duodenum looked fine. He did take a biopsy to check for a certain bacteria that can cause ulcers. I don't have that result.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">Sooo... if all the tests are "normal", what was causing the pain? We asked Dr. Golden if stress can cause that kind of pain and he said, "Yes. The muscles in the stomach and intestines sometimes go into spasms". So my conclusion of the matter is that it was probably all related to the extreme stress of the past winter. Possibly I had an ulcer that was healed by the time he did the endoscopy. Very likely. Stress also causes an increase in stomach acids which can cause an ulcer. I was also taking a lot of pain pills for headaches that were likely caused by stress too. Those are also hard on the stomach. Probably a lot of the pain was also muscle spasms. That is <i>MY </i>conclusion. :)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">So how should a Christian handle stress? Could I have done something different and just breezed through those difficult times feeling 100% fine? I don't know that answer, but I know the Lord was with me. I picked up a book written by Elisabeth Elliott,<i> Keep a Quiet Heart</i>. In the front she had a poem by Amy Carmichael.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Thou art the Lord Who slept upon the pillow,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Thou art the Lord Who soothed the furious sea,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">What matter beating wind and tossing billow</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">If only we are in the boat with Thee?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Hold us in quiet through the age-long minute</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;">The last verse especially blessed me. Can the boat sink while the Lord is in it? There were times I felt I was going down, but with the Lord in "boat" I didn't go down.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.2222px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">Another quote that has blessed me is, "We rightly praise God in the good times, but we learn to know God in the hard times". That is very true. Like Jacob said when he woke from his dream, "</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.2222px;">Gen 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not." I discovered that once while singing "Nearer My God to Thee". </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); color: #333333; line-height: 20px; text-indent: -10px;"> "</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); line-height: 20px; text-indent: -10px;">Then with my waking thoughts </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); line-height: 20px; text-indent: -10px;">Bright with thy praise, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); line-height: 20px; text-indent: -10px;">Out of my stony griefs </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); line-height: 20px; text-indent: -10px;">Bethel I'll raise..." Bethel is what Jacob named the place where he had the dream. "Surely the Lord is in this place...." I believe God allows hard things in our lives to cause us to draw closer to Him.</span></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Thou Passest Through</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">"When thou passest through the waters"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Deep the waves may be and cold,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">But Jehovah is our refuge,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">And His promise is our hold;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">For the Lord Himself hath said it,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">He, the faithful God and true:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">"When thou comest to the waters</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Thou shalt not go down, BUT THROUGH."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Rolling surges of temptation</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Sweeping over heart and brain -</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">They shall never overflow us</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">For we know His word is true;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">All His waves and all His billows</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">He will lead us safely through.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Threatening breakers of destruction,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Doubts insidious undertow,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Shall not sink us, shall not drag us</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Out to ocean depths of woe;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">For His promise shall sustain us,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Praise the Lord Whose Word is true!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We shall not go down, or under,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">For He saith, "Thou passest THROUGH."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #5d5d5d; line-height: 20.79px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Annie Johnson Flint</span></span></div>
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-30450439037907459102016-06-11T14:41:00.000-07:002016-06-11T14:49:01.532-07:00Cleveland Clinic # 1 Heart Hospital in the USAWhere do I start... So much has happened this year! Before I write anything else I need to give a little update.<br />
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In February we packed up and moved our family of eleven from Griswold, Iowa to Holmes County, Ohio. Let me just say that that was not an easy feat to accomplish! I am still trying to recover. We temporarily moved into a small house in town until the farm house was empty. We lived in that small house for two months and made many good memories, although we were very glad to stretch out in a bigger place. So, we moved twice in two months. The second move was only two miles and we had unpacked only the bare necessities at the first house, so it was a lot easier. As of now we still have a stack of boxes in the basement that we have been ignoring, mostly because we were too busy to get to them. It almost makes us wonder if we actually need that stuff if we've had it stored for 6 months. We really do need some of it. The garden desperately needs to be sprayed and a lot of the gardening stuff has not been unpacked. Irene wants her flip flops, but has looked in vain... The canning stuff needs to come out soon too.<br />
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Health wise I feel like I have been on an emotional roller coaster. The week before we moved I started with pretty bad pain in my stomach. My Iowa doctor thought possibly a stomach ulcer from stress. Stress? Yes! Stress! Hmmm... Anyway, she gave me Prilosec and in a few days I was feeling much better. Since I was also haveing a lot of headaches (stress?!) she gave me something for that too. Sometime after we moved I started having pain again. This time it was more on my right side sometimes and I began to wonder if it's gall stones. I recently had an ultrasound that showed I do not have any gallstones so we're still puzzled about that pain. I have two more tests coming up. Another gall bladder one and an endoscopy to check for stomach ulcer. Part of my roller coaster experience happened because of that ultrasound. A nurse called out to schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist because they discovered a mass on my liver. He thinks it is possibly a hemangioma, which is just a mass of blood vessels and usually of no concern. My liver counts were all very good, and he said if the mass were a tumor they probably would not be good. Yesterday I went for an MRI to check that out some more. I don't have the results yet.<br />
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Switching doctors when moving is a real headache. Insurance told us they can fill one time with the Iowa doctor then we have to have one from Ohio. Well, since we were new patients, we couldn't get in for three to four months! What were we supposed to do?! Finally we heard of this doctor who works with the Amish. We contacted him and he told us to come to his house on such and such a day and he will help us out. That was so nice! He took a keen interest in my health history. He was not impressed with just taking pain medicine for my headaches. Since I had a coronary dissection he encouraged me to get a brain scan to make sure I don't have an aneurysm.<br />
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I have finally gotten in with Cleveland Clinic, and now that I'm in the system, things are moving along. On Wednesday I saw my new cardiologist for the first time. Dr Kim specializes in SCAD. We had to go to Cleveland for that visit. Cleveland is a good 1 1/2 hour drive. We got up at 4:30 and left a little before 5:00. Because of some tests I couldn't eat or drink. We got there on time at 6:45. No one was at the desk where we thought we were supposed to go, so we went back to the main entrance and asked the lady there. She told us that yes, we were at the right desk, but lab doesn't open until 7:00, so we went over and sat down to wait. Lab was a very busy place that morning and we didn't get out of there for almost an hour. From there we went to radiology where I was scheduled to have a CT scan of the vessels in my neck and head. Since we knew this might take awhile and Edward couldn't be with me anyway, he went for some breakfast. After signing in and waiting a bit in the sub waiting area I was called in. The lady put an IV in my arm and then I was sent out to wait again. Soon I was called in for the scan. I could stay dressed this time, but I had to take everything out of my hair. The scan actually didn't take long at all. The IV was for the contrast dye - unpleasant stuff! All of a sudden this warm feeling goes through you and you get a metallic taste in your mouth. After a few moments it's gone again. They told me to be sure to drink a lot to flush it out of my body.<br />
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Now that the lab work and CT scan were done, I could eat. We had about 45 minutes until the next appointment. The first thing I wanted was a large cup of coffee! I had not slept well and gotten up early, and wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything. We went down to the cafeteria for that. Ah! Now I felt much better. :)<br />
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My last test was an echo cardiogram, and from there we went to see the doctor. That was very interesting! The doctors in Omaha didn't know much about SCAD. She specializes in it. She had received all my records and showed us the pictures of the catheterization they did when I was having my heart attack. With all the SCAD patients she has seen, my cath pictures were the first where she actually saw the artery dissecting right in front of her eyes. She showed all that to us. At the beginning she said, "Here is the LAD artery. Here is the catheter. Here is an abnormality and then all of a sudden the artery just simply disappeared. That was when it dissected further and was completely blocked - no blood flow going through, which is why we couldn't see it. She said if you would not have been in the cath lab when that happened the out come would have been very different. Then she showed that here they come with a wire to open it and here they are placing the stents. Very, very interesting. She said several times she is very impressed with those doctors. They did a very good job. Placing stents at the top of the LAD is hard. I remember when he was doing it I thought the doctor seems very impatient or in a bad mood because he was yelling. Now I realize he was probably scared and working really hard and fast to save my life. Thank you to that doctor, and I don't even know who he is. I assume he was on duty in the cath lab that day. I don't know if he ever came to my room to see me. We are so thankful to God for the wisdom he has given these men. Afterward, she showed us the pictures of the CT scan I had that morning. No aneurysms showed up, but my left carotid artery has an extra loop. That is not normal, but should probably not cause any problems. It is a marker indicating abnormalities in my arteries. She doesn't think I have FMD because nothing else showed up. She gave me a complete physical examination looking for other markers. So I found out I am extra flexible and my skin is extra soft. I never knew that! The lining of the arteries is connective tissue. So if my joints are extra flexible and my skin extra soft, it indicates the lining of my arteries might also be so. Anyway, that's how I understood her. I had stopped taking my cholesterol medication because I simply do not like having to take it. Well, my LDL (bad) cholesterol is too high, so she put me back on a different one and also switched me from Prilosec to ?? don't remember the name. The rest of the meds she kept the same. So I thought I should tell Dr. Holmberg he was doing it right. He used to tell me he really doesn't know how he should be treating it, since there is so little information out about SCAD. My only restrictions are no lifting heavier than about 50 lb and no sudden jerky movements like roller coasters.<br />
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It was almost 12:00 when we were done. We went up to the main entrance and handed our ticket to the valet service. Cleveland Clinic is such a huge place and we didn't know where to park. Since valet service was only a couple dollars more than other parking we took advantage of that. From there we went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. And then we drove around looking for Starbucks so that we can make it home without falling asleep! :) After all, I had to drink a lot that day to flush the dye out... On The way home we stopped at Lowe's and Walmart in Wooster. It was 5:00 by the time we came home. My bed felt sooo good that night.Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-31675236657624299722015-09-23T05:15:00.001-07:002015-09-23T17:12:02.153-07:00Is Thy God Able?<b>Daniel 6:20 </b>And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: <i>and</i> the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?<br />
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Recently I have been feeling <i>very overwhelmed</i> with the busyness of a large family. September is always a difficult month for me. We have come through most of the busy canning/preserving season. There are still things to finish. And then we start school. This year we have five children in school (home school), from 1st. grade to high school. On top of that we've had dentist, eye doctor, orthodontist, and doctor appointments to go to. Today I have to take four year old Rhoda to the dentist because her filling fell out. Michael (2) woke us early and a thunderstorm went through at 5:30, and we are getting ready to leave for a trip to Ohio tomorrow. I got up feeling like this busy day has gotten off to a bad start. I prayed that God would allow my Bible to open somewhere that would be encouraging to me. It opened at Daniel 6. I almost didn't read it, wishing it would have opened somewhere in the gospels. But God had allowed it to open there for a reason. The king asked Daniel if his God is able to deliver him from the lions. Is God able to deliver <i>me </i>from my lions of fears, anxieties, cares or whatever... Is He able to keep me from going over the edge?<br />
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Today I will say with Daniel...<br />
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<b>Daniel 6:22 </b>My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.<br />
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I will have to take one thing at a time and if I start feeling stressed out I have to remind myself that my God is able to deliver me.<br />
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What are the lions you are facing?<br />
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;">How gentle God’s commands,<br />How kind His precepts are!<br />Come, cast your burdens on the Lord,<br />And trust His constant care.</li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;">Beneath His watchful eye<br />His saints securely dwell;<br />That hand which bears all nature up<br />Shall guide His children well.</li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;">Why should this anxious load<br />Press down your weary mind?<br />Haste to your heav’nly Father’s throne,<br />And sweet refreshment find.</li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;">His goodness stands approved,<br />Unchanged from day to day;<br />I’ll drop my burden at His feet,<br />And bear a song away.</li>
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-11032564203312992742015-07-20T13:59:00.000-07:002015-07-20T13:59:31.507-07:00Patient in TribulationSaturday night we were just falling asleep when our door creaked open and Marian, age 10, was standing there. "Do you want something?" we asked groggily.<br />
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"I vomited", she answered.<br />
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My heart sank way down as all the possibilities of what this could mean raced through my mind. Most of the time when she starts throwing up it's every 10 to 20 minutes and doesn't stop until we end up in the ER for zofran administered by IV. I helped her get settled again with a bucket on the chair beside her bed. I gave her a zofran tablet to dissolve under her tongue, but that didn't stay down. She is very good about always hitting the bucket, so I went back to bed and tried to get some sleep. Later in the night she came over again and said she would like to have some ice chips. I went downstairs, switched on the light and filled a cup with ice. Since the other zofran had not helped anything I was getting another one when Irene came around the corner. "Are you alright?" she asked. Here she was sick too. I put the zofran back in the cabinet. If it was a stomach virus, that was not what Marian needed. I went back to bed, but didn't sleep well. I was planning a trip to PA with the two little girls. What if we all came down with the stomach flu???<br />
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When we got up in the morning Irene was sleeping. She felt good when she woke up. Marian was still vomiting. I made some tea for her and gave her a zofran to dissolve under her tongue. She lay down on the couch and fell asleep. I got my cup of coffee and my Bible and settled down for my devotions. I opened my Bible. It fell open at Job 2:10 "What, Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" I checked the cross references...<br />
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<b>Job 1:21 </b>And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.<br />
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<b>Lamentations 3:38-41 </b>Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with <i>our</i> hands unto God in the heavens.<br />
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<b>John 18:11 </b>Then said Jesus unto Peter, <span style="color: #ba0000;">Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?</span> <br />
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<b>Romans 12:12 </b>Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;<br />
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<b>Hebrews 12:9-12 </b>Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected <i>us</i>, and we gave <i>them</i> reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened <i>us</i> after their own pleasure; but he for <i>our</i> profit, that <i>we</i> might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;<br />
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That was a good meditation. I had often pondered the whys. Why, when we pray and pray for Marian to stop vomiting we still end up going to the hospital for IV??? Don't we have enough faith or ???? I guess if God would just instantly give us all the things we ask for we would never learn how to be patient in tribulation. We would never have a cup of trials to drink. Another reason I have struggled with that question is because of some people who have indicated it's a lack of faith to go to a doctor. We should trust God instead. Which reminds me of the first time we took Marian for IV when she was dehydrated. Dr. Schmadeke said he wonders how many lives could be saved all over the world if people would have access to IV. Then he said natural remedies are alright, but sometimes a doctor's help might be the way God is answering our prayers. He related the story of a man who was stranded on a raft out at sea. The man was praying that God would rescue him. After a while a helicopter came and dangled a rope to pull him up. The man waved it off and said God will rescue him. The helicopter was God's way of answering his prayer and he rejected it!<br />
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After giving Marian her pill, she fell asleep. When she woke up she was feeling fine! Praise the Lord! No one else got sick and we are busy getting ready for our trip to PA. I did go to the dentist this morning. I am having quite a bit of pain where the one wisdom tooth came out. The root had gone into the sinus and it hasn't closed up completely yet. He gave antibiotics for infection. If it's still not closed when we come back next week I'll have to go back to the oral surgeon for another procedure. :(<br />
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-90886702196790221092015-07-18T08:00:00.001-07:002015-07-18T08:00:21.509-07:00Miscellaneous TidbitsSurrender<br />
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One day soon after I came home from the hospital I was resting on the couch. The CD player was playing softly. A group of young people were singing heartily, "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give". The words grabbed my attention. <b>ALL. FREELY GIVE.</b> I wonder if they really realize what they are saying? Sure, what Christian wouldn't say that? That is the right thing to say. How often did I sing that song, but didn't realize the depth of the words I was singing? The attitude of my heart was right at the time, but I didn't understand the depth of the words. Now Jesus was asking for my health, and I did not want to surrender it.<br />
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Chest Pains<br />
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After several weeks I started having some definite discomfort in my chest area. It wasn't bad enough that I could call it pain, just some discomfort sometimes. It scared me pretty bad. What is going on? I talked to the cardiac rehab nurses about it. Peggy wondered if it's worse when I exercise. "No", I said, "that doesn't seem to make it worse. Actually it doesn't seem to bother me as much then as when I am resting." She didn't think it sounded like a heart problem and suggested I take Tums and see if if that helps. It did, so she said I should take Prilosec, which is an antacid that I would have to take only once a day. I had a visit with Dr. Wilcox to get a prescription for Prilosec. She said so many people take it, it's almost like handing out candy! My discomfort/heartburn/acid reflux (or whatever) was likely a result of all my medications. Anxiety probably contributed to the problem too. I talked with her about my anxiety and fears. She said she could give me something to help me. I told her I would rather not at this time. I was already feeling somewhat better. I knew if I could take my thoughts captive, with the Lord's help, I would be able to overcome the anxiety. Her caring kindness helped too. After several months I was able to get off the Prilosec again.<br />
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To this day I still get pretty scared whenever I feel discomfort, muscle twitches, or anything in my chest area. I told my husband I never know anymore if what I am feeling is heartburn or not. I cannot feel the difference.<br />
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Taking care of Michael<br />
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Michael was 12 days old when I went to the hospital. All of a sudden his care fell on others. That was hard for me to accept. I love the newborn stage. Most days they brought him along to the hospital. Even though I wasn't able to do much with him, I enjoyed having him there. At night Irene and Annetta took care of him. He was a very good baby. We were so thankful for that. Our last three babies were very fussy. It seemed so strange to go to bed early and let the girls put the baby to sleep. It didn't feel right at all, but at the same time I really didn't care. Like I wrote before, I had lost those motherly feelings. It was almost as if he were someone else's baby. My body had gone through a shock and was in survival mode. I had to make a conscious effort to regain those "motherly feelings". I didn't want him to bond with someone else, so I tried to be the one to give his bottle and change his diapers etc. After a week and a half I felt able to take care of him again at night. It made me pretty nervous. I wasn't used to giving formula and had to figure out all that. We were boiling all the water. At first we warmed his bottles. How do you do that? Microwaving isn't recommended. It takes a long time to warm if you set it in hot water, which is what the girls were doing at night. To make it easier we decided to put warm water in a thermos, then I could mix the formula when he woke up. So we moved his crib back to our room. I fed him and rocked him to sleep that evening. We made sure we had all the supplies we would need during the night, then went to bed. Do you think I could sleep? NO! I tried to, but I was aware of every little stir that he made and thinking about how to get his bottle ready etc etc. He slept pretty good, but I did not. Finally at 3:00 I took him over to the girls and told them, "I am sorry, but I need to get some sleep too, and I simply cannot sleep with him in the room." We made a little nest for him on the floor of their room. I don't remember, but he probably didn't wake up the rest of the night for them. We kept his crib in our room and eventually I learned to sleep again. Dr. Wilcox told us a lot of people do not warm up the formula bottles. It did not seem right, but we soon stopped warming up his milk and gave it at room temperature. It didn't seem to bother him and when he was older he didn't like it warmed up.<br />
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And by the way, he did bond with me, and definitely knows who his mother is! :)<br />
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-4720792212520561302015-07-14T10:41:00.001-07:002015-07-14T10:41:32.705-07:00A Tribute to Other MothersA couple weeks after my heart attack I was talking with my sister. She asked if I heard of the young mother that just died. No, I had not heard. So she told me about the mother in MO that had died the day before. She had had a baby born by C-section and was still in the hospital when a blood clot passed through her lungs. All attempts to revive her failed and she died. She was only 35 years old and the mother of seven children. Why was I still alive and she was not? Why did she die and I didn't? It could have been me. It could be my husband that was a widower and my children motherless. God reminded me again that He makes no mistake. Even though we don't understand why one passes on and another is healed, we trust that this was God's plan. http://www.kidwellgarber.com/obituaries/Annetta-Leinbach/#!/Obituary<br />
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Two and a half years before my heart attack Dorcas Wenger died from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection - the same as I had. She too had a newborn baby.<br />
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Recently I heard of two Amish mothers who passed away. One of them had a three day old baby and died of an aneurysm. The other one was killed in an accident. My heart goes out to the sorrowing families. I feel humbled that God spared our family that grief.<br />
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Several months after my SCAD I got a phone call from Viola Martin in OH. My aunt had given her my number. Viola had also had SCAD. It was so interesting to talk to someone who had gone through the same thing. She too had a two week old baby when it happened. Hers was worse than mine, with three arteries dissecting. She had six bare metal stents put in. Later she needed to have bypass surgery because they had clogged with scar tissue. After talking with her I felt like I had not gone through much!<br />
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Then I also got a call from Mr. Bowman in Ontario. His wife had just come home from the hospital after having SCAD. She did not need stents or surgery. As far as I know she has recovered well. I should call or write to her again. She also had a two week old baby.<br />
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-89234961835595733922015-07-14T09:57:00.001-07:002015-07-14T09:57:19.121-07:00God is Good - His Mercy Endures ForeverJuly 14. A day that has a flood of memories. The anniversary of my SCAD event. As I was thinking over the hills and valleys of the past two years I thought, "God is good - His mercy endures forever". He carried me through the low times and was with me through the good times. This morning I read some of the verses that had been such a blessing to me while I was in the hospital and the future looked scary. "Thou wilt perfect that which concerneth me". I felt like God was answering the cry in my heart and telling me, "Everything will be alright". Now two years later I can say that everything is alright. I experienced a complete recovery exactly as the doctors predicted. Life has returned to normal. Some things will never be the same again. I will always have those stents in my LAD artery. Will they cause complications in the future? I don't know, but I know who holds the future. I will not feel anything in my chest without some apprehension. But by the grace of God I will rejoice in the Lord, knowing that He makes no mistakes.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: large;">I</span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;"> Know </span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: large;">W</span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;">ho </span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: large;">H</span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;">olds </span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: large;">T</span><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;">omorrow</span></b><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />I don't know about tomorrow;<br />I just live from day to day.<br />I don't borrow from its sunshine<br />For its skies may turn to grey.<br /><br />I don't worry o'er the future,<br />For I know what Jesus said.<br />And today I'll walk beside Him,<br />For He knows what is ahead.<br /><br />Many things about tomorrow<br />I don't seem to understand<br />But I know who holds tomorrow<br />And I know who holds my hand.</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="21" src="http://www.mamarocks.com/goldball3.gif" width="37" /><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />Every step is getting brighter<br />As the golden stairs I climb;<br />Every burden's getting lighter,<br />Every cloud is silver-lined.<br /><br />There the sun is always shining,<br />There no tear will dim the eye;<br />At the ending of the rainbow<br />Where the mountains touch the sky.<br /><br />Many things about tomorrow<br />I don't seem to understand<br />But I know who holds tomorrow<br />And I know who holds my hand.</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="21" src="http://www.mamarocks.com/goldball3.gif" width="37" /><span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />I don't know about tomorrow;<br />It may bring me poverty.<br />But the one who feeds the sparrow,<br />Is the one who stands by me.<br /><br />And the path that is my portion<br />May be through the flame or flood;<br />But His presence goes before me<br />And I'm covered with His blood.<br /><br />Many things about tomorrow<br />I don't seem to understand<br />But I know who holds tomorrow<br />And I know who holds my hand.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2f938b; font-size: xx-small;">Ira Stanphill</span></div>
<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-72787587780220037712015-06-03T15:30:00.001-07:002015-06-03T15:30:07.182-07:00Family updateIn case you are wondering how I could have time to do so many posts in one day... On Monday I had my top wisdom teeth removed. Yes, I am a teething Mama, like someone said! I always thought I am one of the lucky people who will never get wisdom teeth, so I was very surprised this winter when what I thought was just a sore spot or ulcer on my gums turned out to be a new tooth!<br />
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In May we took a family trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We also spent a day in Cody, WY. Of course we took lots of pictures, 1800 to be exact. :) After my SCAD episode we gave the girls a Nikon D5200 as a gift for helping so much when I was laid up. They have turned into pretty good photographers.<br />
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The famous barns with the Grand Tetons in the background.</div>
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Dad and Mom in front of the courting buggy :)</div>
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Irene 18, Annetta 17, Marian 10, Ruth Anna 6, Rhoda 3</div>
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Jonathan 8, Michael almost 2, Joel 14, Simon 12</div>
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Grand Canyon of Yellowstone</div>
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-56483106051290342972015-06-03T15:02:00.000-07:002015-06-03T15:02:13.525-07:00A Year Later<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I went back to Creighton to have a CT angiogram done to see if the artery has healed. The next day I saw Dr. Holmberg to get the results. It looks fine, he said. There was one part where the stents overlap that they couldn't see. Earlier he told me if everything looks fine I can get off all the blood thinners except aspirin. Now he said because of where the dissection occurred and the stents are placed he wants me to stay on blood thinners. He switched me from Effient to Plavix, which isn't as strong. The stents are at the top of the LAD (left anterior descending) artery, which feeds 75% of the heart. He said several times they really don't know how to treat this. It isn't heart disease and it's very rare. I have been his third patient in 20 years. Mayo Clinic is doing a research study on spontaneous coronary artery dissection. I have entered that study. So far all I had to do was release my medical records. Dr. Holmberg talked about calling the cardiologists from Mayo to ask them what they have found out. We have been so grateful for doctors and the wisdom God has given them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;">Somehow once I passed that first anniversary I felt more of a rest in my spirit. Maybe it was just hearing the doctor say, "Your artery is healed and the stents look ok". Whatever... I am just so grateful for a full recovery. I asked Dr. Holmberg if I still need to take care in the heat. "Well", he chuckled, "If the temperature is 110 and the humidity 90% you should probably let Edward do the work." My only restriction is to not lift too heavy stuff.</span><br />
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-39475436701725068192015-06-03T08:49:00.000-07:002015-06-03T08:49:18.898-07:00Cardiac RehabTwo weeks after I came home I had a follow up appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Holmberg. He is from Omaha, but comes to the hospital in Atlantic several times a month, so that is where I went to see him. He ordered an echo cardiogram which they were able to do there. The results were good. The fluid around my heart was gone and my heart function was back to almost normal.<br />
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I also had my first cardiac rehab that day. Several days earlier I had come in to visit with Peggy, the head nurse of cardiac rehab. She went over what happened, what medications I'm taking etc etc. She also gave me some educational material about cholesterol and heart health. My cholesterol was too high (240), it should be under 200. So she talked about what foods I should and should not eat. She gave a DVD "Take a Load off Your Heart", which was a cardiologist and a man who had to have by pass surgery speaking about heart health. That was very informative. The doctors told me I do not have heart disease, so some of that didn't apply to my case, but I did learn a lot on how to keep my heart healthy. Basically it's just eat a healthy, well balanced diet, get plenty of exercise, and learn how to handle stress. Stress is really bad for your heart.<br />
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When I came to do rehab the first thing they did was put a heart monitor on me and take my blood pressure. My blood pressure was always very low like 90 over 60. They wanted me to drink a lot, because just the extra fluid can raise blood pressure.Then once everything was hooked up and I showed up on their computer I started with stretches to warm up. That first day I didn't do much. Walked about 5 minutes on the treadmill, rested, then on the Nustep, rested, then on the bicycle. For the first two weeks I was not allowed to use my arms on the Nustep and the bicycle. That was orders from Dr. Holmberg and was because of the dissection. Usually that just applies for those who had open heart surgery.<br />
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I had 36 sessions of cardiac rehab - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Slowly they increased my exercise until I was spending 45 minutes. I was on the treadmill 20 minutes (1 mile), Nustep 15 minutes and on the treadmill again for 10 minutes (1/2 mile). The rehab helped me so much. I was scared to do anything at first. Working out at cardiac rehab with a heart monitor on and knowing that everything was fine gave me the confidence I needed. The nurses were great and I made some good friends there. I was not allowed to drive for 4 weeks, so Irene took me where I needed to go. I often took some of the children with me. They enjoyed it and the people there enjoyed having the children there. How often is a mother with a 4 week old baby at cardiac rehab?! All the other people were elderly.<br />
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By the time I was done in early November I was fully recovered. Those three months the drs. told me it would take to recover were not as long as they sounded when I was flat on my back. Praise the Lord for healing! I still dealt some with anxiety, but that gradually got better too.<br />
<img src="http://www.casshealth.org/static/press_release_images/PeggyPerkinsFinal2_jpg_621x350_q85.jpg" /><br />
Peggy Perkins, head nurse in cardiac rehab.<br />
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Nu step... you pedal with your feet and the things you hold onto with your hands go back and forthEdward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-38245207790842562312015-06-03T07:55:00.000-07:002015-06-03T07:55:37.576-07:00A Friend In Need Is a Friend Indeed!<b>Matthew 25:36 ...</b><span style="color: #ba0000;">I was sick, and ye visited me:...</span><br />
<b>Matthew 25:40 </b><span style="color: #ba0000;">And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done <i>it</i> unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done <i>it</i> unto me.</span> <br />
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<b>Galatians 6:2 </b>Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.<br />
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We were so blessed with friends in our time of need. After Michael was born, families from church were bringing us meals. While I was in the hospital and afterwards other people we had learned to know also came and blessed us. We had so much food we had to tell people to stop bringing some. Our freezers and refrigerator were stuffed! I imagine some people were thinking, "Nine children! That must take a lot of food!" Well, yes, but a lot of our children were small, and none of them are big eaters, so it really didn't take that much. And, besides, we had lots of fresh garden goodies to use up too. We did appreciate it all, though. It made us feel so cared for. Those casseroles did come in handy later on busy days, and there is never anything like too many cookies, is there? :) While I was in the hospital Elaine Krambeck, Irene's piano teacher called. They were bringing some food. They brought a lot...several pizza breads (French bread with pizza toppings), salad, and cookies. Jill Grove, our supervising teacher, stopped in with cookies and encouraged the children who were staying at home. After Teresa Smidt and children visited me in the hospital Edward and the children found several casseroles in the freezer and some baked goods on the counter when they came home. Apparently they had stopped at our house before coming in to Omaha. Chris Charles's visited me in the hospital. I believe I listed their blessings in a previous post. The first Sunday I was at home, I was resting upstairs when I heard a car drive in. Here it was Marty Bopp, a lady from Griswold that Edward had done a lot of work for. She and her granddaughter brought enough food for 50 people!!! A huge casserole, huge exotic salad, and cake. Wow! I felt so unworthy how local people reached out to help us.<br />
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My mother (God bless her) called every day for a while to see how I was doing. This meant a lot to me. She has Parkinson's disease, and it's not easy for her even to do something like make these phone calls. She is unable to travel from PA to IA to visit us. I could feel her loving care through those calls and it meant so much to me. She also started a card shower from cousins and aunts and uncles. That was such an encouragement to get all those cards and letters while I was unable to do much. Many of them included monetary gifts to help with our expenses. May the Lord reward all these people for their kindness.<br />
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A couple weeks after I came home Edward sent a text saying Elvin and Rachel are coming tonight. They will bring supper. What a happy surprise! They had sold a puppy to someone in Omaha and decided to meet them in Griswold so that they could visit us. Since they had traveled so far they got pizza, pop, and chips at Casey's for supper. They encouraged us and prayed for us before they left. What a blessing!<br />
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One day the UPS truck roared up to the house. The man carried in a heavy box. This is what it was...<br />
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A forty pound block of Wisconsin cheese from my sister who lives on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. :)<br />
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We did not have to buy diapers or wipes for a long time!</div>
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-1713709212527036852015-05-15T08:11:00.000-07:002017-11-25T14:09:06.868-08:00Ups and DownsA week after I came home I had to have a follow up appointment with my regular doctor, Dr. Wilcox, at the Atlantic Medical Center. Edward was working in Atlantic, so he met me there to go with me. I was not allowed to drive, so Irene, who had her learner's permit, took me. We took 3 week old Baby Michael along. I was still scared and unsure of what I could or could not do. It was good to sit down and visit with a doctor about some of those things. She had never heard of SCAD after having a baby. She explained some of what had happened. The lining of the artery is a connective tissue, and that had gotten a tear. Dr. Holmberg had been in contact with her and told her about what happened. When she listened to my heart she said, "Your heart sounds good". "Your heart sounds good"....Just four little words, but how they lifted my spirit! I walked out of there feeling better than I had for weeks! The next day, Saturday, the girls went to a wedding. I wasn't up to going myself, but I did feel good enough to be in charge and make supper. Sunday morning I was still feeling good and decided I can go to church. I spent my time on the recliner in the nursery. It was a bit scary to step out of the comfort zone of my home. For a while I thought I have some chest pain, but if I got distracted it didn't bother me, so I know it was only anxiety. I did have my nitro pills in my pocket, just in case....<br />
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It didn't take much to trip me up again. Several weeks later I was reading about SCAD on the internet (bad idea!). It was a good, informative article, but I did not need to know all the facts I read. It said that 90% of patients have a recurrence in the first week and 50% have one in the first two months. OH! I had not reached the two month mark yet. Fear surged through me. I did not want to go through it again! It took me a while to get over that. Again, it mattered where I looked. I could look at the 50% that had a recurrence or at the 50% that did not. I could look at my fears or at the grace of God that had carried me thus far. Sometime after that I was talking with my sister in law. She was saying that she had been talking with someone else who told her about a mother that had died from a heart attack (probably a SCAD), but her baby had been three months old already when it happened. Oh no! My baby is not three months old yet. Does that mean it could happen again?! She had no idea the emotional turmoil she put me in. I don't blame her at all, but it has made me more sensitive when I talk to others.<br />
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About six months later when I was feeling much stronger I happened across an article of Mayo Clinic's studies on SCAD. From the research they did 21% of the patients had recurrences. I had not realized the rate was so high. I had thought I was about past the chance of any recurrence. Apparently not. I again struggled with some fear, but not as intense as earlier. Later that same day two year old Rhoda was singing the song, "God Is so Good". She had gotten stuck on the verse, "He cares for you", and was singing it over and over while she was playing. Out of the mouth of babes...<br />
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God is so good,</div>
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God is so good,</div>
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God is so good,</div>
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He's so good to me.</div>
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He cares for me,</div>
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He cares for me,</div>
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He cares for me,</div>
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He's so good to me.</div>
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-44576017378317639072015-05-06T06:11:00.000-07:002015-05-06T06:11:43.806-07:00The Garment of Praise For the Spirit of Heaviness<b>Isaiah 61:1-3 </b><span style="color: red;">The Spirit of the Lord GOD <i>is</i> upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to <i>them that are</i> bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,<b> the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness</b>; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. </span><br />
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<b>Luke 4:18 </b><span style="color: red;">The Spirit of the Lord <i>is</i> upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised....</span><br />
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The first scripture here is a prophecy of Jesus. The second one is Jesus reading those words of prophecy about himself. In this post I would like to lift up the power of our Lord Jesus. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which means He still heals the broken hearted etc.<br />
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Those first days, weeks, and months after my heart attack, fear and anxiety wanted to overtake me. I could be feeling fine during the day, but when I went to bed at night it was there, trying to overtake me. That slight risk of complications magnified itself in my mind. When I was at my lowest point I happened to think, no, I believe God caused me to remember that I was going through some major hormonal changes. I had just had a baby. I was nursing the baby then I had to stop, so that too caused a major shift in hormones. I was not going crazy. Once my hormones are straightened out I should be feeling better. That was such a relief I felt better right away!!! Until something upset it again...<br />
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I felt very good physically. My headache was completely gone and I had no pain anywhere. My hips had straightened out the first week. I was still weak, I could not walk much till I got hot and sweaty and my heart rate wanted to go too high in the evenings. Emotionally I was also very weak. If the children got too noisy I couldn't take it. It even stressed me out to be responsible for the baby. The girls took care of him at night for another 1 1/2 weeks. During the day I usually fed him his bottle.<br />
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And now back to the title of this post. We had a weekend of meetings and the preacher used the words, "Garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness". Immediately I thought of my experience and in my heart I said, "That is true!" Praising the Lord takes away that spirit of heaviness. At night when I was in bed and that monster of fear was right there trying to overtake me I would cry out to the Lord. Sometimes it was just, "Help me. Please don't let my heart do anything it shouldn't. Please heal my heart!" A dear friend had sent me a letter. In the letter she wrote, "It matters where you look". That is so true. I could have my focus on my poor, weak heart that was not trust worthy at all, or I could have my focus on the LORD and know that whatever happens is because He willed it so for my good. This is where I needed to put on the "garment of praise". Another friend had told us once that to help the children memorize scripture they put emphasis on each word. I would recite in my mind... "The <b>LORD</b> is my shepherd. The Lord <b>IS</b> my shepherd. The Lord is <b>MY</b> shepherd etc. A song that helped me through those long, dark nights was "What a Friend We Have in JESUS".<br />
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<ol style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What a friend we have in Jesus,<br />All our sins and griefs to bear!<br />What a privilege to carry<br />Everything to God in prayer!<br />Oh, what peace we often forfeit,<br />Oh, what needless pain we bear,<br />All because we do not carry<br />Everything to God in prayer!</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have we trials and temptations?<br />Is there trouble anywhere?<br />We should never be discouraged—<br />Take it to the Lord in prayer.<br />Can we find a friend so faithful,<br />Who will all our sorrows share?<br />Jesus knows our every weakness;<br />Take it to the Lord in prayer.</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are we weak and heavy-laden,<br />Cumbered with a load of care?<br />Precious Savior, still our refuge—<br />Take it to the Lord in prayer.<br />Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?<br />Take it to the Lord in prayer!<br />In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,<br />Thou wilt find a solace there.</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised<br />Thou wilt all our burdens bear;<br />May we ever, Lord, be bringing<br />All to Thee in earnest prayer.<br />Soon in glory bright, unclouded,<br />There will be no need for prayer—<br />Rapture, praise, and endless worship<br />Will be our sweet portion there.</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Joseph Scriven</span></li>
</ol>
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<br />
<br />
I would recite those verses over and over until I fell asleep. Truly the LORD can give songs in the night. The garment of praise does take away the spirit of heaviness.<br />
<br />
<b>Isaiah 25:4 </b>For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones <i>is</i> as a storm <i>against</i> the wall.<br />
<br />
'TILL THE STORM PASSES BY<br />
<br />
In the dark of the midnight,<br />
Have I oft hid my face;<br />
While the storm howls above me,<br />
And there's no hiding place;<br />
'Mid the crash of the thunder,<br />
Precious Lord, hear my cry;<br />
"Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."<br />
<br />
'Til the storm passes over,<br />
'Til the thunder sounds no more;<br />
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,<br />
Hold me fast, let me stand,<br />
In the hollow of Thy hand;<br />
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.<br />
<br />
Many times Satan whispers,<br />
"There is no need to try;<br />
For there's no end of sorrow,<br />
There's no hope by and by";<br />
But I know Thou art with me,<br />
And tomorrow I'll rise;<br />
Where the storms never darken the skies.<br />
<br />
'Til the storm passes over,<br />
'Til the thunder sounds no more;<br />
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,<br />
Hold me fast, let me stand,<br />
In the hollow of Thy hand;<br />
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.<br />
<br />
When the long night has ended,<br />
And the storms come no more,<br />
Let me stand in Thy presence.<br />
On that bright, peaceful shore.<br />
In that land where the tempest<br />
Never comes, Lord may I<br />
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.<br />
<br />
'Til the storm passes over,<br />
'Til the thunder sounds no more;<br />
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,<br />
Hold me fast, let me stand,<br />
In the hollow of Thy hand;<br />
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.<br />
<br />
Hold me fast, Let me stand,<br />
In the hollow of Thy hand;<br />
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.<br />
'Til the storm passes by.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mosie Lister</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span>Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-26099425994793233682015-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:002015-04-22T06:48:11.994-07:00Adjusting to a New normalI was now at home from the hospital, but life was not back to normal. I had hit a huge bump in the road of life and needed quite a bit of adjusting in my thinking. Coming home from the hospital with a new baby is always an adjustment. This homecoming adjustment was much greater. Not only did I have a newborn baby, I had come through an unexpected, life threatening circumstance. My activities and diet had changed. That was pretty major, but not as big as the emotional roller coaster I was on.<br />
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After Joes left it was time to make supper. I think the girls were pretty glad to hand the responsibility of meal planning over to me. We had LOTS of food in the house. People were bringing so much food we didn't have any room in the refrigerator and freezers anymore. Most of the meals were casseroles. Those did not fit into my low fat, low sodium diet, so we decided to just make plain tomato soup for supper that first evening. Since my daily allowance of salt was only 1/8 teaspoon, we decided we would cook everything without salt and the others could salt their food however they wanted. Have you ever eaten everything without salt? It isn't very tasty!<br />
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My heart attack had happened while sitting at the table to eat. That first evening at home I could not bring myself to sit at the table. I knew that was not what caused the heart attack, but it was scary. It was like a car accident victim not wanting to get back into a car. I stayed on my recliner to eat. If I remember right I was able to sit at the table the next day.<br />
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Sitting was very uncomfortable, so after supper I lay on the couch. It was hot outside, so everyone wanted to be inside. The air conditioner was noisy and I wasn't used to it. The children were happy and excited to have Mom at home again. All in all it was pretty hectic. As much as I wanted to be with the children I soon moved upstairs to our bedroom. I just couldn't cope with all the noise and commotion. Ah! My own bed with the memory foam felt so much better than a hard hospital bed. But I felt scared and vulnerable. Like I said in a previous post, there is a feeling of security in a hospital. Now I was at home, at least 15 minutes from a hospital. OK, I know that sounds like a lack of faith. We trust God, right? Yes! I did trust God, but the reality was, something could still go wrong and I was afraid. I always made sure I had my cell phone with me. Even something simple like going to the bathroom and locking the door was unsettling. What if I would just drop over and die. At bedtime I told Edward I have this discomfort in my chest and I don't know what it is. He prayed for me and after I had slept awhile it went away. I know now that it was just anxiety.<br />
<br />
I came home with five different medications... Effient, Metoprolol, Lisinopril, Atorvastatin, and Aspirin. While at the hospital the nurses always brought them to me at the right time. Now I had to figure out when to take what. Everything was clearly labeled, so it wasn't as hard as I first thought. Edward bought a pill organizer and that made it much easier.<br />
<br />
Edward and the girls got everyone settled down for the night. Michael's crib had been moved into the girls' room. They took care of him at night for about two weeks until I felt able to do it again. The night seemed strangely quiet and dark. In the hospital there were always lights on, people talking, and phones ringing, especially in the CCU where the nurses' station was right outside my door. I was able to sleep pretty good. There were some times that I lay awake, unable to sleep. That was when the nights seemed long and dark...<br />
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During the day I spent most of my time in bed or on the couch. My hips still made sitting very uncomfortable. I was supposed to walk twice a day. That really helped me get back into shape and after about a week my hips did not bother me much. At first I did all my walking in the house, since outside is mostly hilly, and I could only walk on level ground. Back and forth - around the rooms this way then that way so that I don't get dizzy. :) It was amazing how tired I got! I had to check my heart rate regularly. It could not go much above 100. Evenings it tended to go a little high. I don't know why, but it was a bit unsettling, so I didn't always take my evening walk.<br />
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Edward does remodeling and painting. To make it quieter here at home he took the three boys with him everyday. That was so nice that he was able to do that. Once when he was at the store they gave the boys some hats they were lusting for.......<br />
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-10774004858827979182015-04-13T18:49:00.001-07:002015-04-13T18:49:50.796-07:00Cardiologist VisitI will interrupt my story a bit here. Today I had an appointment with Dr. Holmberg, my cardiologist. I was sitting in the outpatient clinic waiting to get checked in when Joanie, a nurse I met in cardiac rehab came to get someone else. When she saw me, she got a big smile, came over and hugged me and said how good it is to see me again! She had seen my name on the chart for today and was so glad. That was nice. :)<br />
<br />
My blood pressure was low - 100 over 70. Heart rate was low too. Joanie was a little concerned, especially when I told her it's in the low 40s sometimes. She said I have to be sure to tell Dr. Holmberg. He didn't seem very concerned since I don't have problems with feeling light headed. He said some people's heart rate is in the 40s. He wants me to stay on the beta blocker, metoprolol, to take stress off the arteries to help avoid another dissection. He also wants me to stay on Plavix and baby aspirin because of where my stents are located. They are at the top of my left anterior descending artery, which is the main artery, supplying blood to 70% of the heart. We don't want anything to happen there is what he said. I also have to stay on the cholesterol medicine because my cholesterol had gone too high this winter when I got off for a while. I was disappointed about that because cholesterol medicine is kind of hard on a person. He said my high cholesterol is likely hereditary and that can't be kept low by watching your diet. It wasn't extremely high, but I am now classified as "high risk". I need to go in next week to get it checked again to see if it has come down since I am on meds again. Good news was I don't need to see him again for a year!<br />
<br />
I asked about getting more testing done through Mayo Clinic. He said it wouldn't benefit me anything, but might help years down the road with research. What Mayo would do is blood work to check for genetic factors that might cause spontaneous coronary artery dissection to see if it might be hereditary. My parents and siblings would also have to do this testing. I probably won't do it...<br />
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After I was done in the out patient clinic I went back to cardiac rehab to say hi to Peggy and Kathy. I also had to congratulate Peggy. She was named one of the "100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2015".<br />
<br />
And now tomorrow and Wednesday I go to college to do the final tests to get my GED (now called high school equivalence test). The only thing I'm worried about is that I do not get a headache!! The reason I am doing this test now in my "old age" is because some states require it to home school your children.<br />
<br />
And then I have to make an appointment with an oral surgeon about my wisdom tooth that is erupting. Yes! I am getting my first wisdom tooth. Maybe that is why I have all these headaches???<br />
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<br />
<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-73168725664000190472015-04-02T09:25:00.000-07:002015-04-02T09:25:22.199-07:00HomecomingFriday morning dawned with an air of anticipation. If all went as planned I could go home. Early in the morning a lab worker came to draw blood. She commented on some tracts the children had left laying around and told me how I had such good kids. I told her she can have some tracts and asked her if there is anything I can pray for her. She opened up and told me some of the difficulties she was facing. A very worldly, lost and hurting woman with little concept of Godliness. My prayer was that somehow I could be a light to all the people I was meeting in the hospital.<br />
<br />
Next, two men came to do an echocardiogram aka ultrasound of my heart. It's like I've heard many times... you lose your dignity pretty fast in a hospital. :( The first man took some pictures then the second man put an illuminator in my IV. As that was going through my heart, he took some more pictures. It was pretty interesting. He explained how the illuminator is really just lots of super tiny bubbles that pass out through the lungs when the blood goes through the lungs. He showed me both sets of pictures. The ones with the illuminator were definitely more clear. Then the second man, who was just learning how to do an echo wanted to try his hand at it. I guess they need to learn on someone...<br />
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Edward came in a little bit later than usual. He had some business to attend to first. When the PT came to take me for a walk he had good news. The echo showed my heart function had improved quite a bit and I was allowed to go home, but then he said he isn't supposed to be telling me this, so when the doctor comes in I'm supposed to act as if I didn't know! This day he had me go up and down a flight of stairs to see what my BP and heart rate does. It was fine. While we were walking in the halls we came across a man (a patient in his gown...) who was trying to open a door to the outside. Josh, the PT, left me standing in the hall by myself while he went to tell the man to get back to his room. He was trying to hide a pack of cigarettes, apparently trying to sneak out to have a smoke. Poor man. His smoking is probably what landed him in the hospital with heart problems. For some reason when we came back from the walk and I sat down on the bed I felt hot and light headed. I didn't say anything, just laid back and rested. It soon went away. I think I was just tired...<br />
<br />
And then Dr. Holmberg came with the good news that I may go home. The ejection fraction of my heart had improved from 25 - 30 % to 45 - 50%. I did still have some fluid around my heart. He said again that he expects me to have a full recovery in three months. In several weeks he wanted me to start cardiac rehab. Meanwhile I would have to do some walking at home. He wanted to see me again in about 3 weeks and do another echocardiogram. I would be able to have that done in Atlantic.<br />
<br />
I would have to be on a low cholesterol, low sodium diet. Dr. Holmberg offered to send a dietitian to explain more about it. I felt like I understood it pretty good. After all, I have been cooking since I was a little girl! But life in the hospital can be boring, and I thought I might be able to get some tips from a dietitian, so I said I would like that. I have taken a keen interest in healthy cooking for a long time. I thought our diet was pretty healthy, so I was surprised to learn that my cholesterol was too high. It was 240 and they recommend having it under 200, especially if you have heart problems. The only thing we could figure that caused the high cholesterol was the 2 fried eggs I ate for breakfast every morning. Dr. Holmberg told me I should not eat more than three eggs a week. One egg has more cholesterol than I was allowed to have daily!<br />
<br />
Josh, the PT came back with a book of instructions. Yes, a BOOK! There were several pages of does and don'ts for the next six to eight weeks. I could not lift more than 10 pounds. Thankfully my baby weighed only six pounds! I could not do anything where I would have to lift my arms above my head like washing windows or hanging out laundry. An interesting thing he said is the last to do is pushing a vacuum cleaner. I had to walk twice a day, increasing my time gradually. It had to be on level ground, not up hill and not in the hot sun. He told me over and over that if I start having chest pains I have to take the nitro pills and either have Edward drive me to the hospital or call the ambulance. Later when we were doing our research we found out that a large percent of people with SCAD have a recurrence. I am so glad he did not tell me that.<br />
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The lactation consultant also visited me. She really thought I should try nursing. She gave me a business card for the pediatrician we could take the baby to, to make sure the medication was not harmful to him. She thought the benefits would outweigh the risks. After she left we discussed the pros and cons. We finally decided to go with formula. We know that is safe. Nobody was able to tell us if the medication I was taking was going to be safe. It was a hard decision on my part. I believe any nursing mother will understand the grief I felt... Well, maybe not unless you had to make that decision too. So many times we don't understand until we experience something personally.<br />
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And then the discharge process started. Orders were sent to the pharmacy for all my meds. I was SO glad for one thing. Earlier in the week a nurse told me I might have to give myself heparin shots in the stomach. She gave me one that day. Horrors! I did not want to do that!!! Apparently blood work showed I did not need them. I was given one dose of Coumadin, but didn't have to take that at home either. The only blood thinner I had to take besides the daily aspirin was Effient. It was after lunch now. My IV and heart moniter were removed and I was free to get dressed and comb my hair. Oh that felt so good! My hips were still badly out of shape. I could hardly get out of bed and stand up without falling. Laying down was the only comfortable position. A PT had given me exercises the day before that should help. A nurses' aide came with a wheel chair to take me to the door, but then the meds weren't ready yet. Finally we were able to go! Edward had been busy taking out all the STUFF that had accumulated. When we came down to pick up the meds they still weren't ready. We probably waited at least 30 minutes. Because of my hips I could hardly sit and the wheel chair was so uncomfortable. I didn't feel strong enough to stand or walk around and the chairs weren't very comfortable either. It was a long wait. Finally everything was ready and we were on our way home.<br />
<br />
After such a traumatic happening there is a sense of security in the hospital. It was a little scary to leave that security. What if.........??? The healing process had only started. I didn't realize that emotionally I would go down before I went up.<br />
<br />
My brother Joe and family came and spent the day at our house. They decided not to come to the hospital since I was expected to be released anyway. The children all stayed at home too. They were very happy to have Joes there with them. We were having some very hot weather and with my heart issues I was supposed to stay out of the heat. Since we did not have air conditioning in our house, Joe stopped in Des Moines and got a big window unit that he put in the living room. He also helped the boys weed the strawberry patch and put electric fence around the sweet corn patch to keep the raccoons out of it. Anna Mary helped with the laundry and cleaning, some of which had been sadly neglected. They also picked a bunch of beans.<br />
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We were thankful for the cool breeze, but it took some getting used to the noisy fan. And besides, it blew right at my favorite recliner. Thankfully the heat wave soon passed and we actually did not have to use it that much.</div>
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With my troublesome hips the hour long ride home was long and uncomfortable. The children were calling, wondering WHEN we're coming. Finally we were at home. A large "Welcome home Mom" sign was at the end of the driveway. Everyone seemed a bit shy as they came out to greet us. Except for Rhoda who had her second birthday that day. She came running and squealing, "MOOMMM!" It was good to be home, but after a quiet hospital room all the noise and commotion was a bit overwhelming. After visiting a bit Joe and Anna Mary and family had to leave. Jonathan had saved Rhoda's birthday gift till I was at home to watch her open it.<br />
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He gave her a rock and a night light that we probably had for 10 years already! Ah! the simplicity of childhood. She was as happy with that simple gift as she would have been with an expensive one, and Jonathan was happy to give her some of his treasures.</div>
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I was finally able to mother my baby. :)</div>
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-22535912605668613442015-03-26T08:18:00.001-07:002015-03-26T08:19:06.084-07:00Hospital Life Part IVWe thank the Lord for healing! All the children are recovered from their bout with influenza B, and Eward and I did not get it at all. Praise the LORD!<br />
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Now to continue with my SCAD experience... We are ready for day 4 which was a Wednesday...<br />
After another restless night our day started very early when a lab worker came in at 3:00 to draw blood. Right behind her came another nurse with the scales to weigh me. After they left we just laughed. This was so funny, being weighed at 3:00 in the morning! But, such is hospital life. The reason they were weighing me every day was to make sure I wasn't retaining fluids, which can happen if the heart is not working like it should. Thanks to the unappetizing low fat no sodium diet I was losing weight pretty fast. I probably also lost my appetite from shock.<br />
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This day Jonathan was the lucky one to come to the hospital with Dad. I don't remember how Irene went home, but all the other children stayed home that day. There was laundry etc. to do. They happily welcomed Baby Michael home when Mable Chupp brought him back. :) Here are several pictures of what was going on at home.<br />
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Ruth Anna put the fly swatter in her dress, hopped on her trike and said, "Now I am a policeman!"</div>
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Playing on the neighbor's hay bales.</div>
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Joel (12) mothering Michael</div>
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Rhoda (almost 2) was not having a good day. Poor girl. So much had happened. First we bring home a new baby. Then Mom disappears for a week. What is happening?</div>
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She was crying and crying. Seems to me an older sibling was taking pictures instead of comforting her... Later they could not find her.</div>
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They found her sleeping on the top bunk in the boys' bedroom. Poor girl. How I wished I could be at home to rock her.</div>
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My day was uneventful. I was taken on two walks again. The children liked to say "The PT took me cruising in the halls". PT = Physical Therapist - then think of the car called PT Cruiser. :) I still had a headache. They now started treating it with Tramadol, a narcotic like pain reliever. FINALLY, after a week of constant headache I started getting relief.<br />
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Jonathan took a great interest in watching the helicopter. Creighton is one of the two trauma hospitals in Omaha. This was one of the days they were on for getting all the trauma patients. We could always hear the helicopter and they could watch the helipad from the waiting room of the CCU where I was. One time there were several police cars there too. Probably a crime victim... I was a little concerned to have this 6 year old walking the halls all by himself, but he was fine. He knew those hallways better than I ever did!<br />
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This afternoon our visitors were Scott and Grace Goertzen. Earlier in the day the nurse I had Sunday night came to visit me with her daughter. She said she prays for her patients and likes to come visit them when she is off duty. That was encouraging!!!<br />
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In the evening Pat Lowis came to stay with me overnight. She was a blessing. Anytime during the night when I was restless she was awake and asking me if I need anything. That evening when the nurses shift changed my day nurse came in with a young male nurse, Jasper, and said he would be my night nurse. Is that OK? Well, I wasn't impressed with having a male nurse, but didn't want to say so to his face, so I said, "Yes, that's OK". I did remember that it was usually the nurses' aide that helped with personal needs like restroom etc. He turned out to be very respectful and one of the best nurses. And so ended the fourth day in the hospital.<br />
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Thursday was going to be a day with a bit more happening. First I had an ultrasound of my heart in the morning. Today was the day for the CT angiogram, so I was not allowed to eat or drink.<br />
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Edward brought Annetta, Marian and Michael with him. They didn't come till later. He had gone to his job site where some of the men from church were finishing the job for him. That was appreciated!<br />
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I did love my "little man" even if those special newborn feelings were not there. Here I was admiring a new outfit they had gotten for him. He was such a tiny baby. At 2 weeks he only weighed 6 1/2 pounds.</div>
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Sometime in the morning we heard a beeping noise and something seemed to be going on. The nurses seemed very busy and no one was bringing the usual meds etc. We soon realized there was a code blue on the floor. After a while we heard someone crying and crying. A different person brought my meds. We asked the PT later what was going on. He just said there was a code on the floor. I liked to keep my door open so that I could watch the activity. Later after things had settled down I overheard a conversation between an older doctor and some students. He was telling them how to handle circumstances like this - how to comfort the family members. Apparently someone had died...<br />
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My cat scan was to be soon after lunch, but we waited and waited. It wasn't till later in the day when they finally came for me. Maybe there had been an emergency and I was the one that got pushed out till later. Oh well, I had nothing to do anyway! As they were taking me down to radiology the nurse said I really gave them a scare in the cath lab on Sunday. She said they thought they might have to shock my heart to get it back into rhythm. Really! I had not known that. What really did that mean? Did I almost die? I didn't ask her, but that created a lot of new thoughts...<br />
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So what is a CT angiogram? It's often called a cat scan. It is a test that uses x-rays to provide detailed pictures of the heart and the blood vessels that go to the heart, lung, brain, kidneys, head, neck, legs, and arms. The reason for this scan was to check my other arteries. A large percent of people that have SCAD also have fibromuscular dysplasia which causes malformations in blood vessels. Thankfully those test results were negative for me. I had to lay on a narrow bed that went back and forth in a donut shaped thing. Everyone else left the room so that they are not exposed to the radiation of the x-ray. An automated voice told me when to hold my breath and when to breath normally. At one point they put a dye into my IV. Thankfully I had been forewarned about what happens. As soon as the dye gets into the vein a warm sensation passes through the whole body and a metallic taste fills the mouth. It only lasts a few seconds, but feels very weird. One lady didn't know that would happen and thought she was dying!<br />
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After this was done I was taken back to my room and finally allowed to eat and drink. It was about 4:00. For the first time this week I was starting to feel hungry, so I ordered some cheerios and juice while I waited for supper. Meanwhile they were busy getting ready to move me to another room. A step down is what they called it. I didn't need to be in the CCU anymore and this room would be cheaper. Edward and the girls were moving my stuff. We had quite an accumulation! While I was eating, Rita and Mary Pratt stopped in. How encouraging to have friends who care! And then I was taken to my new room. That evening Teresa Smidt and several children visited.<br />
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Annetta was very tired and Irene had spent the last night with me and gotten very little sleep, so taking care of the baby overnight looked pretty overwhelming. Edward called Rita Pratt to see if she would like to have him for the night. She was very happy to take him. Like I had written earlier, the shock of everything had taken away my motherly feelings for him. It was very sad to not even care much that my baby was going to someone else...<br />
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After supper Edward and the children were getting ready to leave. Marian (8) begged to stay with me overnight. We saw no reason why that would be a problem and told her she may. Soon after Edward left, the head nurse came in. She asked if Marian is staying overnight. When I told her that she was planning to, she said she can't, she is too young. If anything would happen, they could not be responsible for her. I could see her point, but it was hard for Marian. I called Edward and he had to turn around and come back. Thankfully they had not gone very far yet. Marian was crying. She said she's scared and can't sleep well when I'm not at home. I tried to comfort her. Hopefully I would be able to go home the next day.<br />
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After everyone had left again I was feeling lonely, sad, and scared. What did the future hold? Would I ever be healthy again? And the greatest fear of all, would I have another heart attack? I opened my Bible to Psalms. It opened to Psalm 138 and I read, "The LORD will perfect <i>that which</i> concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, <i>endureth</i> for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands." I was so blessed I called Edward and told him what I had just read. I felt the Lord was telling me that everything will be alright. <i style="font-weight: bold;">"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." </i>I read on into chapter 139. There I read,<b> "</b>Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." This reminded me of <b>Revelation 1:17 ..</b> And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, <span style="color: #ba0000;">Fear not; </span>Jesus was very near to me that night. I envisioned him beside my bed with His hand on me saying to me, "Fear not." My headache was gone and this bed was a little more comfortable than the other one. I slept better than I had any other night in the hospital. <br />
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-55762550674954679752015-03-21T08:15:00.000-07:002015-03-21T08:15:20.598-07:00His Grace is Sufficient<i>The following is an excerpt from Streams in the Desert compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. </i><br />
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<b>Truth I needed reminded of today.</b><br />
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"The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day's work. I felt very wearied, and sore depressed, when swiftly and suddenly as a lightning flash, that text came to me, "My grace is sufficient for thee."...<br />
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I said, 'I should think it is, Lord,' and burst out laughing.<br />
..."It seemed to make unbelief so absurd. It was as though some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and [the river] said, 'Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.'<br />
"Or, it seemed after the seven years of plenty, a mouse feared it might die of famine; and Joseph might say, 'Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.' "<br />
- C.H. Spurgeon<br />
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His grace is great enough to meet the great things-<br />
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,<br />
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,<br />
The sudden storms beyond our life's control.<br />
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His grace is great enough to meet the small things -<br />
The little pin-prick troubles that annoy,<br />
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,<br />
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.<br />
- Annie Johnson Flint<br />
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-20668660853648426232015-03-15T18:33:00.000-07:002015-03-16T08:47:57.839-07:00The Busyness of LifeI have had a lot of distraction from writing this blog. We spent March 1st to 9th in Kalona, Iowa for Youth Bible School. Our two oldest were students and Edward was part of the staff, so our whole family went. Since all the houses were filled with the 138 youth, we camped out at the church. A larger church had been rented for the event. We took our bedding and food along and it worked out very well. That is, till Michael got sick. Tuesday forenoon he threw up over the carpeted steps going down to the basement. He threw up seven times. That ended all our plans for the day. Since we didn't want to start an epidemic at Bible school the children and I stayed "home" all day. By the next day he seemed to be OK except for diarrhea, so we went over for lunch and chorus practice. Thursday evening I started to feel sick. During the night Rhoda started throwing up. Thankfully I had a bowl handy and was able to catch it all. By that time I was so sick I was almost fainting. I made it back to bed and the faint feeling soon was better. By morning I was feeling pretty good, but Edward, Joel and Simon were sick! Edward wasn't able to do his duties at Bible school. We stayed at "home" at the church all day. Simon did not not get very sick. In the afternoon Jonathan started feeling sick. He then fell asleep on the chairs and I thought, "I wonder if that's a good idea..." Well, I should have done something about it, but I didn't. He woke up vomiting managing to hit 3 cushioned chairs and getting some on the carpet. :( Thankfully I was able to get a shampooer and wash it all up right away. Saturday I was feeling fine, so I went over to Fairview where Bible school was. Edward and Joel felt well enough to babysit Rhoda and Ruth Anna. I had really wanted to be there for the singing and testimonies. We got our supper there then stopped at the grocery store in Kalona and got chicken and rice to cook for the others' supper. They were all feeling better. Marian and Ruth Anna completely slipped out of it. We were so thankful because when Marian starts she usually ends up needing IV to stop vomiting, so we thank God for keeping her from getting this stomach flu. Meanwhile Irene and Annetta were also not feeling well. They were not sick enough to miss any of the days, but had several days of stomach ache. They stayed at Larry Zooks with 17 other students. Sunday we were all feeling pretty good and able to take in all the activities. Monday morning we packed up all our stuff and cleaned the church then went to pick up the girls at Larrys. When we got there they were SICK. one had a temp of 103 and the other 102.5. It was a good thing Bible school was over and we were going home!<br />
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This past week now ALL nine of the children were very sick. Two of them ended up seeing a doctor. Tests were positive for influenza B. Thankfully Edward and I didn't get it. So guess what I was doing all week! :) We came home Monday afternoon with almost no clean clothes, so I had to do lots of laundry besides caring for sick children. Last evening I just sank down on my recliner and didn't feel like moving anymore. Most of them were getting better. A few were still very sick. Ruth Anna was saying all the time she feels fine, she's just tired. Even with a temp of 102 she insisted she's not sick. Yesterday afternoon she said she's so tired. She curled up on the couch with a blanket and fell asleep. When she woke up she was very hot. Her temp was now 104.8! She finally admitted that she was sick! Jonathan got tight all of a sudden Thursday evening so Edward took him to the ER. Chest ex-rays were clear, so after a nebulizer treatment they sent him home with an inhaler in case he gets tight again.<br />
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Once everyone is well and things are back to normal I want to get my thoughts together and finish writing my experience with SCAD.<br />
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Here are some pictures from the week of Bible school...<br />
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The chorus</div>
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Since all the chairs and tables had been taken out of the basement dining area the children had a lot of fun roller blading.</div>
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We had a nice living space behind the chairs in the sanctuary. We slept in the nursery and the children slept in the rooms upstairs.</div>
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And I did have to add a picture of the photographer. :) Jonathan 8</div>
<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-53849251713604877672015-02-27T07:41:00.002-08:002015-02-27T07:41:46.467-08:00Hospital Life Part IIILife settled into a routine. Tuesday morning Edward brought Joel and Simon along. I wanted the baby there too, so they brought him along, even though I couldn't really take care of him. It just seemed right to have him there. Dr. Prya was so fascinated at how the boys cared for him. She asked Joel if he would take such good care of a baby girl too. :) I held him awhile and he did seem to relax and know that I was his Mom. I was afraid he wouldn't even know who his Mother is since I couldn't take care of him. :( He was a calm, contented baby which was such a blessing. Thank God! My last three babies had been very fussy.<br />
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That morning Dr. Holmberg came into my room followed by several students with their pens and note pads. He said he is taking over for Dr. Biddle. He's one of the cardiologists that comes out to Atlantic. I'm wondering if that is why he took over. Anyway, he is a really nice doctor and I like him. He gave an outline of what would be happening the rest of my stay. On Thursday they would do a CT angiogram. I did not know what that would be except he said it's a non-invasive procedure. They wanted to check other arteries, especially the renal arteries, to make sure they all look OK. Also, someone from physical therapy would be coming to get me out of bed and walking. The students didn't say a word, but they were taking notes. It was so interesting. I liked to keep my door open to watch the activity. These older doctors would go into a room with some students. After a while they came out, then they would stand in the hallway and he would be talking to them. I decided maybe one of our sons should become a cardiologist! I would point out to Edward different doctors that visited me regularly. Some of these always came in early before Edward came in, so he searched them out in the hall to talk with them. They said what happened to me is very unusual. They called to other university hospitals as far away as Japan and Australia to get more information. I think it was Dr. Holmberg who said that in his 20 years of practice I was his third patient with a dissection like this.<br />
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After a while Josh, the physical therapist (PT), came in. He was going to take me on a walk in the halls. So far I had spent all my time in bed except to use the bedside commode. My hips or lower back were badly out of shape. I could hardly stand up and get started walking. Once I was going, it didn't bother me much. This had started before I was in the hospital. Laying in bed all the time had just made it worse. It was a big ordeal to get out of bed and start walking. First he got me to sit on the edge of the bed, then he checked my heart rate and blood pressure. He kept the blood pressure cuff on my arm and had a little thing on my finger that showed how fast my heart was beating. It took a little bit to get all my wires and stuff organized. Then we were off. We stopped every few minutes so that he could check my BP and heart rate. It all stayed fine. I was up for about 10 minutes. It was amazing how tired I got! He told me I could sit out on a chair awhile if I wanted to, but I could hardly sit because of my hips, so I went back to bed. I felt so disheveled it was embarrassing to be out in the halls where everyone could see me. Sunday night my headache was so bad I took everything out of my hair except two barrettes to keep it out of my face. I of course did not have the foresight to bring a brush along, so I had been unable to do anything with it. Although my hair has thinned quite a bit it's long, well below my waist, so it was always in the way.</div>
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That afternoon Dave and Mary came again. We had asked Mary to bring along my hair brush from home. She brushed and braided my hair, which felt so good, but we had no band to put on the end of the braid. We could probably have found something somewhere in this big hospital. One of the nurses thought she might have something, but must have forgotten. </div>
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On Sunday already I had strong desire for an anointing. So now we had an anointing service according to <b>James 5:14-15 </b>Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.</div>
God did not miraculously heal me right then and there, but He gave me the peace and assurance that we are in His will. I was still struggling with that monster, fear. I will talk more about that later. When I look back now and understand better some of the serious complications that could have happened there is no doubt in my mind that He kept me safe. Sometime after I came home we were studying SCAD. One source said that 90% of SCAD patients have a recurrence in the first week and 50% have one in the first two months. A recurrence is when another dissection happens in another artery. So I praise God that I am one of the 10% that did not have a recurrence.<br />
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Late afternoon Chris and Royale Charles came to visit. We were so encouraged. Royale mothered Michael for me. :) She changed his diaper and fed him his bottle. Edward and the boys were doing a good job, but they just didn't have that "mother's touch". We still hadn't figured out the bottle. It was a Nuk nipple with a vent. Which way do we hold it? Should the vent be on top or bottom? One way it seemed he couldn't get anything out. It wasn't till months later when we got the bigger bottles and read the directions on the box that we learned we were holding it upside down! :) Oh well, he got what he needed. Chris and Royale were very generous and brought a huge gift... 356 diapers, 900 wipes, and formula. They also gave large bottles of fish oil and vitamin D, supplements that are good for the heart. A mere thank you doesn't seem enough...<br />
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We are so blessed! I wondered about the other patients there in the Cardiac Care Unit. How did they cope if they did not have faith in God? Did they have caring friends and family? None of our family lives close to us, but they did very well in calling and showing their support in that way. My mother called every day. She has Parkinson's disease and cannot travel anymore, so that made all the more special.</div>
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After Chris and Royale left Edward and the boys got ready to leave too. For some reason my heart rate was higher, around 120. I was kind of worried. Simon was very worried. The nurses didn't say anything about it, but they did increase my dose of metoprolol. Edward prayed and then they left. Irene stayed with me again. We gave Michael to Mabel Chupp for the night. :(::: I was sad. I so much wanted to be able to take care of my newborn baby. I always relished those special moments with a newborn. It seemed my body had gone into survival mode after my heart attack and I lost my motherly feelings. All those special warm and cuddly fuzzy feelings that go with snuggling your newborn - GONE! I felt robbed. I could not bring them back. They did come back to a certain extent, but it took a long time. It feels as though I missed all of that newborn bonding time. God still left that song phrase stuck in my mind - "Rejoice in the Lord HE MAKES NO MISTAKE".</div>
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-22846920372745257652015-02-14T06:29:00.000-08:002015-02-26T06:58:06.637-08:00Hospital Life Part II<span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do I begin??? If this post is disorganized and confused it's because that is how I was feeling. I was just told that I had damage to my heart, I could have no more babies and couldn't nurse the baby I had. I would have to take all this medicine or I could die. I now had two stents in my heart that would stay there forever. What would that all mean? I was afraid. Would it happen again? That slight risk of complications magnified itself in my mind. I was so thankful for doctors and their knowledge and the stents they put in to save my life. At the same time I struggled with accepting all of what had happened. I did not want stents. I did not want a half working heart. I wanted to be strong and healthy. I had just come through a rough pregnancy and was looking forward to being able to do things again. So being told that I should have a full recovery in three months sounded like the rest of my life. And did the Dr. really know?! Life certainly gets a different perspective when you're flat on your back in a hospital bed!</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Isaiah 41:10 </b>Fear thou not; for I <i>am</i> with thee: be not dismayed; for I <i>am</i> thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. </span><br />
I cannot emphasize enough how the LORD helped me through this very difficult time. I see it much more clearly now than I did at the time it was happening. Even though I did not understand how this could be God's will, he gave me the grace to trust Him and to believe that all things work together for good to them that love God.<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="font-size: 24pt;">Footprints in the Sand</td></tr>
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<tr><td height="28" style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;" valign="bottom"> One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> other times there were one set of footprints.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> This bothered me because I noticed</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> that during the low periods of my life,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> when I was suffering from</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> anguish, sorrow or defeat,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> I could see only one set of footprints.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> So I said to the Lord,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> "You promised me Lord,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> that if I followed you,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> you would walk with me always.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> But I have noticed that during</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> the most trying periods of my life</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> there have only been one</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> set of footprints in the sand.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> Why, when I needed you most,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> you have not been there for me?"</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> The Lord replied,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> "The times when you have</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> seen only one set of footprints,</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;"> is when I carried you."</td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;"> Mary Stevenson</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone was so kind and helpful. The doctor had a lactation consultant come in to talk with us about the pros and cons of nursing with these medications. She thought I should at least try it. I couldn't as long as I was on Heparin, a very strong blood thinner I would be on my entire stay at the hospital. She encouraged me to keep pumping even if I would have to wait as long as several months to try nursing again. That looked like a huge mountain to me. Another option would be to nurse some and supplement with formula so that he wouldn't be getting as much of the meds. Hmmm.... There is a very good pediatrician in Omaha that could do regular blood work on the baby to make sure it's not having adverse effects on him. That did not sound very positive to us either. She had a very thick book with all medications and how safe or unsafe they are for babies. The heart meds I was on had the middle rating and she said that's because they have no studies on them. I guess there are very few mothers with tiny babies that have to take them. We would need some time to think about all this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pat Lowis and Carol Gavin came in, bringing Annetta and Baby Michael along. I was <i>so encouraged</i> when Pat told how she had a slight heart attack years ago and had a stent put in. The spunky old lady kicked up her foot to show that she's still kicking after all these years. :) She also brought a beautiful bouquet along. Thank God for friends!</span><br />
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Irene went home, or rather to Dave Grices where the other children were staying, with Pat and Carol. I tried to rest since I had not slept much the night before. Someone from the lab was coming regularly to draw blood. That all had to be done in my left hand because of the cath site on my right wrist. The pressure from the tourniquet could cause it to start bleeding. By the time I came home I had some very colorful bruises! Nurses were in and out all the time. It was very hard to find a space of uninterrupted time to fall asleep. I still had a headache... That afternoon Ryan and Kelsey Grice stopped in on their way home from Holdredge, NE. It was encouraging to have visitors, but I was too tired to enjoy it. Edward stayed till after supper then he and Annetta went home. We decided I will stay by myself. Both girls were very worn out. For the sake of the children it was best for Edward to spend the nights at home with them. Pat had offered to stay, but I didn't like the idea of asking her do to that. She's in her seventies. I knew I would receive excellent care from the nurses and there's no reason anyone has to stay with me. It did feel pretty lonely after everyone left. I didn't sleep much better than the night before. At one point my call button fell on the floor. Such a helpless feeling. I was tied down with IV and monitors and couldn't even get out of bed to pick it up!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-89902108055445673092015-02-05T17:57:00.000-08:002015-04-02T06:47:19.836-07:00Hospital Life<b>Romans 8:38-39 (paraphrased) </b>For I am persuaded, that neither heart attack, nor heart muscle damage, nor headache, nor fear, nor lots of medications, nor the side effects of said medications, nor dietary restrictions, etc. etc. shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br />
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<b>Isaiah 43:2 </b>When thou passest through the waters, I <i>will be</i> with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.<br />
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<b>Revelation 1:17 ...</b> And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, <span style="color: #ba0000;">Fear not;</span><br />
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Sunday evening Edward and Annetta went home, leaving Irene at the hospital with me. Ever since they had put the stents in I did not have any chest pain, but I still had that throbbing headache. Finally I asked the nurse if I could have something for the headache. (I don't know why I didn't ask earlier...) She brought me Tylenol. I felt like telling her it probably wouldn't work, but didn't. I had not yet tried Tylenol. <i>Maybe</i> it would help. It didn't. Later in the night she gave me Percocet which is a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone, a narcotic. She also discontinued the nitro in my IV. I still had headache. Maybe it was slightly better, but not enough that I felt much of a difference. The IV in my left arm was uncomfortable. My right arm where they had inserted the catheter was very sore. The pulse-ox taped to my finger bothered me. I tried in vain to find a comfortable position and fall asleep. I couldn't sleep because I had a headache. I had a headache because I couldn't sleep... They turned off my lights and closed the door, but I could still hear all the activity from the nurses' station. The phone was ringing, people were talking, moniters and IVs were beeping. Irene was also having a hard time getting some rest. They had brought a recliner into my room for her. She thought maybe there'd be a couch in the waiting room that would be more comfortable, but there was a strange woman out there and she felt uncomfortable, so she came back. Everyone was very kind to us. It's just hard to sleep in the hospital. We finally did sleep a little.<br />
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Monday morning the activity started. The nurses' station and hallways were swarming with doctors and students. Creighton is a university hospital. Early in the morning a lady came into my room pushing some kind of a machine. She was here to do an echocardiogram (ultrasound) of my heart. Someone from the lab was coming every six hours or so to draw blood. Another person pushed in scales to weigh me. After a while Dr. ?? (I never did hear his name) bounced into the room. He looked Asian or Middle East and had a heavy accent. Apparently he had been in the cath lab on Sunday and helped with the angiogram. I didn't remember seeing him, but he proceeded to tell me what they saw and what they did. He drew some pictures on the white board. He said the artery was stretched thin, maybe from the extra volume of blood during pregnancy, and got a tear. This is what it looked like before and after they put the stents in etc. He really stressed the fact that I HAVE to take the medications, even if it means I cannot nurse the baby. I could die if I don't take the meds. He said some cultures would say, "It's more important to nurse the baby, so I won't take the meds." Well, I didn't want to hear that I can't nurse the baby, but I knew that being here for the whole family was more important than nursing the baby. I wish I could hear again all he said. Everything was so new to me. I thought I understood what he was saying, but now I realize how little I really did understand. I do not remember that he said anything about "spontaneous coronary artery dissection".<br />
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Edward left home right after breakfast, so it was about 8:30 when he came in. Soon after he was there Dr. Biddle, the cardiologist, came in and sat down. He too explained what had happened and what they did. It was a "text book" case of post partum heart attack. He said my arteries were clean (no plaque build up) and this was caused by hormonal changes related to the pregnancy. The further away I get from the pregnancy the chances of it happening again grow less. He made it clear that I do not have heart disease. This is just a freak thing (more on that later) that happens to some people. He explained how they put two stents in and there is another area that they are watching. There was damage to my heart muscle. The front and tip of my heart were damaged. Normal ejection fraction is 55 - 70%. If I remember right he said mine was 25 - 30%. But he said they expect that to improve and I should have a full recovery in 3 months. They would keep me in the hospital for 4 - 5 days yet. Since this was pregnancy related he said another pregnancy would/could be life threatening, so no more babies. And I could not nurse this baby because of all the medications. He was very nice, but wow, this was a lot to process in our minds. I asked about my headache. The ER doctor in Atlantic thought it might have been angina, but Dr. Biddle said he doesn't think so. Because this was a spontaneous dissection, I most likely would not have had any symptoms before it happened.<br />
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Dr. Biddle</div>
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<br />Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-7268696998807326452015-02-05T04:38:00.000-08:002015-02-05T04:38:27.071-08:00The Week From Annetta's Viewpoint<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> July 14, is a day to be remembered forever for our family... the day of Mom's heart attack. It was a beautiful day. The sky was cloudless, and the sun blazed bright and hot. I remember standing there behind the hospital with little Michael in my arms, watching the helicopter take off for Omaha, thinking </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">"How can the sun still shine?"</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #01004e; font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> I felt like I was walking in a dream that day. It was me that went along to the ER. I fought tears the whole way to the hospital. When we got to the ER Mom was taken back immediately, and I was left in the waiting room with a week old baby... alone. I don't know how long I was there, pacing the small room, not knowing what was going on... wondering if I'd we'd be left motherless... It seemed like hours till Dad came and said Mom had a heart attack. She would have to be life-flighted, and the helicopter was on the way. I remember thinking as I sat there alone in the waiting room, </span></span><i style="color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">All my friends and so many other people I know are all at church... enjoying life... they have no idea what we are going through... they have no idea that I'm all alone in an ER waiting room with a tiny baby, and Mom might be dying.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #01004e; font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Later Dad took Michael and I back to her room to say good bye. Again I fought back the tears. Would this be the last time I see my Mother alive?? Then they loaded her onto the stretcher and wheeled her out to the waiting helicopter. The sun shone brightly and the chopping blades of the helicopter seemed to mock my crying heart. Then as if in a dream, or a story the helicopter disappeared in the distance... and we were back behind the hospital alone. My mind and emotions were a whirlwind of confusion... I was dazed. This couldn't be happening! It seemed like our happy world was shattered to millions of fragments. At the time the future looked vast and awful... so dark and unknown. I felt so desperately helpless and alone.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> After the helicopter left Dad and I and Michael went to Walmart to get a bottle for Michael. He hadn't been fed yet that morning, and so far he was still sleeping. We had sample formula at home that the hospital gave when Michael was born. I never dreamed that some day we'd have to use it. We had to stop in at home because Dad was still in his every day clothes. Usually Omaha doesn't seem that far away, but that day it took forever to get there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> As we drove through Griswold and past our church on the way to Omaha my heart throbbed painfully. All my siblings and dear church friends were so close. And I knew they were praying for us. I wished I could see them all right then. In my heart I wished they knew we were driving past, and that we were on the way to Creighton. The sun shone on bright as ever, but, though I remained cool and collected on the outside, I was weeping and crying on the inside.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Mom was still in the Cath lab when we got there, but we weren't in the waiting room long till she was wheeled past. After Mom was settled in her room Dad and I went down to the cafeteria for lunch. I think it was about two by then, but I wasn't hungry at all. The rest of the afternoon was a confusing whirl of medical technology, doctors and nurses.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Dave and Mary came later in the afternoon with Irene. They prayed for us and read scriptures. I could've just cried. I was so thankful for friends like them that cared! Irene stayed with Mom that night, and Dad, Michael, and I went home. Dave and Abi brought the rest of the children over after we got home. The house looked just like it had when we left that morning. Everything from breakfast was still on the table. After Mom had started with chest pain that morning no one was hungry any more... so nobody ate.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> I had Michael with me that night. He was a very calm, laid back baby and did very well. I felt so calm and peaceful even through the turmoil of our world having been turned upsidedown. When I would wake up during the night Psalms and/or songs would go through my mind. I could feel the prayers of hundreds of friends all over the world.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> The next day, Monday, Dad went to the hospital alone right after breakfast, and the Grices took the other children to their house. Later in the morning Gram and Carol and her girls took Michael and me to the hospital, and brought Irene back to the Grices. I was at the hospital all day Monday. Later in the afternoon Ryan & Kelsey and baby Katelyn and Josh stopped by on their way home from Holdrege. Having friends visit us like that kind of calmed my heart because I knew people were thinking about us and cared for us. On Monday night we all went home for the night and Mom was at the hospital alone. Irene had Michael that night. Around two she gave him to me because he had woken up and wouldn't settle down. So I had him for the rest of the night.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Tuesday morning Dad took Joel, Simon, and Michael to the hospital, and us girls stayed home to do the laundry, and cleaning. The little children were at the Grices for the day. It was so odd being at home with no one around. That afternoon Carol and her girls took Irene and I to the thrift store in Atlantic to shop for baby clothes for Michael. Later she took us to the Grices where we had supper and spent the evening. Mary and Josh took us home later. Irene was with Mom that night and the Chupps had Michael. It was hard for me to leave Michael with someone else for the night. It did not seem right to have him away from the rest of the family. Plus I felt responsible for him. I was very glad to have him back with me the next day. :)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> On Wednesday Dad took Jonathan with him to the hospital and the rest of us stayed home. We were so ready for life to get back to normal! I don't remember a whole lot from that day except after supper we all went out to the back field lane and played on the neighbor's hay bales. I guess it was a good way to relieve the stress and mixed emotions. After Dad and Jonathan came home we just sat outside and talked. But there was a big hole in the family circle... Mom was missing. Gram stayed with Mom that night. Irene and I took care of Michael with her having him the first half of the night and me the second part.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Thursday morning Dad took Marian, Michael, and I with him to the hospital where we spent another long day. That day the Grices were finishing the work at Dad's job site in Lewis which was a tremendous blessing! Rita and Mary Pratt visited us that afternoon. Later that day Mom was moved to another room just down the hall. Towards evening we were sitting in the room with Mom when a nurse tapped on the door and said we have visitors. In walked Teresa, Emily, Nathan, and Sophia Smidt! What a surprise! It was so nice seeing them and talking with them. They were such a sweet blessing! Again I was overwhelmed with the knowledge that people were thinking about us. The Smidts had driven those 4 1/2 hours just to visit us.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Marian was going to stay with Mom that night, but after we had left Mom called up and said the nurses said Marian is too young to stay there. So we had to go back and pick her up again. Poor Marian... she was in tears. She said she can't sleep as well when Mom isn't home. We left Michael with the Pratt's that night. Rita was so happy to help us! By that evening I was so tired and worn out I didn't even care that Michael wasn't with me. All of us were so worn out and tired from all the changes that had suddenly taken place. I think I was kind of in shock that week because looking back I don't know how I did it. God was so faithful! And His presence was so close! The peace we felt over the time was tremendous! Everyone's prayers were felt in every little way. We are so blessed to have so many caring friends and neighbors.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> That Friday Dad went to the hospital alone. Mom's brother Joseph and his family came down for the day. Uncle Joe installed a large window air conditioner for us and helped the boys work in the garden while Aunt Anna Mary helped us girls with cleaning and stuff. They were such a blessing! We picked two 5 gallon buckets of green beans that day! Mom was discharged from the hospital that afternoon, and they came home late afternoon. It was so good to be together as a family again!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Mom was still too weak to do much, and Irene and I basically took over the house. We also took care of Michael night and day for several weeks after she came home because she was too weak to do it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Over the time Mom was in the hospital wasn't as stressful for me as later when we had all the harvesting and canning to do. We were so blessed to have Emily Smidt with us for several weeks. She was such a blessing and encouragement to us, and I will always cherish the memories she made with us. She was a great help!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> Another day I will always remember is when Elvin and Rachel visited us one evening. We were so blessed and encouraged by their visit! They prayed with us and shared scriptures. We had a sweet evening with them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #01004e; font-family: serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> There were some evenings where I would just reflect over the past days and weeks, and look into the future and everything would just look so dark and hopeless. It was probably partly because of the stress and mixed emotions and just everything else that had taken place. I had to learn to just give everything to Christ. When I'd do that the peace of God would come back. Through the experiences from last year I've grown a lot in my relationship with God and with my family. Though it was a trying year, and we experienced many stressful times it was so worth it. God was so faithful. He always is! I am so thankful to God for sparing my Mother's life! I feel I've grown up a lot since that awful day in July. I couldn't be more grateful to have grown up in a Christian family, and having that hope... Jesus Christ. He is a faithful Friend! The following song went through my mind the entire week Mom was in the hospital...</span><br />
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<b>"Rejoice In the Lord"</b></div>
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God never moves without purpose or plan</div>
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When trying His servant, or molding a man.</div>
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Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;</div>
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In darkness He giveth a song.</div>
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I could not see through the shadows ahead;</div>
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So I looked at the cross of my Saviour instead.</div>
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I bowed to the will of the Master that day;</div>
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Then peace came and tears fled away.</div>
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Now I can see testing comes from above;</div>
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God strengthens His children and purges in love.</div>
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My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;</div>
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Through purging more fruit I will bear.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chorus:</span></div>
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O rejoice in the Lord. He makes no mistake.</div>
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He knoweth the end of each path that I take.</div>
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For when I am tried and purified,</div>
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I shall come forth as gold.</div>
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Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-3923523769142221442015-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:002015-02-04T11:30:14.352-08:00The First Day-Guest Post By IreneOkay, I've been given the assignment to write how it went that fateful Sunday of Mom's heart attack. I never wrote any of it down, so my memory has become a bit sketchy in some places. But it was significant that I think I remember most of it. Some of what I will write here are specifics that others remembered and I didn't.<br />
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After Dad, Mom, Annetta, and Michael left for the hospital and even before, the food on the table lay untouched, including what was already on the plates. We'd made baked oatmeal for something a bit different, but no one ate any of it that morning. We couldn't really settle down to anything. It was totally up in the air as to what we were going to do that day. Would we go to church or not? Add to that the fact that we absolutely didn't know what was going to be happening with Mom. Was it the heart or the stomach or what?<br />
I think the children just kind of wandered around; one or so might have read a book. I did some research on heart attacks and blood clots, and found that especially the heart attack symptoms matched Mom's symptoms, but not so much the blood clot symptoms. I also sent out emails and text messages, and received a flurry of replies. I talked with Dad several times, and, after he knew, he told me it was her heart, though what exactly it was they didn't know at that time. They were flying her to Omaha.<br />
Dad made arrangements for the Grices to take us to church. They came very soon after that. I still had to get the little girls ready for church, or at least finish getting them ready. And I still had to finish getting ready myself. The Grices waited patiently for us, bless their hearts. Finally, we were off. All the food was left on the table. It was a different church service in more ways than one. I, for once, had to take care of all the little ones, which wasn't difficult, just different. And the air conditioning in the church wasn't working, so it was loud with fans, and warm and stuffy. I have no idea what was preached. After church I talked with Dad several times. Mom had had a catheterization, he said, and would need to be in the hospital for observation a few days. I was relieved; that didn't sound so very terrible. I think at that point we still didn't really understand the situation or the gravity of it so well. But we did know that Mom would likely be okay, and that was what mattered (at that point, anyway).<br />
The Grices took us to their almost-cold air conditioned home for lunch and for the afternoon and for who knew how long? Emily took me home for some things. In my inexperience of motherhood, I had forgotten diapers for Rhoda. At home, the food still sat on the table; I put a bit of it away, but left most of it.<br />
Later that afternoon it was decided that I would go to the hospital to be with Mom for the night. Dave and Mary Grice took me in. Of all things, the nurse on duty in that large hospital was one that Mary had had a little over eight years earlier in a small town hospital when she had a blood clot. Mom was in a crowded little room, just off the nurses' station, the hub of activity and noise.<br />
Dad, Annetta, and Michael went home, and the rest of the children were brought home from the Grices.<br />
Ironically, I enjoyed staying at the hospital. I love hospitals. I'm sure, though, if I could have I would have chosen different conditions to stay at a hospital overnight, especially a large city hospital. It was definitely a different experience, and certainly not very restful. For my sleeping quarters, I had this very firm recliner, in the which I had the choices of sitting up halfway or sitting up all the way.<br />
Sometime, maybe around one something in the night, I was pointed out the door for a time, for hospitals require a great lack of privacy for their patients. I went to the small waiting room, and was disappointed to find that I wouldn't be by myself. And if my memory is correct, I do believe that woman was reading a newspaper, at maybe one something in the night. Later, someone said something about homeless people coming to the hospital for a place to stay nights. And it could well have been, for this was North Omaha, the area where you would find the majority of homelessness and poverty, as well as crime. I regret now that I didn't talk to her at all. What a chance to witness. Anyhow, I sat and looked out the large window at the lack of traffic and busyness. It was a unique night, and certainly not altogether a bad one. I must say, though, that the day before wasn't so unique (in a nice way at least), but God's grace was sufficient for our need.Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2061280400604489038.post-65322066563731469142015-02-03T13:00:00.002-08:002015-02-04T05:56:58.734-08:00Link to More SCAD InfoI came across this article and thought I would share it. Mayo Clinic is doing some research on spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Up to now it has been poorly understood, because it's so rare. They are finding out that maybe it isn't quite as rare as previously thought. Chances are that it was misdiagnosed sometimes, especially in women.<br />
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<a href="http://thij.org/doi/full/10.14503/THIJ-14-4089">http://thij.org/doi/full/10.14503/THIJ-14-4089</a><br />
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My daughter is working on her post. She should have it ready soon. :)Edward Martin Family http://www.blogger.com/profile/13885015448627666709noreply@blogger.com0