Sunday, May 30, 2010

From Celiac to Heart Attack... Where do I begin?

Where to begin?

I guess I could begin by talking about how my baby sister and how she and her baby experienced the miracle of birth in a way most mothers never have too. She found out after she delivered the baby that she has Vasa Previa. A serious condition that involves that umbilical cord being in the wrong place and being dangerously without a "wrap" over the vessles. Her umbilical chord was completely exposed to whatever may come. The doctor was shocked that Kade healthy. Apparently out of 100 babies born with this "thing" only 4 will make it. I am so thankful that Kade was one of the 4 that made it. The other complication that "could have been" was that my sister could have bled to death. The doctor considered it a miracle that she didn't and that when the baby was born, he was alive. God was good to us.

In the past month, I have found out that I have Celiac Disease. Sounds innocent enough, right? After having a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, I found out my colon is in terrible shape. I also found out that having Celiac Disease also involves me taking "gluten" out of my diet completely. There is no cheating when you have Celiac Disease. It is not a "choice" to take gluten out of your diet, it is a demand. If I do continue to eat gluten, I will have serious complications and major health issues that will plague me always. Gluten is simply "wheat" and "wheat derivatives" It is in almost everything imaginable. I have been shocked at how much of our foods contain wheat. I will be going to the doctor this week to find out how old my bones are and I go next week to have a test done on my small intestines to make certain that they are cancer free. Many times Celiac disease will transform itself into other things... one thing being cancer.

To top off my last three months, my best friend, my earthly rock, MY Clay had a massive heart attack on May 15. I am still reeling from the events of this past week. Here is the story:

Several months ago, my mom, called to let me know that "Mary Poppins" would be at the Fox Theater in May. She knows that this is one of my all time favorite movies and knew that I would love to go, so she bought us tickets to go see it on May 15, 2010. The only reason we chose to go on May 15 is because the calendar was free at the time for that date. (Several weeks later, I realized that Noel had a Wash Board Band performance, but it was too late. We had our tickets and could not change the date. ) It was all a part of God's plan for us to GO to the Fox on May 15.

We decided to take 1/2 a day on Friday and go up to Atlanta to "play" as a family. We left around 1:00 with Mom, Clay, myself, and the kids to go up to Atlanta. As we rode along 75 south, our tire made an awful noise and we realized it was flat. It has "busted" somehow. We pulled over and Clay worked to get the tire changed. He was our hero! The tire was the one facing the road and we had people going 85 mph right next to where he was changing a tire. We had never experienced a flat in the Van and we found that the spare tire was UNDER the middle of the van and we had to lower it using some "creative" thing that Dodge came up with. Clay got the tire changed and we were thankful that no one got hurt!!! We ended up at Sam's in Macon and they fixed our tire and we were finally off!

We got to Atlanta and went straight to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Of course, I have to ask for a gluten free menu and the Chef had to come out and explain to me what I could have that was on the menu. He was great and the food was wonderful. We left and my sweet husband took two of my kids swimming... they had begged and begged. They froze, but had a blast! :)

The Downtown Marriott is NOT the quietest Motel on the block...lol... doors slammed all night and we really didn't get a great rest, but who cares! We were going to see Mary Poppins! We woke up late, went to eat an early lunch at "Ted's Montana Grill” (they had a Gluten free menu AND it was delicious!!!) We finished eating and Clay and the kids went to the van around 12:30. Clay said at this time he sneezed several times VERY hard and they hurt his chest. We left the Marriott and went directly to the Fox. Mom had purchased a parking pass so we didn't have to look for a spot and we were fairly close to the Fox. We got out and walked around the Fox and looked at the architecture and just enjoyed checking out downtown Atlanta. My camera battery died and Clay being the gentleman he was, took the camera bag and walked all the way back to the van and put it away so that I wouldn't have to carry it around all day. Clay said that at this time, he didn't feel great but wasn't feeling "horrid". He came back up to the Fox where we were first in line to get into the theater. He stood there and watched me and the kids act like children! lol. We were so excited! They opened the doors at 1:00 sharp and we were allowed into the theater. We then had to wait by our curtain until 1:20 when they let us into the seating area of the theater. We looked around and were impressed by the orchestra pit and the cool cameras they had for the players. The sky in the Fox Theater was so beautiful. It looks as if you are outside on a cool, clear Georgia night. We went and sat down. Clay took Clayton to the restroom and came back and stated that he still didn't feel good. He felt like he had severe indigestion. I went to find Tums and Ibuprofen for him. When I got back, the EMT on duty at the Fox had begun to walk Clay to a room in the back of the theater. I dropped off my pocketbook with my mom and ran to catch up with them. I knew that if Clay had asked for help, he was truly sick. The time was about 1:30--Once we got to the room, the EMT, put an oxygen mask on Clay... He was sweating horribly and was cold as can be.... The EMT was asking questions and trying to figure out if it were a heart attack or something else. He promptly called 911 for backup help. As I sat there and watched, I realized that things were serious. I began to ask God to please help... I began to wonder what was happening to MY Clay. My Clay is never sick. The ambulance got there and the ladies worked very quickly to take care of him. They put a heart monitor on immediately and began to do their work. They printed out one EKG "thing" and decided he needed to go to the hospital. The Fox employees recommended Crawford-Long Hospital, but the Emergency girls said that the ER was super busy there and thought it would be best to take him to Piedmont since he was having heart pains. Best decision made that day! The best we can figure we were on our way to Piedmont around 2:00/2:15 ish. SECOND best decision of the day was when the EMT worker gave Clay 2 Nitroglycerin tablets and an aspirin. Once we got to Piedmont, they had 4 nurses waiting at Clay's appointed room. Everyone who was there had a job and they didn't waste a second of time. I was amazed. I felt as if I was in a time warp or watching a movie... It didn't feel real. At this point, I am not sure that I was feeling at all. I couldn't cry and I couldn't think. My Clay was on that gurney and they were shaving him and drawing tons of blood from him and they were printing out little EKG reports.... and then one of the PA's came in and read the EKG and said... it is a heart attack. WE need to move NOW. Within seconds, the doctor shows up and tells Clay that he is having a heart attack and that she felt he needed to have a heart cathertization done. She grabbed his hands and felt how cold and clammy they were and told the nurses they had to move NOW... The nurse replied that the team wasn't there yet... The Doctor said, I don't care we must go NOW.... When they move, they RUN... I had to jog to keep up with them! They left me in a dark hallway with a bunch of gurneys and told me to stay put. It was a long hallway that didn’t really have any character to it. It was just a long hallway that was very lonely at that moment... the nurse said that she would come back for me. At this time.... I cried... I cried out to Jesus in ways only He could understand. I wasn't crying hysterical, I was just so grieved… MY soul was calm and broken... I didn't know how to ask what I needed... but God knew exactly what I needed. I am now reminded of Romans 8:26 where it says that "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." I can say that I truly felt the spirit. I understand this verse now. The scripture goes on to say:”Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” I felt the spirit and could sense his presence in that hallway. The verse goes on to one of the most quoted verses we hear today… “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I know that the spirit was with Clay and was with me. A few minutes later a nurse came and took me to a waiting room in the hospital. It did not have but a few lights on and it was empty. I had no idea where I was or what I could do. I was completely at the mercy of the Lord… thankfully. I did call a few people at this time. But, for the most part, I just sat in that dark room by myself. I was fine with it. I felt that God was at work that day and I knew that He would get the glory. I prayed that God would make Clay’s heart well. A few hours later the Dr. came out and gave me the “grave” news. She informed me that Clay’s heart attack was one of the worst kinds. It was 100% blockage of the LAD artery. This is the artery that supplies the largest part of the heart blood. This type of heart attack is also called the “Widow Maker” because few men or women survive this kind of heart attack. She informed me that she wasn’t certain how much of Clay’s heart would survive the lack of oxygen. She told me that we would know within a few days how much of his heart muscle would “die” and how much would live. She didn’t give me much hope and was very honest in her assessment. I asked her what would happen if his heart muscle “died” and she never really gave me answers… she just would say, let’s talk about that when we get there. Clay spent 2 nights in CCU and my mom and I spent two nights on the floor of a “waiting area”. I didn’t sleep but about 30 minutes the entire night… my best friend was in CCU and I couldn’t see him. I just wanted to sit with him. The doctors came to us on Monday and informed us that Clay’s numbers were nothing short of amazing. The doctor expected Clay’s numbers to be around 5,000-6,000. She told him she was shocked to see his numbers at 2200. The doctor told us that Clay had a massive heart attack with moderate damage, the only way she could explain it was that they were able to get to the heart attack right after the 100% blockage or right when it happened. Amazing. It was truly God’s grace.

To be continued….

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