Today marks the 7th month since Joe's surgery! Amazing how time goes by and each day brings new challenges. We are very grateful for the improvement in Joe's health in the last 7 months , and look forward with great anticipation to full recovery and restoration to normal, whatever the Lord chooses that to be! We were told by the surgeon, Dr. Bennett, that it will be a "new normal". :-) After strengthening the heart in cardiac rehab, the progress that was made was noticeably different that it was 4 months ago. Many opportunities for witness were granted during the rehab sessions at the hospital, and it gave us a new perspective on how blessed we are to have healthy bodies to serve the Lord with each day.
We would like to ask for continued specific prayer for the heart to get back into proper rhythm and for the atrial fibrillation to settle down and allow the heart to beat normally. At this time, they say it is in disorganized electrical impulses This has caused several episodes of dizziness, weakness, and periods of compromised health which brings along its own set of emotional frustrations. It often occurs during preaching due to the prolonged use of the diaphragm and the residual inflammation around the heart causing some of these issues. This should settle down over time. Our cardiologist says that the valve is functioning extremely well, and the strength of the heart is excellent. We just need to get the electrical system in proper sync and thus lower the risk of blood clots and stroke. At the moment, the doctors are preferring to use various medications to help control this issue, and hopefully avoid more surgery to correct the problem. There is also inflammation and infection in the diaphragm which we are working hard at trying to reduce. It seems to be leftover from the effects of the initial surgery and an annoying complication. These are pretty big concerns in anyone's body~but we are trusting the Lord to give us wisdom beyond ourselves, strength that comes only from Him, and comfort in knowing that HE alone knows all things related to the body that He created for His purposes. We are finding that each day gives us new opportunities to learn to trust Him more, and greater understanding of the ways He chooses to loosen our grip on this world. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise , glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1:6-7
Again, we would like to express our gratefulness for the thousands of prayers that have been offered to our Heavenly Father on our behalf. One never realizes the strength, comfort, and love you experience through crisis, then when you have had to partake of it yourself. It changes your perspective on life and on the need for the support of loved ones during times of great struggle. The Lord has been faithful to us, and likewise to you in answering your prayers for His glory and our good. We are most blessed~
With love and thankfulness to our wonderful Lord and to you, our caring friends~~
Joe and Chris, Rachel and Jason, Andrew and Laura, Josh and Jessi, Caylie, and Benjamin
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