Today is my daddy's birthday! He was born December 13, 1937, 73 years ago. Yall have no idea what a big deal this birthday really is. God really showed out for him 19 months ago. You see my daddy wasn't supposed to live too long past Christmas of 2008. He had a massive heart attack in 1990. He has been been dealing with the after effects of that since. Tons of meds, 9 heart stints ( added over a number of years), an angioplasty and a pacemaker/defibrillator. Over the past maybe six years he has had many other issues too. He is diabetic and has had some kidney damage as a result. I'm sure that I am forgetting other things because there is a laundry list... Oh and he stayed in constant atrial fib! His pacemaker/defibrillator has shocked him several times. He had gotten so bad that all he could do was go from the bed to the sofa. He was miserable!! We were miserable FOR him... He had always been an active man. Never minded shopping and loved working in the yard. It was really hard to see him this way. Knowing that his quality of life was not good was heart breaking. Oh and he was a fairly newlywed! Long story short, his docs said that there was really nothing else they would do for him. They offered Hospice more than once. They also offered to put him in touch with people to get one of those motorized chairs! THAT is NOT my Daddy!! He refused that with a quickness. He also wasn't ready for for Hospice. He wasn't ready to lay down and die! THAT IS my Daddy!! He is a fighter!! His cardiologist told him that the only thing she could do for him was send him to Kirkland Clinic in Birmingham to see a set of docs up here in the hopes that they knew something that she didn't. Can you say, "PRAISE GOD!?" This trip to Kirkland Clinic was the beginning of the rest of his life! My brother and I met them there on the day of the appointment to be a support system. Oh my! I don't think that I was prepared for what these doctors had to say or what my Daddy had to say either. There has been talk of some "sock" thing that they might could put over his heart to help the enlarging but we quickly found out that this was not an option for him. Nor was transplant. He was too "old" for it. The doc told him that he wasn't sure if there was an option for him. The "big" doc came in with a different story. When Dr. Salpy Pamboukian came in, I remember her asking Daddy what would happen if he was not a candidate for this un-FDA approved procedure. I will never forget his words! "I will die within three months! I can't live any longer like this." I felt my own heart stop with these words. You see, I love this man more than life itself! He is a HUGE GIANT part of my life and I wouldn't know what to do without him! This UN FDA approved procedure is called Implantation of Left Ventricular Assist Device or LVAD for short. This requires the chest to be opened up and this device implanted into his body to, for lack of a better explanation, by pass the left side of his heart all together and it runs on batteries. He would be required to live on batteries for the rest of his life! Oh and the surgery was MAJOR surgery and he wasn't even strong enough for it! I stayed on my face before my Heavenly Father! Psalm 118:17 ,He WILL live and NOT die and declare what the LORD has done, was what I confessed all the time!! I reminded God that HE said that He would hasten HIS Word to perform it. I KNEW that God couldn't lie! I trusted Him. I believed him. There was a lot that had to happen to see if Daddy was even a "good" candidate for this surgery. Once approved, they admitted him to UAB to get him ready for it. This took days!! Oh my word! Was it ever going to happen!? THIS was his last and ONLY chance to live but yet they reminded us that he could die before of during surgery.. THE DEVIL IS A LIE! That wasn't what MY God said so I didn't receive that report! Oh gosh was it hard at times... Surgery.. I was so not ready for this! He was! It was this or die and he wasn't ready to give up and die! Surgery went EXTREMELY well! Docs were shocked and surprised. I wasn't. My God isn't a liar! He is FAITHFUL! I wasn't prepared to see his after though. They told us there would be many machines, tubes, wires and he would be on life support... This is what I saw upon entering the unit...
I was never prepared to see my daddy like this! I only post it so that you can SEE how very far God has brought him. I prayed over this man before, during and still to this day. God hears my prayers and He honors them. I decreed that my Daddy WOULD live and NOT die and declare what God did for him! God is SO good! Today, 19 months later, it is his 73rd birthday. When I talked to him earlier he was getting ready to go to the Y to work out. This man that was supposed to be dead works out at least twice a week, most of the time three time though. He is in better health now that before the surgery. He is a walking, talking, living, breathing, working out MIRACLE! One of his doctors that he really doesn't even need to see anymore still schedules appointments for him. They loved to see him because he IS a miracle! There is NO other reason that he should be alive except God performed a miracle! He honored His word! Praise God!
Do you need a miracle? It's possible! God is not a man that he can lie or the son of man that he should repent (Nums 23:19). If He said anything, He'll do it! It isn't up to Him and what he CAN do! It IS up to us and what we can believe that He WILL do! I BELIEVED that he would perform a miracle and He did! What do you believe? Remember that faith is nothing more that just believing that God WILL do what He said He would. Oh and fear.... can't have it... Fear is faith in reverse.. If you need a miracle, repent (1st John 1:9), love on Him (Proverbs 8:17), ask and believe Him for what you need (Mark 11:24) and have someone "hook up" with you believing in agreement (Matt. 18:19). And it will be done. Don't waiver. Stand your ground! A double minded man won't receive... BELIEVE that it IS done! I did!
To God be the GLORY!!
Happy birthday my sweet Daddy!
I love you most!!
Praise God!
The procedure that Daddy had has now been approved by the FDA! Praise the Lord! More families with have more years with their loved ones! Here are some links to read more in detail about the LVAD. It was originally for transplant patients.
No comments:
Post a Comment