Wow, so much has happened in my life, I cannot believe I haven't written in this blog. I guess I will have to catch up with a 2020 Covid Blog....but not now.
Today we have bigger issues. 2020 has really been something else! In January, Lloyd and I were both sick and that illness seemed to last all the way in to March. During an x-ray for a cough, the film showed that I had an enlarged heart. WELL, I could have told you I had a huge heart- ha ha!! Turns out that is a bad thing. It means my heart is working too hard. It's a muscle and it was getting a work out. (the only part of my body that was!) Anyway, I went for a Echo to see what was causing the issue. It turned out that I had a hole in my heart, that was there from birth. Atrial Septal Defect is the medical term, which is a Congenital Heart Defect. (ASD definition)
In the meantime, Covid hit and we moved to Florida. I had to find a Doctor, go back through the initial visit and get a TEE test to measure the hole. The doctor down here told me that open heart surgery would be needed, because of the size. I'm not going to lie, that freaked me out. I have a perfectly good sternum, with an awesome horizonal scar.....I did not want a vertical scar to mess things up!
As always, I shared what we were going through. I prayed for answers, and God came through. He put so many people in our life to direct us into the right path. That path has lead us to the Emory Congenital Heart Clinic. So, we will be coming back to Atlanta on Monday November 16th to have a minimal surgery, not OPEN HEART!! The team in Atlanta feels like the hole is small enough to patch through a catheter. Video asd closure surgery
I'm a little nervous, not anywhere near where I was with the thought of open heart, but still.....it's my heart. So many people have had strokes due to this defect and not knowing they had it, so I'm grateful that we found it early and it can be patched. Please pray that they are able to patch this hole, I will feel better after the procedure, and I won't have any side effects from this procedure.
I can only imagine how much I can love life, with a whole heart!! Can't wait!! Thanks everyone for the prayers.
Gratitude - isn't only a celebration when good things happen. Gratitude is a declaration that GOD IS GOOD, no matter what happens!
Anne Voskamp
