Monday, August 28, 2006

Prayer Request

This past Friday, my husband was rushed to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. The normal heart rate for an adult is 60-80 beats per minute, Mike's was anywhere from 120-170!

So I get the call around 9:30AM from him telling me they (the medical doctors where he works) are sending him to the hospital in downtown NYC. It's the kind of phone call I've been worried about getting ever since we found out he had a heart condition (he has a leaky heart valve). I've been worried that something would happen while he was at work and I wouldn't be able to get there. It's not easy to get into the city; I live about 1 1/2-2 hours away in New Jersey. So needless to say, I felt helpless and scared.

I'm thankful that he was given the wisdom to go up to medical where he works and didn't ignore his symptoms any longer. He has been complaining about not feeling good for some time now, so in God's providence it has turned out to be a blessing of sorts.

The doctor's have determined that Mike may have hyperthyroidism which could have been the cause of his erratic heartbeat. Tomorrow we are going to an endocrinologist with a follow-up at his cardiologist.

Please pray for us that we will be given wisdom as we make decisions, that what Mike has will be made known and that His peace will rule in our hearts.

Susan

*Update*
First of all, thank you all for your prayers. It's very appreciated!

Secondly, Mike has atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) that the Doctors think was brought on by hyperthryoidism (too much thryoid hormone). He may have Graves disease. He also needs to get an ultra-sound of his thryoid because the doctor felt a nodule on it. The biggest complication with a-fib is stroke. So they put Mike on a bloodthinner to prevent that from happening. Becaue he also has a leaky heart valve it puts him at a moderate risk of stroke.

So keep us in your prayers. Pray that Mike won't forget to take all his medications (he has to take different pills at different times of the day) and that he will be a good patient. Also that his blood will thin to the right consistency so that his risk of stroke diminishes while we wait on further tests. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again, Susie