Bruce Cockburn has a line in his song Pacing the Cage that sums up last week for me, “Sometimes a wind comes out of nowhere and knocks you sideways”.
What started as a seemingly normal week ended up with me in the hospital having an angiogram, and then getting a stint in one of my arteries. To say I was blindsided by this would be an understatement. Heart disease was nowhere on my radar. In fact, according to statistics, I was not a likely candidate to suffer with heart disease for several reasons: First, for years I have been exercising typically four times a week for at least an hour each time, second, my cholesterol and triglyceride levels have been in a relatively safe place, third, I had no one in my immediate family with heart disease, and finally, I am kind of young to suffer from such a condition. Yet none of these factors seemed to matter. When everything was said and done even the doctors were surprised to see the blockage in my artery, but there it was.
What started as a seemingly normal week ended up with me in the hospital having an angiogram, and then getting a stint in one of my arteries. To say I was blindsided by this would be an understatement. Heart disease was nowhere on my radar. In fact, according to statistics, I was not a likely candidate to suffer with heart disease for several reasons: First, for years I have been exercising typically four times a week for at least an hour each time, second, my cholesterol and triglyceride levels have been in a relatively safe place, third, I had no one in my immediate family with heart disease, and finally, I am kind of young to suffer from such a condition. Yet none of these factors seemed to matter. When everything was said and done even the doctors were surprised to see the blockage in my artery, but there it was.
Eat to Live vs. Live to Eat
In the last few days since getting the stint I have been trying to come to terms with how I shall now live in light of having heart disease. The most obvious change will be concerning my diet. Instead of living to eat (the slogan for many here in Louisiana) I will be eating to live. Eating to live means that I am now moving to a diet that cuts out wheat, sugar, and corn syrup while increasing my intake of vegetables and fruit. I will still be eating moderate amounts of lean meat but no more bacon, brisket, burgers, or steak. This is going to be a difficult adjustment but I believe God is giving me the grace to do it.
Life has no doubt changed for me but I am certainly happy to be alive. Looking back on the last few days I can see how God was with me through the whole process and has protected my life. I am sure that the days ahead will be difficult as I get used to living a new way but I am very grateful for the all of the people God has put in our lives who have been praying for us, visiting us, and walking through this with our family. For this we are truly humbled.
I am sure I will have more to offer on this part of my journey in the future but for now I just wanted to provide a very brief explanation of the last few days for those who had not heard any news yet.
I am sure I will have more to offer on this part of my journey in the future but for now I just wanted to provide a very brief explanation of the last few days for those who had not heard any news yet.