A Testimony 4 Years In The Making

It’s hard to believe that 4 years ago today, our lives would never be the same.

I had been inpatient on the University of Michigan heart floor, for monitoring the past 3 days, before doctors/surgeons would attempt my 4th heart ablation. The previous few were a struggle, whether it be the pain of having to stay awake during the 8-12 hour procedure, or waking up to being told it wasn’t successful. This round, we remained hopeful that “this” would be the one that would solve all of my arrhythmias.

Dan was set to arrive that morning, after dropping Mazy off at school. There was no need for him to be there prior, since I was in good hands, and our daughter needed more care than I did. I remember being woken up in time to head down to the OR room, which was unfortunately, becoming routine for me. “Kristin in the OR room at the U of M” was so common that people started to recognize me, if that says anything!

I was prepped and ready to go, and this time, the surgeon said they’d be able to put me out fully. Whew.

And when I shut my eyes, that was the last time I knew life without cancer.

Then God opened my eyes to a new diagnosis.

My doctor/surgeon called Dan and said they were unable to complete the ablation because of low blood counts. To him, that really meant nothing, except that it was another failed ablation. I was wheeled back up to the heart floor, where I met Dan. As I slowly woke up, people came in and out of my room, ensuring I was comfortable, since I had to lay flat for 4 hours after the procedure. In the meantime, a woman with a white coat came into my room, asking if I had been sick, had any bruising, etc. I thought the questions to be quite odd, but then it all made sense. She ended her conversation with, “We are 75% sure that you have cancer. We don’t know exactly what kind, but we are working on that.”

The c-word.

CANCER.

WHAT? I immediately started to cry. I’m sure she continued to talk to me, but her words fell on deaf ears and a devastated heart, as I turned to Dan and said, “I am going to fight like crazy.”

Sometimes the no-answer-gig is worse than having an exact answer. We started to go through all of the different types of cancers I might have, landing on most likely breast cancer. It wasn’t long after, that another lady in a white coat, named Kristen, gingerly walked into my room, with a thick booklet under her arm, that I knew held the answer to what type of cancer I had.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia. A blood cancer.

There it was.

What happened next is a bit of a blur, but by 9:00 that evening, Dan helped wheel me up to the cancer floor in the main U of M hospital, where I would begin preparation for immediate treatment.

Standing in a new room, still recovering from my ablation, lonely, scared, and in a state of shock. I remember saying goodbye to Dan and all I wanted was to go back to the hours prior when our life felt normal. Seeing him leave, felt like the last piece of normalcy in my life, was gone. I didn’t know where to turn. I cried myself to sleep that night, and even woke up in the middle of the night, crying what I thought was silently, as a nurse knelt by my bedside, listening to my tears.

It is something I will never forget, and yet today, I share this story with complete humbleness and undeserved healing.

Today I sit here, typing this post, CANCER FREE! I won’t be labeled “cured” until the 5 year-mark (I’m halfway there), but I don’t hold my days – God does. This is only by the grace of God. It took a bit to get to this point, but by God’s miraculous hand, I am here today, sharing God’s story, for HIS glory alone.

I know God doesn’t always choose healing. I know many who still walk with cancer and some who no longer walk with cancer, but walk forever free from it, in Heaven.

I do still walk with heart failure and have since had yet another ablation in 2025 that was deemed partially unsuccessful again, but you know what? God has been so so good. I know He has called me to live out His story here on this earth to encourage those He puts in my pathway, and point them to Jesus. I recognize I don’t always do this well and miss the mark, but I am bound and determined to not let this story go to waste.

It’s only because of Jesus, that I can face tomorrow. The unknowns of a story yet to be told.

I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds, and I hope you can live with that same expectation and excitement as well. GOD IS NOT DONE WITH YOU. Even when it seems like all is lost, we are NEVER lost in Him. We are just walking our way through the journey God has given us. Each with a unique path, but all with the same goal – praising God through it all as we walk Heavenward.

To God be the glory, for the great things HE has done.