Heart Journey Update

This week is all about revisiting my heart issues. I have 4 appointments in Ann Arbor, but only have to go out their twice. Whew. Today I had quite a gap between my two appointments, so I explored downtown Ann Arbor for awhile by foot, which I have never done in my years of going there! Usually I want to just go home after appointments, so I book it out of there was quick as I can. But since the sun was shining, I thought I’d venture out.

While in the doctor’s office, waiting to meet with my electrophysiologist, I realized that I didn’t really want to be there. Who does, I suppose! Usually I am all about tackling the next issue with my heart, but the idea of revisiting all of my heart issues, was less than appealing. My body is still trying to find some regulation after all of my chemo treatments. My blood tests still aren’t quite normal, thanks to viral infections I’ve had recently. Add on the heart appointments this week, I realized I was secretly hoping all of the heart issues would just go away since I was dealing with cancer. I still wrestle with the idea of fighting both at the same time, but here we are.

My first appointment was to check the status of my ICD. Thankfully my ICD (defibrillator) has plenty of battery left, so we don’t have to think about another procedure to replace that any time soon. As for the electrical issues in my heart, there just isn’t one clear, cut, and dry answer. The ideal situation would be to attempt a 5th ablation, but considering how the previous ones did not work, my doctor/surgeon wasn’t real hopeful about another one working. It could, but the odds at this point aren’t great. So then what?

I am on amiodarone, which is an end-of-life stage drug, and can cause organ damage. So far so good, but I can’t be on the dose I am, long term. So we decided to try and lower the dose of this medication, in hopes that it will still combat all of the extra beats my heart has. If it does, I can be on it long-term, with the lower dose. If it doesn’t work, I’m not sure what’s next.

So that is our prayer. We PRAY my body adjusts well (takes about 6-8 weeks for my body to fully rid itself of the original dosing), and that this is a viable option for years to come. That would just be the cats meow, as they say!

On Friday I head back to Ann Arbor to meet with my heart failure doctor. This doctor deals with the structural issues of my heart . I will also receive a holter monitor, which will help us figure out exactly how many extra beats I am having.

Like I said, it’s hard to revisit all of this because I think I told myself for so long that I had to fight cancer and not worry about my heart. But the issues didn’t go away and God has a different idea! So I drove away from today’s appointments thanking God for the care I have at Michigan and for SOME answers. And now we just pray this medication change works. I really don’t want a transplant and would love to just take a bit of a break from intense health issues for awhile.

We continue to keep our eyes fixed on him and just take it one step at a time. Days like today remind me that every day is such a gift. Every breath is a miracle. Listening to the radio on the way down, my eyes welled up with tears a few times, as he reminded of how big he really is through the words sung. We have NO reason to worry, ever, because he already holds the key to the future. We now get the privilege, of seeing that plan unfold and get the opportunity to showcase his glory through it.

Who knows what Friday will bring, but God’s got it all figured out. Thankfully I don’t have to.