Thursday is pretty much my favorite day of the week. I’m not exactly
sure why, but it seems like anything can happen on a Thursday. I got saved on a
Thursday. Jesus ate the Last Supper, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and
was arrested on a Thursday. My choir usually practices on a Thursday, and
awesome things usually happen when we all hang out together. Thursday is just a
magical day.
As I was saying, anything can happen on a Thursday... and it did.
In case you haven’t heard, I went to the ER on Thursday. I woke up that
morning after I had barely slept; I had been fighting some kind of cold, and
the medicine I took didn’t knock me out like a good generic version of NyQuil
should. But I prepared for a busy day. While I was taking a shower, my right
hand and arm felt like they were on pins and needles, and my right leg felt the
same way. I saw spots (which I usually do because I’m nearsighted) that were
more pronounced than usual, and my vision felt like it was caving in, as if I
were about to faint.
It seemed like something was very wrong. I felt like I wanted to lie
down and sleep, but I knew if I did, it would be a bad thing. I prayed and asked God to not let me die, and I asked Him to make sure that MeepMeep
would be OK. What the heck was happening? Did I have some weird kind of infection
like meningitis? Was I having a heart attack?
I finished my shower as best I could, and when I got out of the
bathroom, I was panting for breath. I ate breakfast and felt a little better. I
called around to see what kind of medical attention I could get with my health
insurance, and I decided to go to an urgent care center. (I also figured that
if I was well enough to do some research, maybe I wasn’t that sick.)
At the urgent care center, the nurse took my blood pressure a couple of
times, I explained the weird symptoms I had had earlier, and she said they
needed to do an EKG. As soon as I had stripped down for the procedure, the
nurse practitioner burst into the room and told me that I needed to go to the
ER because my blood pressure was strokeworthy. She explained that they would
give me an IV and send me to a hospital in an ambulance.
The paramedics arrived as soon as the urgent care team performed the
EKG. (I heard the siren blaring in the distance and was like, “Wow. Is that for
me?”) It was freezing outside, so they put a blanket over me as I was escorted
to the emergency vehicle. The paramedics performed a second EKG. I looked at
the monitor and, if I remember correctly, my blood pressure was around 236/126.
During the ambulance ride, I looked out the window and saw cars on the highway
driving toward me. (I’ve lived in the Metroplex for a significant portion of my
life, and it was cool to not see the backs of cars for once.)
At one point, I looked over at the empty seat next to me in the
ambulance. Either in my mind’s eye or in my
spirit, I saw Somebody sitting next to me. I was like, Oh, it’s an angel! And God was like, “No, it’s Me.” Then He kind of
hovered in front of my face like He often does and smiled like a proud Papa who
was just checking on me. (Or maybe just hanging out with me.)
After we arrived at the ER, the entire emergency team gave me immediate
attention. They hooked me up to an EKG machine yet again and performed the test
a third time. They administered two doses of medication until my blood pressure
was brought down to 184/93, and then they discharged me. The diagnosis was
malignant hypertension, which I’ve now been in the process of taking care of.
I’ll use this paragraph for comic relief. You know you’re alive in 2019
when... your first order of business in the ER is to get your phone out of your
purse and start snapping selfies for social media. You know the healthcare
industry is out of touch with America when... their idea of de-stressing you for
high blood pressure is to inform you that your ER visit will cost $4,000. You
know you’re wet behind the ears when... you ask the nurse if he needs his EKG
stickers back after he discharges you.
Actually, he kindly informed me that they come off with hot water in
the shower. I shared a photo earlier in this post of all three types of
stickers that were adhered to me. (I was still scraping off the adhesive from
my skin this morning. That stuff is strong.) I haven’t heard anything yet regarding
my test results, so I’m hoping that means I didn’t have a heart attack, a weird
infection, or any other medical abnormality.
But I think I did almost have a stroke.
“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people
from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:2)
After I settled back home and started to process everything, I felt
like God showed me that He allowed all of this to happen so that I could see
that I was surrounded. Friends all over social media prayed for me and offered
to help. Friends dropped by my apartment and showered me with generous gifts.
Friends checked on me to see how I was doing.
I love that.
As I type this, I am not 100%. I’ve been recovering from my Thursday
scare, and I’ve been trying to make some lifestyle adjustments that will help
me in the long run. (My grandmother died after a massive heart attack, my other
grandmother died after a series of strokes, and although they were both
wonderful women, I don’t want to follow in their footsteps.) And I’m still
fighting whatever cold or infection that I was fighting before I had my blood
pressure incident. I’m exhausted. But interestingly, God doesn’t seem worried.
Earlier today while I was lying down and talking to God -- maybe in the
same way that King Hezekiah had a heart-to-heart with Him, except that I wasn’t
on my deathbed -- He and I had an interesting conversation. He showed me a
picture of a road marker, like the kind you would see on a highway; it said “Been
there, done that.” He also reminded me of the word “chazaq,” which is Hebrew for
“strong.” And He reminded me that He had told me earlier to power through this
season like a champ. So, I think I know what I need to do.
I’m not going to curl up in a fetal position and give up. And I’m not
going to be some irresponsible kid and neglect my body. I know who I am. I know
that God has good plans for me. I know that He still wants me here.
And I know that the devil hates me. (Just like he hates you.) This
morning, I did my street-fight style of spiritual warfare in my living room and
informed the dark forces that I’m not quitting.
So, I’m going to take care of myself as best I can. I’m a survivor, I’m
surrounded with help, and I’m going to do everything I can to make this crazy
life work. God is here, He’s helping me, and He’s available to lean on.
“ ‘What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the
dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on
me; Lord, be my helper!’ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You
have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my
glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give
thanks to You forever.” (Psalm 30:9-12)
The dark forces can put that in their pipe and smoke it. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.
Wow Tirzah! What an ordeal you have been through and what triumph over it! Thank you for sharing this. Your faith is amazing and God is very clearly by your side in all this. You have friends that love you and you can count me as one of them! I am praying for your health to be stable and your financial needs taken care of. I am praying you will live to see beyond your wildest dreams what God has planned for you. You are walking in beyond blessed territory and the journey has just begun! God has huge plans for you. I am praying double protection over you from any weapon the enemy has against you. The plan God has for you cannot be stopped. You have much to testify about in the future and you have the skill set to put it in writing yourself. You are an absolute jewel Tirzah! Love you my friend and twin sister (via Birthday twinππ) Louise
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend!! π
Delete