Health Report

I shared with my church family yesterday I was going through some health challenges related to my heart. I will do my best to keep you updated through this blog.

I contracted pneumonia while at the Southern Baptist Convention (insert joke here :-)) in Orlando in June. While in the emergency room, they apparently tested me for things completely unrelated to my illness. That has turned out to be providential. As a result of some things they saw in the tests, I followed up with a cardiologist after returning to Franklin.

Last week the cardiologist in Franklin did an echocardiogram which indicated a problem. As it turns out, I have had a congenital heart problem that has impacted my heart in a negative way as I have grown older (that sounds so ... old). Anyway, I will be going in for more tests this coming Wednesday (August 4) morning. If those tests confirm what the cardiologist believes is true, the next step will be to visit with a cardiac surgeon.

I will post the official diagnosis on this blog when I know. This could be as early as late on August 5 or as late as August 11.

How can you pray?
1. I would love to walk out of the test Wednesday with the doctors confounded that they cannot find the problem and thus the first test was in error.
2. Assuming we find what is believed to be the problem, pray for wisdom for the doctors. I can add here, I am so grateful I live in 2010 and not 1910. The medical advances are amazing.
3. Pray for healing however God chooses to do so. Doctors and medical advances are great, but we trust God as our Great Physician.
4. Pray for my family (wife and two daughters). It is always harder on the family members than it is the patient. They are all strong in their walk with the Lord for which I am grateful. Pray for peace of mind.

To my church family, thank you for all your emails, fb messages, etc. confirming what I knew to be true ... you are praying for me.

Finally, I would share with you the verse the Lord gave me through my friend James MacDonald for this time.

Isaiah 26:3 says, "You keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it trusts in You."