So last week when I asked Jim, “what was it like to lay on your back in the middle of the bike trail and think to yourself, ‘this might just be the day I see my maker,’” he replied, “well, it felt just like any other day.” With that answer we then both laughed out loud with unexplainable joy.
How then must I attempt to explain unexplainable joy? Followers of Jesus have been attempting this perplexity for over two thousand years. Created human words can not in total complete the idea of supernatural joy in the face of death. How can one be thrilled, full of peace, reconciled, fully ready, and complete when faced with the end of one’s life? The answer is having an experience with the Creator of all existence, and therefore owning a glimpse of comprehension to sustain the true perception of life on earth in relation to all eternity.
Both Jim and myself have experienced such a moment, which has ushered in many more of the liking. We experience a person daily that fills us with unexplainable incomprehensible joy and therefore, live every day with a peace surpassing all understanding which allows our entire existence contentment with life and death. That person is Jesus Christ.
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My Saturday began with my usual coffee date with my husband. We sip and talk for about an hour, nearly every morning, as we watch the sun reveal the rugged truths of Paradise Divide looking north out of our living room window. His plans are to meet up with our neighbor at 10:00 for a bike ride. I’m going to walk the dog, do some laundry, and pick up the house, as I just returned home last night with the kids from a 7 day road trip. Allison is to begin a new job at a coffee shop in town, working from 9 to 3. Julia will work from 3 to 7, and Bradley has plans with friends. Our day is set.
As I round the corner back home from walking Yeti around 10:20, I see Jim heading off for his ride. He yells, “love you babe!” I head inside the house and within a few min receive a phone call from the EMS stating that they are with Allison, she is fine, but has fainted at work, can I come? I jump in the car. In minutes I walk into her coffee shop and see her in a chair surrounded by the ambulance team and a few police officers. “She is fine, all tests check out good, so most likely she is dehydrated,” they say. I can tell she is super embarrassed and feels crummy, as this is her first day on the job. All check out and we head home for food, water, and rest.
About 30 min after we return home, around 11:30, as I’ve got Yeti in the bathtub, suds are everywhere, I receive a call from Jim… “I’m fine honey, I didn’t fall, I just need you to come get me, I’m not feeling right.” I jump in the car and head up to pick Jim up Brush Creek road, as he was coming down the 409. I arrive around 12:15, load up his bike, and head home. He is super cold and wants to take a hot shower. Afterwards, he rests on the couch, still not feeling up to par. We talk as he describes his mountain bike ride… as he is climbing, he recognizes himself to be more out of breath than usual. He had done the 409 many many times, but had not had this much trouble breathing. When he came to a rock garden, he began to clip out and hit his knee on his handle bars, which was super painful. He stepped off his bike and sat down, mentioning to his friend that he didn’t feel so great. Jim ended up lying down on the trail for about 20 min - dizzy, light-headed, cold sweats, numb/tingly left arm, chest “ache,” and tired. He then decided to ride back down 3 more miles to meet me on the road. That's when I picked him up and headed home.
We talked and contemplated what to do. Around 3:00ish we decide to drive to Gunnison and go to the ER.
The ER team swarm over him, as they tell us he has said the “magic words” … chest pain. Within minutes he has two IVs, chest X-rays complete, an EKG, and three meds administered. I can see the ambulance team pacing the halls, but didn’t actually realize they were there for Jim until the doc comes back in and says, “you’re having a heart attack and we are transporting you to Montrose where a cardiologist is there waiting to meet you.” Gulp. Ok.
About one hour later we arrive in Montrose and are admitted to the hospital. Again, a swarm of nurses hook him up to everything under the sun. (note: everyone at that point in the room, about 5 people, were men…so Jim has to mention Gaylord Focker must have had a positive impact on male nurses…laughter…also noted, Jim was on morphine at the time)
After talking with the doctor and realizing that the drugs administered in Gunnison presented a positive result, it was decided to do a angiography the next day and then determine if a stent would be necessary. Indeed, the next day would present itself with a new stent! All went well in the procedure. A stent was added to the Left Anterior Descending Artery. The clot had cleared and dissolved, probably with the drugs from the day before. The other arteries looked good, some plaque, but the “normal” amount. (whatever normal means)
The possible explanation for Ironman, I mean Jim, to have a heart attack at age 51 in extraordinary shape, is (1) genetics, one grandfather had a heart attack at 43, then cardiac arrest at 76. His other grandfather had a heart attack at 78, then passed with a stroke at 88. Both did not receive the treatment that Jim has, and both never displayed a lifestyle such as Jim’s. (2) a plaque rupture, doc says most if not all of us have some plaque deposits. Obviously, diet and lifestyle can determine a lot. What plaque Jim does have must have ruptured awhile back. With that, the body then does its best to heal it by clotting (like a cut on the hand to then scab over). However, in this case the clotting didn’t stop and clogged the artery at about 80%. The meds given in Gunnison pushed the clot along and dissolved it completely. The stent is now in the ruptured place to brace the artery and aid in its healing.
Prognosis…
Jim now has 100% blood flow through the entire artery, which will now lead to healing the damaged area of the heart. Doc believes that within a year or so the damaged area will be completely back to normal. He is taking 3 prescribed meds. All will be reexamined in 3 months, 2 most likely will be discontinued then, and 1 to be taken for about one year. He will most likely not have to take meds forever. He does not have high cholesterol or any other blood abnormality.
He will not exercise for the first two weeks. For the following 14 weeks, he will be able to “ramp up” activities such as bike riding, hiking, and skiing. After those 16 weeks, he will be able to do all activities that are normal to him, but probably won’t be at 100% until after the first full year. (This is great news for me, as I will now be able to keep up with him on skis! at least this year)
Doc explained 4 pieces to good heart healing/ a lifestyle of prevention, which he was super thankful we already have all four embedded into our daily lifestyle….
(1) the closest to a vegan diet you can get; a whole food plant based diet with little to no animal products
(2) exercise 30 min daily
(3) find a place of peace every day, meditation on God’s Word
(4) establish community, love and be loved
We are also thankful to have these firmly established in our daily routines, as without we most likely would have faced this event years and years ago with more complications.
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To live in the light, to know His Truth, to have perspective on this life and all eternity is all sustaining to the peace that carries us daily. You know back in February, Bradley was watching TV and had realized we were on the verge of a worldwide pandemic. He asks me, “mom, is this the end of the world?” I reply, “not sure hun, maybe.” He then says, “so are we going to die?” I answered, “yes, for sure we are going to die. but not sure if we will die from this pandemic or not.” Silence. He's thinking. Then says, “cool, I’m ready for whatever.”
Childlike faith. Praise be to God and to God the Glory, when Bradley was 5 years old he understood the Good New of Jesus Christ. He gave over his entire existence to his creator and redeemer. He is sealed and realizes nothing, not even death can separate him from his Father.
When Jim was 24 years old he had the same realization through the power of the Holy Spirit. He rests in knowing His Father. As I do as well. So as I asked Jim the question of what its like to think this moment might be your last, and he replies “It felt just like any other day,” we pray for you who are reading this…that you also realize the gift of living in the Father, the gift of the Kingdom on earth, the gift of freedom to fully live by the Spirit, and the gift of Jesus Christ himself.
God is good in life and death. God would still be good if Jim had died on Saturday. God would still be good if Jim’s prognosis was terrible. God would still be good if Allison had been more than just dehydrated. And God is still good, even when I don’t acknowledge He is good. 1+1=2 even when a toddler doesn’t know or acknowledge that truth. God is God. He is sovereign. He is all knowing, all powerful, all encompassing. He is love and justice. He is Holy and righteous. He is the divine trinity. He is good.
And finally, as these truths have established our lives, Jim and I have experienced this past week in an unwavering calmness. The Lord has kept us in the cleft of the rock, protected by the wind and waves. He established us in His Word long ago, and therefore has proven it true throughout our week. Our lives don’t have to ebb and flow with the ever-changing circumstances of this world, but by His grace are firmly planted in His eternal truths. Oh thank you Lord!
