The Power of Prayer is so Mighty!
On Wednesday, August 28th I was driving to the hospital with Mike's morning coffee in hand. Like normal I was listening to WCSG Christian radio station. Jeremy and Amanada came on telling a story of a man named Bill who had recently recieved a heart transplant from Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids. He had a dry run and needed a heart very very soon. The radio station prayed for him over the air and the surgeon ended up telling his wife that he heard the prayers on the radio. That next day he got his heart. I of course started bawling and called the radio station and was patched through to Jeremy and Amanda. Not holding it together very well, I told them about Mike and told them how encouraged I was to hear about Bill and his story. Everyone has their own heart journey, but I just felt like God was telling me it was going to be okay.
I went in to visit with Mike with a renewed hope and feeling like anyday would be the day. We enjoyed our time together working that day. Yes, Mike and I spend our mornings working together in the hospital, we are beyond blessed to have bosses and companies that support us where we are right here and right now.
That night I got to bed early and woke up at 1:30am and couldn't fall back to sleep until 4am. I prayed and prayed and watched some Facebook reels until I could fall back asleep. I woke up on the 29th feeling like this would be the day. When visiting with Mike that morning, two nurses, whom we did not know, walked in and said they heard about Mike on the radio the day before and they are praying for him. After I talked with Jeremy and Amanda I had gotten out of my car and went in to see Mike, Jeremy and Amanda got on the radio and prayed for Mike and our family. That day I walked up and down the unit floor and mulitple nurses who had cared for Mike in the past said hello to me, asked about Mike, and said they are praying for a heart. Not long after that a doctor walked in and said they had a matched heart!
Mike and I spent that Thursday, August 29th together. I left for a work meeting and ended up leaving early to go back and have a dinner date with Mike. Mike was supposed to have visitors that night but they unfortunately could not make it. So I took advantage and spent the evening with my husband enjoying his last sushi before his new heart. It was so good for us to spend that quiet evening together.
On Friday, August 30th things started to get busy. Mike was getting test after test done and a donor OR time of 10:30am was set. Mike had been NPO since midnight and would have an OR time of midafternoon. We were getting a little further than last time. We learned that this heart was also a DCD heart and the donor was younger than Mike. The heart looked great and it was encouraging. The doctors were concerned that the donor might not pass away in enough time, correction from my previous post - the donor needs to pass away within 90 minutes, this is always a concern with DCD hearts. As time ticked away we were wondering if the donor OR time was pushed back. We were told things were progressing and it does take time with the passing away and then harvesting the organs.
Just before 2:30pm on Friday, August 30th we learned that the donor did not pass away in enough time and the heart was no longer viable. Mike had his second dry run.
The wide range of emotions is next to none. A rollercoster of excitement, fear, acceptance, sadness, frustration, numbness, and extreme fatigue hits you at all the same moment. We cried a little and then just moved on, what else can you do.
Positives: Mike is getting heart offers - two great hearts, just two crappy endings. The amount of support from the doctors and nurses is mindblowing. So many nurses come by to visit and check up on Mike. They love him and they want so much for him to get a heart. The nurse from the previous day even stopped in on his day off to see if he got his heart. The nurses spend so much time talking through what the surgery and recovery looks like with us. The doctors are so invested in Mike's heart journey. The lead surgeon even left his long weekend off to come in and do Mike's heart transplant. There are not enough words to cover our thankfulness to Corewell Health and their team.
Negatives: Mike still needs a heart. They are monitoring him everyday and reevaluating if he needs the right side pump and support. The last couple days the left side pump has sucked against the side of his heart because there was not enough fluid. There is a fine line of fluids in and fluids out that happens everyday. His right side is declining slowly and may need the pump soon. August 1st marks one month in the hospital, 31 days and nights of being seperated. We are so thankful that we live so close to the hospital and can spend so much time together.
The power of prayer - I have never felt this power before. I know prayer works and I know God listens. He has a plan and sometimes that plan does not match ours. But I know he hears the hundreds of people around the US praying for Mike and a new heart. We have heard that Mike is on so many prayer lists from churches everywhere, and now on the radio. I feel the power so very much! We prayed and a heart was matched, we just couldn't get it this time.
Keep praying, because He is listening!
Prayers, hugs and smiles❤️
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