Christmas in July

Every once in a while, something happens that is far beyond my expectations – something that lifts my spirits in a way that has to be from God!  Yesterday was one of those days.

It was supposed to be a regular check up with my cardiologist.  Once a year, he does an echocardiogram.  This is just a precaution – making sure that I am not losing ground.  Last year, I asked him if my heart was ever going to improve.  He replied that realistically, the best I could hope for was to maintain my current heart function.  I accepted that verdict without complaint, and made sure that I did what I could to maintain, working hard on dropping the weight and exercising. 

So yesterday, I went in – not expecting much.  While the tech is doing the echo, I thought I noticed improvement – but of course, I am not trained in reading all of the numbers, so I asked her what my EF was.  I know that techs don’t normally share their opinions, but the worst she can say is that she can’t tell me anything.  She did quite a lot more testing than she normally does.  And she said that it looked like my Ejection Fraction was somewhere between 40 and 45%, but that the doctor would have to verify that.  (The Ejection Fraction represents the percentage of the volume of blood that is pumped out of your heart with each beat.  “Normal” is 65 – 75%; when I first was diagnosed, my EF was 15%.  Last year, my EF was 30%.) 

I didn’t dare to hope that she was giving me accurate information, but the doctor confirmed it.  He was very surprised.  He also told me that my heart is no longer grossly enlarged.  There is still some enlargement, but it has definitely decreased in size.  And while there is sometimes improvement in the EF, there is seldom improvement for an enlarged heart.  They did other testing – one that included having me walk up and down a long hallway, where they had measured out 250 feet.  I did this for six minutes – and actually walked 1500 feet in that time (up and back three times.)  That was better than I have ever been able to do.  They immediately took me in and measured my oxygen saturation, and my blood pressure.  I was a little winded, but not anything like I have been in the past.  My ox sat was 88, which was a drop, but returned to 99 or 100 within a couple of minutes.  My blood pressure was very good at 120/78.  I recovered quite quickly, catching my breath easily. 

I feel like I have been given a present of incomparable worth.  I didn’t expect it, I’m not sure I deserve it, but I am ever so grateful for it!  I’m sure the doctor feels that it is a combination of the weight loss and the exercise.  And while I totally acknowledge that both things played a part in this, I KNOW that the biggest part is the prayers that so many people have prayed for me – and the answer God has given!  This was my hope from the very beginning, and to have so much progress makes me very glad I started this journey!