Uff da... I'm finally back. This has been one of the most stressful times so far since I've been away at college. My dad was in the hospital for about a week on and off, first at St. John's and then at the Mayo Clinic down in Rochester. After finding nothing at St. John's my mom accompanied my dad down to Rochester where they were so incredibly blessed to see four of the top 10 vascular surgeons in the entire world who just happen to work at the Mayo. They diagnosed my dad with a disease called fibromuscular dysplasia which is the weakening of the arteries. This disease has only been diagnosed for nine years now and there are no treatments or cures for at lease 30 years out. My dad has an extremely rare and severe case of it. After his stroke four years ago the doctors found four aneurysms throughout my dad's body body and after the past few weeks it is now known that he has three new aneurysms (which are the widening of an artery; this poses the possibility of it bursting) and multiple dissections (the collapse of an artery wall which prevents blood flow). He is only 41. All of this was so sudden and unexpected. The hardest thing through all of this is the fact that my dad is now in an extremely vulnerable state of health. Monitoring his blood pressure is the most important thing for him to do at this point because if it rises too much it will almost certainly cause another aneurysm or dissection and the doctors emphasized that they don't know which aneurysm or dissection will be too much for his body to handle. Im scared. I was so angry at first and a part of me still is but since all of the high-intensity emotions calmed down a bit, I have been able to think more clearly and hear from God more clearly as well. I love my dad so much and the fact that he has lived through all of the health emergencies that he has so far in his life gives me an inner feeling sense of comfort and hope that God is going to do something within my dad and the rest of my family still. For now I simply want to focus on my family, especially spending time with my dad. I have sat back all these years and seen how his work ethic has brought him as far as he is today; he never gives up. My hope is that I can show him that I have taken that attribute of him and apply it in my life because he has lead by positive example for me.
This has been hard and I know that every future phone call saying that "dad has been taken down to Abbott/ Mayo" will be a challenge but God is preparing a strength in me that can only be found in Him. All I can do is declare the kingdom of God over my dad's body and pray that he may somehow become whole in the way that God originally created him. For all of you that have been praying, I want to thank you so much. God is using you as comfort and as warriors for my family so thank you over and over. If any of you have family members with health problems, I would like to hear about them and pray for you. There is a trust that God grows within us but first it needs roots so that hope and joy can sprout out of it in the future after and even during the difficult/ unclear times.
God has put a specific word of comfort on my heart through all this and I pray for all of us that we may encounter the intimate love of God and hear him affirm that "all is well I'm my soul." That doesn't mean that we will be strife free in times of difficulty but rather it reminds us that we have a God with a heart that engulfs us when we run into it in order to find rest when we are weak. I want to know Jesus so intimately that I can picture the wrinkles on His forehead as He leans in to kiss my forehead and the forehead of my dad, mom and brother as well. I want to know the nature of His love, and that will create a wellness within that is holy and above any other in this world.
All is well in your soul,
C
