Life Update: Health Crisis

Many of you know what has happened in my life recently, but it is a complicated situation that has generated a lot of questions, and it is constantly evolving. I figure the best way to update everyone and explain my situation is to dust off my old blog, which will also allow me to reflect on my experiences in a series of posts.

For those of you who don’t know, I am in the hospital.

It really all started over a month ago. I’ve been sick for some time. I thought it was my gallbladder, so I went to the ER. The small-town ER was able to confirm a gallbladder diagnosis late at night on a weekend, so they made me comfortable and told me to see my regular doctor later that week. Despite several doctors’ visits and tests, nothing confirmed a gallbladder problem, although a few strange results appeared. The doctors were still focused on my gallbladder, though.

After another week, I went to a larger ER, which diagnosed me with gallstones and admitted me to the hospital to stabilize the infection before surgery. I was discharged after three days and was given a quick appointment to follow up with the surgeon to possibly schedule surgery.

When I saw the surgeon, though, he was not willing to schedule surgery because he worried something more serious might be going on that needed to be addressed first. He encouraged me to visit the ER, but I decided to wait for my appointment with my regular doctor the next day. A few hours later, I ended up going to the ER, and the ER doctor did not understand why the surgeon had sent me. He still ran some tests and discovered that the surgeon was actually right—something more serious was, in fact, going on.

Gallstones were the least of my worries. Turns out, I had a case of double pneumonia, which was especially severe in the right lung, and I also had a pleural effusion (free fluid trapped in the chest), pressing against my right lung. My heart was also a little enlarged, and something was off about my heart rhythm. I was transferred two hours to Springfield by ambulance, and am now on Day 6 of my second hospital stay.

During this stay, I had an echocardiogram, which revealed that my ejection fraction (cardiac output) is at 18%, when it should be about 60%. This means that I am in heart failure. This is almost unheard of at my age and relative health. A heart cath also showed no blockages or damages, so they have no idea what is causing this. We hope that medication can control the condition for now and that, eventually, my heart function will return to normal.

I am feeling very well, considering my condition but will be in the hospital for at least another day. Please keep me in your prayers.

I will try to post further updates here, as well as some thoughts about my experiences during this crisis.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Psalm 46:1 – 2a)