Blessed to be led.

Just a few years ago, I woke up early as usual. As I made my way into the living room for my quiet time, I discovered my sweet husband sitting in the recliner. He is not the early riser at our house so I figured he had fallen asleep in the chair the night before. That was not the case. JT is not a complainer and handles pain very well. In fact, he once broke his wrist building a deck and didn't know it for weeks. He's fairly strong and well, we like it that way! But that morning he was holding his chest and had sweat beading up on his forehead. He was complaining about difficulty breathing and a sharp pain in his chest. We talked and debated for all of two minutes and then..I called 911.

We had no clue what to do but immediately got JT to the nearest fire station (after waiting 26 minutes for them to get to our house when it burned down, we decided that we should drive). They immediately took him to the hospital. I remember following behind the ambulance and calling Jim Houston. "I think JT has had a heart attack. Please pray." I was frantic, and I called out to the Lord. I called JT's mom and a few friends. I KNEW this was urgent and life-threatening.

As it came to pass (and I only say that because I love the way it sounds), JT had picked up a parasite that can be traced back to a particular region in Guatemala. The parasite manifested itself in such a way to simulate a heart attack. However, that finding allowed JT to end up in a cardiologist's office. The doctor told JT that he could not control what genetics had given him but he could control what went in his mouth. Our regular physician put JT on Diavan, a medicine designed to treat high blood pressure. It was like living with an elderly man...it knocked the life out of us. We had gotten ourselves into this boat by overeating time and time again as well as failing to exercise...at all. We recognized our part in allowing our laziness to get us to this point.

Fast forward to last Monday when JT entered Dr. McClean's office. The nurse came in and asked if they had weighed him yet. "No," he replied, "but I've been looking forward to this for a while." JT stepped on that scale 80 lbs lighter than when he last went in. Praise God! And he no longer needs ANY MEDICINE!!! God is SO good!

This journey God has us on has been such a learning experience. I must say that we could NOT do this without JT leading the way. It would have been an uphill battle that was almost impossible to win. He has led our family so well throughout this time. He has eaten well, cooked healthy foods, and exercised almost daily. He has set the example for all of us. I'm a proud wife and pretty blessed.