I'm Alive

On the 7th, I went to the hospital for my Heart Ablation “Surgery”. We arrived at 6:00 am at the Baylor Hospital in Downtown Dallas, thankfully to no traffic jams. I checked in, went through preparation, said a few prayers with the family and then was wheeled off. I went under and woke up about 3 hours later to a successful ablation.

In short, a Heart Ablation is where they stick a catheter up my groin area and ride the blood vessels up to my heart. While in the heart, the doctor was able to find the origin of the heart racing and fix it. Simply amazing, all without having to crack open my chest.

They let me go home that night at about 7:30 pm and I promptly went to bed. And then things got a bit interesting.

I started to feel some weird heart beats and palpitations. Before the ablation, I would feel them every now and then. But these were consistent and lasted for awhile. I laid in bed and my mind started to go a bit crazy. And then all of a sudden, a rush came over me and I couldn’t feel how my heart was beating. I even questioned if my heart was beating at all and then took my pulse.

Sarah heard me and asked what was going on. We called the doctor and he did say that this was all normal and to call again in the morning. But I was still a bit freaked out. I was afraid to go asleep. My mind kept thinking over and over that I can’t let my two little daughters grow up without a Dad and I can’t let Sarah go without a husband. Whether or not this was my closest to death experience in my life, it sure felt like it at the time. But Sarah kept praying out loud and giving me comfort. She did an amazing job and I’m lucky to have her as my wife. Eventually I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning and called the doctor. He reaffirmed what was said the night before and mentioned it can take up to six months for some folks for the palpitations and weird beats to go away. My heart was just recovering to the procedure and beating in a different way than what it was used too.

After talking to Sarah more about it, I was fine. And since then, the palpitations and weird beats have gradually withdrawn. I will still feel them every now and then, but it’s nothing like that first night.

So there’s the story of my ablation. I’ll save the vasectomy that occurred two days later for another time. But thanks for all the prayers that you guys mentioned on my behalf. I do appreciate it.