The Hospital

Most of you know by now that Steven and I spent the New Years Holiday in the hospital.  It was not exciting.  Here is a basic overview of what happened.  Steven started feeling bad on Saturday evening. He started having upper chest/neck pain and some difficulty breathing.  He called his GP who advised him to go to the ER.  Once arriving at the ER they checked his vitals and ran a EKG.  After waiting a while they took him back for observation and further tests.  Here, the ER doctor said they would need to admit him because they saw some irregularity in his EKG.  They wanted to perform further blood work, observe him overnight and run a heart stress test.  I think this was the longest night of my life. I tried to sleep but it wasn't easy.  I was really confused and didn't like seeing my husband hooked up to monitors and in a bit of pain.  Thankfully, all his tests came back with a positive result.  While they continued to see some irregularity in his EKG it was nothing abnormal.  We found this to be very good news since he has some family history of heart disease.  After further examination by the doctors we were released New Years Day in the afternoon.  The doctors seems to believe that Steven's pain may be a combination of muscular strain, needed lifestyle changes and the stressful schedule he has had to keep the past year.  I mean, the man has been working 3 jobs the past year.  He hasn't had a lot of time to take care of himself.  He spends so much time taking care of others. This year, however, he is going to spend a lot more time thinking about himself.   This means more exercise, better diet choices and focusing more on his 2 main part time jobs that keep our family going.   I am so thankful for my husband. I am thankful for all his hard work the past year despite such difficulty with his job transition and the pain and grief in brought.  I am so thankful that his heart is ok and that he is ready to take better care of himself.  I am so thankful for our family who came to our aid with the kids and our friends who called, left messages and were praying for us.  I have a hard time asking for help.  So many were willing to help before I had to ask.  So many have also been supportive of us this past year knowing how difficult it has been.  I am thankful to say that I know more about the meaning of friendship and compassion.  Please continue to pray for Steven's health and for our family.  Unfortunately, our schedule is still very busy and we struggle financially month to month.  Please pray for health, financial provisions as well as time to rest as a family.  We long to get away as a family or have a weekend free of work obligations.  We hope this New Year, despite its rocky beginning, brings new blessings in ways we could never imagine.  As always, I will keep you posted on the big and small events of our family.  Thank you.