Have a heart....

I have never worried too much about my heart. My mom gets on my case occasionally about not taking care of it regarding doctor appointments. David worries about it often. And then there is me. I don't really think about it. I admit that I have taken advantage of the great miracle it is that I am alive. It is a miracle that I am a fully-functioning, healthy woman, and a miracle that I carried and delivered five children.

Rewind 26 years ago next month. My mom and dad nervously placed their 15 month old girl in a cardiologist's hands for a rather serious heart surgery. I had a coartation of the aorta. I still don't fully understand what that means, but I do know that they put a patch on my heart so I could continue living a healthy, happy life. The surgery went well, yet during recovery I suffered a stroke that left me completely paralyzed on my right side. I lost all functions that I had learned. I had to re-learn swallowing, walking, writing..... I can't imagine the stress my parents went through from me. I started therapies, and along with many prayers and fasting, I regained everything. My only side effect.....I am now left-handed.

Fast-forward to this afternoon. I went into the radiology department at the hospital for a echo cardiogram. Sounds fancy, huh? It is actually just an ultrasound of the heart. I laid there comfortably on the table, watching the miracle of the heart. What a fascinating organ. I think most of us never give a second thought to the process of the heart. I don't really understand it either, yet watching my very own heart beat was amazing. It makes me truly grateful that God has given me a functioning heart, a life, and a family.