It is really hard for me to even come up with the words to describe what I am feeling. Relieved, thankful, overjoyed, grateful, happy, ecstatic, on top of the world…overwhelmed. I have moments of profound emotion that just takes over my soul and makes me cry. Not because I am sad…oh it is just the opposite. I am filled with great joy and tremendous thanksgiving God’s blessings on my health. I am still in awe and shock. My words don’t proclaim even a small fraction of what I am experiencing. It is almost like I can’t believe it…but of course, I do. Thank you, Jesus.
As many of you know, I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension a few months ago. The disease progresses over time and usually kills its host within 10 years from heart failure. That is what I was living with. A death sentence. A hard thing for a newly married woman in her mid 40’s but I remained optimistic that some good would happen out of this, even if it wasn’t my healing.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going to just sit back and let this rule my life. I decided that I would do whatever it takes to make me stronger…even if it was not mainstream medicine. My days have consisted of lots of deep breathing and expiratory muscle training, targeted workouts, eating very clean, yoga (all of this stuff takes about 3-4 hours a day to do) and then I go to work part time. I go see specialized chiropractors, trainers and doctors. Every single day since my diagnosis has been a struggle and the journey has not been easy. Lots of ups and downs.
On November 6th, we went down to Tijuana, Mexico to get stem cells. Michael, his parents and I made a weekend out of it. We had a blast just hanging out with each other. The procedure was simple and painless. The doctor said they take about 10 days to start working wherever they need to. They go into the heart and lungs first…so I had hope. That day, I got 50 million mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and a vial of exosomes. Lots of people have asked me why I went to Mexico to get them. There are 2 answers: cost and no FDA bullshit red tape. I could not find a place in USA that could get me that amount without charging 10 times as much
And then the mega-praying began. On a side note, for all of those who have prayed for me…let me tell you, I could and still can feel it. The prayers have surrounded me and have helped me maintain my aura of peace. Prayers are powerful. Thank you to everyone that has prayed for me. I cannot ever thank you enough.
About 10 days after I got the stemmies (that is what I named them), a switch flipped. I went to work out with my trainer and I walked up the stairs and didn’t get out of breath. That day I was able to sustain my exercise in a way that I hadn’t been able to do just one day earlier. Then I started noticing I could talk better, longer and stronger. I wasn’t gasping for air after each sentence. The day after that, I decided to hop on my Peleton. I was curious to see what that would be like. I had already relegated myself to believe that I would never be able to ride it ever again…but what the heck…I could always hop right off if I could not do. Well, shit…I rode it through a whole live class and I didn’t even come in last place. LOL I was in shock and I actually cried when I was done. Holy shit. The stemmies kicked in. God and stemmies sure made a great pair.
Every day since then, I feel stronger. I cannot even explain it. A miracle.
Yesterday, Michael and I kayaked for 2 hours on the Guadalupe River. Today, Michael and I hiked at Eisenhower Park. I could not have done that even last week. I did it with relative ease today, even on the uphill parts. When we were done, we gave each other a high 5 and I cried once again with a really big smile on my face. So grateful. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do that again…boy was I wrong.
As you can imagine, there is a lot that has changed in my life…especially over the past 5 months. They have been both the worst and best months of my life. They have been difficult…extreme hardship. They have also been filled with so much love…so much hope and faith. We put our shields of faith on and we fought the devil every day. With God on our side, we knew that something miraculous was going to happen. We just weren’t sure what it would look like. Now we do.
I am healed from this awful disease and in the midst of it, I have been able to show others that we don’t have to become our diagnosis as so many of us do. We have to fight and realize that we cannot do this on our own. The burden would have been too much for me to bare alone. I have been able to exhibit what God can do in my life if I let Him. I have believed from the beginning that God was going to use me as a testimony for others and I believe that He has.
Thank you, Lord for your trillion blessings in my life. I am overwhelmed and more grateful than words could ever describe. I promise to continue to live each day of my life for You. It’s really need to think about how many different pieces and instances in my life God was putting together to make this all come together. The masterminding of my healing goes back further than I can comprehend. He knew it was coming and He orchestrated all of the moving parts well before I could ever imagine. From putting important people in my life years ago to who is in my life now. God has it all figured out.
And that, my friends, is pretty freakin’ amazing.
