Anyone who knows my husband David Miller knows that he believes that life is not about the destination, it is about the journey. Enjoying our daily walk with God, and with each other, is the most important thing we can do in this lifetime. Our journey has been a little complex for the last three years. He was diagnosed with heart failure and has been walking that path with many doctors, nurses, family and friends as his heart continued to weaken. For the last several months, he has fashionably worn a fanny pack filled with a medicine that dripped continuously into a port in his chest, making swimming and showering a thing of the past because the port is unable to get wet. Life has changed a great deal over the last several years, but David keep his spirit of hope and his eyes on Jesus.
After three long years of ups and downs, David is currently in the hospital awaiting a donor to undergo a heart transplant. As you probably can imagine, we were shocked by the news. Despite talking about it for the last year with the team of doctors he works with, you can never prepare for that trigger being pulled. Shock, fear, and disbelief filled us to the core as the words left the doctors mouth. We grabbed each other’s hands, like we were on our favorite coaster at Disney, and in that moment I felt hope. The doctor finished and said he would give us a few minutes to process. As he walked away, I squeezed David’s hand and knew that at that moment we were about to embark on a new journey…a Journey of the Heart.
We have had about 24 hours to process the news now, and we’ve only scratched the surface. There is so much to think about and plan. The doctor feels confident that David will have a new heart in the next 2 weeks or so, according to past experience. Emotions are high and the only thing we really do know right now is we can’t do this alone. We fist, and foremost, will lean on God for our strength and hope. He will get us through this Journey of the Heart! We also know we will need a support system to survive this new journey. We will need help, which is not always easy for me to accept. Everything from a shoulder to cry on, a hand to squeeze, someone to help with our dog, a smile, a prayer, and meal will help us get through. WE NEED YOU…our friends and family…to walk this journey with us.
I will attempt to blog updates, thoughts, and feelings throughout this journey. We want you to be a part of it…we NEED you to be a part of it. Please pray for the family of David’s donor, as it will take a loss to save David’s life. Please pray for David and our girls. Please pray for his doctors and nurses. Please pray and stay tuned for more Journey of the Heart as this journey continues.