Coveting Prayers

We are all still in shock and it doesn't seem real even as I type these words...my Momma had a heart attack this morning. She is one of the most amazing people I know. I love her so much and the thought of not having her in my life and my family's life is unbearable....I'm going to steal my sister's words from her blog because she is always so much better at expressing herself in words than I ever am, her words are what is on my heart as well:

"I'm writing this post to ask anyone reading it to please say a prayer for my mom, Joellen. She had a heart attack this morning. Wow, it's hard to even type that. Still doesn't feel real. Those of you that know my mom know that she is a very healthy and fit person. She exercises regularly, eats really well, is a very healthy weight, and is just generally a very healthy woman. So, this heart attack came as a pretty huge shock! However, my mom's mom (my Gran) had her first heart attack in her mid-fifties too. So, I guess we can blame this on genetics.

Mom woke up in the middle of the night with chest pain. Thinking it was just stress-related, she put off going to the hospital for a few hours. Early this morning, she became violently ill, and at that time she and my dad decided it was time to head to the ER. Once at the hospital, a heart attack was quickly diagnosed, and a cardiologist came in and almost immediately did an angioplasty and put in a stint. Mom has been in the ICU being monitored since, and she is no longer in pain and feeling pretty well, all things considered.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to medical stuff, but I will try to explain the specifics of her heart attack as best as I can. It occurred in the LAD, which is the front lower part of the heart. She had a complete blockage of the artery. The doctor said this is a critical area of the heart and one of the worst places for a blockage to occur. However, he feels that my mom is doing well so far, and he seems optimistic that she will make a full recovery. The next 48 hours are critical. They will continue to monitor Mom's symptoms and heart function in order to assess the amount of damage that was done to her heart during the attack. Please pray that the damage would be minimal and that my mom's recovery would go smoothly and without any further scares or complications.

We have already seen God's loving guidance throughout this scary ordeal. For instance, my dad normally travels out of town for work Monday through Thursday, but he was unable to travel this week due to Hurricane Sandy. This was a HUGE blessing, because it meant he was home when my mom needed him. Had my dad not been there, I don't know what Mom would have done. Secondly, Gran lives with my parents, and I know my mom would have felt terrible to leave Gran alone at home worrying. But thankfully, my mom's sister Kathy just arrived in town from Oregon yesterday, so she is there to take care of Gran. These two things are amazing blessings. God is good. ALL the time.

I apologize if this post was hard to follow. I feel really frazzled and overwhelmed. But mainly I just wanted to ask for your prayers and thank you in advance for pleading with God on my momma's behalf. Mom is an amazing person. Probably everyone says that about their mom, but in my case it's truer than true. Everyone who knows her would agree. I don't even want to imagine my life without her in it. I want her to be here to watch her grandchildren grow. And I am fully believing and expecting God to heal her and make her stronger so that she can be with us for a long, long time.
Thank you for joining me in prayer. I will post another update when I have more information."

Thanks so much to all who have already sent up prayers and offered help. We are so blessed and feel overwhelmed by love.