After a visit to a local cardiologist John said, “Well,
they’ve discovered I do have a heart after all.” That is so like him to find
humor in an unsettling situation.
In January, John started having what we now refer to as
“episodes”. He was suffering from chest pains, lack of oxygen, and tightness in
his arms. He was miserable, and we were frightened. In February, he went into
emergency with severe pains that he could no longer ignore. After an EKG the
doctor’s released him saying they couldn’t find anything. A week or so later,
we were back in the emergency room. This time he stayed for three days: doing a
stress test on a treadmill, a nuclear medicine test and countless other tests.
They still couldn’t find anything so they diagnosed it as esophageal spasms and
sent him home. We then began treatment through his gastrointestinal doctor who
prescribed nitroglycerin for the episodes.
At first we thought it was under control but the “episodes”
continued in frequency and intensity. After nearly three months of horrendous
pain and anguish—and the fact that John was taking up to 14 nitroglycerin
tablets a day, his doctor suggested we go back to a cardiologist. So we made an
appointment and waited with anticipation for that day. We had been praying
feverishly for someone to diagnose him correctly, as we had already done
research on line and knew that we were dealing with Angina!
On Mother’s Day, we weren’t sure John would make it to
Monday. I found him in the bedroom sobbing and unable to move. We begged the
Lord for help and thankfully, we did make it through the day, had a wonderful
dinner at Karen and Travis’ and went home to await our appointment scheduled
the following morning.
Monday, we decided to mow his first job before our
appointment but I had to do it; John was completely out of it. We rushed home,
changed our clothes and got in to see the doctor as soon as we arrived at his
office. He came into the room, introduced himself, glanced at John’s chart and
said he didn’t think it was his heart.
John and I looked at each other stunned and feeling helpless. Why wasn’t
anyone listening to us! After two minutes with us, the doctor tried to send us
back to the gastrointestinal doctor but we were adamant, so he agreed to do
another stress test. Knowing they wouldn’t find anything unless John was in the
middle of an “episode”, as soon as the doctor left the room, John got down and
did about 10 push-ups. The nurse came back in, hooked him up and put him on the
treadmill. Within a few short minutes, he started having an episode. The nurse
took John off the machine and left the room. Seconds later the doctor, now
visibly shaken, said we had a serious situation and rushed us over to Kadlec
Hospital for an angiogram. The doctor said that, during the angiogram if he
could fix the heart issue at that time, he would. Otherwise, John would need
surgery.
As John and I waited for him to have the procedure, the
nurse walked him down the hall to use the bathroom and I heard someone say,
“Hey, I know that man. That’s John Cornett.” A moment later, a young technician
came in to our cubicle and introduced himself as Michael, one of John’s former
Sunday school students in our Kennewick ward. Of course, John remembered him
and it was a fun reunion. It wasn’t until later that evening when we witnessed
God’s hand in bringing Michael to us. After his shift ended, Michael came to visit us in John’s
room. With tears in his eyes he said, “Brother Cornett, you have no idea how
close you came to dying today.” He then said he could get into big trouble
telling us this, but he wanted us to know what had gone on during the
procedure.
Michael and another LDS man were the technicians helping the
doctor with the angiogram. The doctor was in the middle of putting the stent in
when they flipped the image on the computer screen and he noticed something the
doctor hadn’t. There were seven lesions and had the doctor completed placing
the stent in, it would have caused a massive stroke because it would have
blocked the blood flow from the main artery. The doctor quickly removed the
stent and opted for a double bypass.
As Michael finished telling us this, he choked up. He said,
“Brother Cornett, when I was your student I was struggling as a young man. I just
want you to know how much your lessons meant to me. I drew strength from them,
and the way you taught them. Now that I teach, I use that same pattern of
teaching in my own lessons.” The spirit bore testimony to all of us that
Michael was here at this moment to save my husband’s life, just as John had
saved Michael’s spiritual life over 16 years ago. It was a powerful moment
between them and I’m so grateful to have been there to feel that spiritual
connection.
John had a successful open-heart (double by-pass) surgery
and is recovering miraculously. He is strong and determined but still needs to
take time and allow the internal healing to take place. We are so grateful for
second chances.
John and Katrina...not taking life for granted.
