As some of you know, my health has been a major life issue for some time now. I am afflicted with Severe Cardiovascular Disease and also Congestive Heart Failure. I had a quadruple bypass at age 47, back in 1996. Since that time, two of the grafts have closed and cannot be opened or stented. A third graft has a stent and the fourth one is fine. Over the last few months my angina has become more frequent. My systolic blood pressure in my right arm is some fifty points higher than in my left.
Yesterday, I underwent an angiogram and a blockage was found in my clavicular area, just below the left shoulder near the collar bone. Due to its location, which the doctor described as “tricky,” it was decided that a consult with a heart surgeon was needed. The doctors told me that they will either attempt to put a stent in the artery or a bypass graft around the blocked area. Much depends on what the surgeon suggests. Next Tuesday I am also scheduled for an ultrasound on my carotid artery, I suppose to see if there is any further complications in that area.
I mention all this to let my readers know what is going on and to request prayer. I am optimistic as to the outcome and in any case, I am at peace in the care of the God of All Comfort. I will try to keep up the blog as best I can through the next month, but if things are a little less regular, it is because I am dealing with these issues.
Blessings in His Light,
Mick
LifeBrook 
Mick,
I am saddened to hear of the challenges faced by you on the health front. My prayers are with you and I am sure the Almighty will reach out to you with His healing touch and enable you to contribute a lot more for the well-being of the Christian community at large.
Yours in Christ!
John Jacob
Thanks for the kind words and wishes John. The Father has been most gracious to me throughout the past 16 years that I have been dealing with these heart issues. I am very fortunate to be alive, considering the severity of what I was initially facing back in 1996. Yet, as is so often the case, in these times of crisis comes opportunities for service. It was in my recovery from my first surgery that I was led by the Spirit to enter the mission field in China. Friends thought I was crazy to go to China with a weak heart, but I was assured that if I was obedient, all would be well. I was blessed in a thousand different ways as those five years in China were the most rewarding and spiritually uplifting years of my life. I returned in 2003 and the next year, at age 55, I was blessed again with the birth of our daughter, who is now eight years old. I can say without reservation that when we are obedient, the God of All Comfort is indeed our help and our healer.
I just came across your blog by accident after googling the word Baha’i. I am a Baha’i and I appreciate and find remarkable your sense of righteousness and fairness in your story about the school in China. I read about your health issues too and hope you feel better soon. Best wishes.
I just came across your blog by accident after googling the word Baha\’i. I am a Baha\’i and I appreciate and find remarkable your sense of righteousness and fairness in your story about the school in China. I read about your health issues too and hope you feel better soon. Best wishes.
samanabanana:
Thanks so much for your positive words and well-wishes for my health. I have been dealing with these heart issues for so long it seems it is “normal” for me. As to the events at the school in China, I still look back on those days as one of the most spiritual disgusting times I have ever experienced. The actions of some “true believers” are beyond rational and ethical comprehension. Otherwise, the five years I spent in China were the most positive and rewarding of my life. I have great respect for the Bahai teachings, as well as the life and writings of Bahaullah and Abdul Baha. The former especially suffered greatly for his vision of “one world.” I am convinced that, with globalization and the Internet, we have truly entered what Wayne Teasdale calls the “Interspiritual Age,” a time when we can all learn much from each other with a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. Again, thanks so much for your kind thoughts and may God bless you and yours.
Mick