The Day My 36 Year Old Husband had a Heart Attack

I remember the day my husband had a heart attack like it was yesterday.

For some odd reason that morning I was awake before the sun came up. I was up on my own, without a child or an alarm waking me. At that point in my life, it was rare for both boys to sleep through the night, so I was usually trying to get as much shut-eye as possible. But for some reason around 5:00am, I woke up on my own. I jumped out of bed and put my clothes on for the day. About 30 minutes later, I heard one of the boys waking up. I went upstairs and they were both actually awake. So, we were all alert and I was dressed before 6:00am. Almost like we were getting ready for something to happen. Looking back on that morning, I see how it was completely orchestrated by God.

Just a little after 6:00 am, Ryan walked through the door from his early morning workout. He was complaining of extreme arm pain. The pain started in his car immediately after his workout. He said he had never felt that kind of pain before. He was a little nauseous too. Ryan played collegiate football at a Division 1 school. Therefore, I knew he knew what fatigue from a workout felt like. He said it was different. My mind immediately went to what I had learned in college as an exercise and sports science major. All his symptoms were heart attack symptoms. A heart attack at thirty-six though? Highly unlikely.

At this point in our life, we were pretty holistic and crunchy. We still are for the most part, but we are a little more balanced now; without as much pride. Therefore, we probably would have tried treating whatever was going on at home before going to the doctor. However, for some odd reason that day we both got the feeling something wasn’t right.

I carefully observed him for about 20 more minutes. I had him drink some water and he wanted to try getting in an Epsom salt bath to see if it would help reduce the pain if it was workout related. Once he got into the bath the symptoms escalated. He stood up in the bath, bent over and said, “I’m going to be sick. Something is really wrong. Really wrong.” He said his chest was getting tight.  I immediately knew it was most likely a heart attack.

Tristan, my oldest, was 4…almost 5, at the time. He sensed something was wrong with his daddy. He looked at me with tears rolling down his face and screamed, “My daddy is OK!! My daddy is ALWAYS ok!!” It’s like he was declaring this truth and encouraging his daddy at the same time.

His words pierced me and in my mind, I was so terrified that his daddy wasn’t going to be ok. But I knelt down with a smile on my face, kissed him, grabbed his little face and said “You are right! Your daddy IS going to be ok! We are just going to take him to the Dr. for a checkup. OK? Everything is going to be ok, don’t worry buddy.” My mind didn’t want to go there yet, but part of me knew something was off, I just couldn’t process that my husband may have had a heart attack.

I called my neighbor a few houses down and asked if she could come take the boys because we thought Ryan may be having a heart attack. She immediately came over and grabbed both boys. Noah, my youngest, had a dirty diaper and I didn’t have time to change it. I felt so bad. She took them without even thinking. I was so incredibly grateful.

Once we got to the hospital
We rushed to the hospital, they got him checked in and he actually started feeling pretty good once we got there. Most of the symptoms had subsided and all his tests ran so far came back fine. EKG.. everything. So, at that point, we figured… well, maybe it was just from the workout. I think the ER doctor was trying to be calm, cool and collective and didn’t want to stir up any anxiety in me so he didn’t make it seem like it was much of anything. He told Ryan, “I think you should be fine but let’s keep you here just until we get the last of those test results back.”

So, with Ryan feeling much better and the Doctor making it seem like everything was ok, I went back home, grabbed the kids from my neighbor and put my youngest down for a nap.

I immediately started researching and I found that the blood enzyme levels wouldn’t show a heart attack until 4-9 hours after it happened. I texted my neighbor whose husband is an ER doctor and asked her if I was correct. She confirmed. As soon as I got that text from her, Ryan called. I picked up the phone and said…”You could know if you had a heart attack within the next 30 minutes due to the delayed enzyme levels.” He said “I just met with the cardiologist.  He said my last blood results show that I have had a heart attack. They are taking me down to the Cath Lab to do a stent placement.”

I then started freaking out internally and I could tell he was terrified too. He said there was a possibility of open heart surgery as well if they could not place the stent. He was worried because he had watched open heart procedures as a medical device rep, but not on anyone close to his age. After we got off the phone I immediately dropped to my knees and prayed over him. My mind was still trying to process that the cardiologist had confirmed my worst fear… my husband had a heart attack.

I texted my neighbor again, whose husband is the ER doctor and she came over immediately to stay with the boys until family could get into town to take over. I will be eternally grateful for those two women that showed up and helped in a time of need.

When we got the news
I rushed up to the hospital. They already had him back in surgery and I sat there waiting, not knowing the outcome. A doctor came into the room to prep me for the worst-case scenario and informed me that he had a “widow maker” heart attack. 99% of his LAD was blocked. He was lucky to be alive.

My heart dropped. What? How? He’s only 36! And he’s healthy! They said if we wouldn’t have come in when we did, he could have very easily died later that night in his sleep. An hour or so later a doctor finally came in and let me know he was out and it all went well. They were able to place the stent. Thank you, Lord.  I walked into the room after he was finished and we both broke down in tears and just held each other.

We took this picture later that evening so we would remember that day and how thankful we were to have each other for another day.  I’ll never forget Ryan saying…”Why did God spare me?” I looked at him and said “Babe…I don’t know but I know he kept you here for a purpose. I know one purpose is our two little boys that look up to you so much.”

We had an overwhelming feeling of peace in the midst of that whole ordeal. We both felt so near to God. That day changed the way we would look at each other and treat each other from that day on. It’s not perfect. It’s still marriage.. but it’s different. Every day together here on earth is a gift.

(This picture was taken a few weeks after the heart attack)

In Conclusion
The day my husband had a heart attack was one of the most impactful events of our lives. It changed our faith and it changed my perspective on health. I took the next year diving into health research and what I found blew my mind. I’ll be sharing that soon.  It’s been a little over 2 years since the day he had a heart attack and we can now both say it was one of the biggest blessings in our lives because it gave us an eternal perspective. That was the silver lining. As my favorite verse says….”Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2

Sometimes things here on earth are hard. They are really hard. Marriage is hard, losing a loved one is hard, having a chronic disease is hard, many things are hard. The day my 36 year old husband had a heart attack was one of the hardest days of my life. In fact, when I look back on the last decade, this is one day that will always stick out in my mind.

But if you take a step back and try looking through a different lens, an eternal lens, you can see God moving and orchestrating all around those really sad and hard situations.  Sometimes he is working on the heart of the person going through it, sometimes he uses a tough situation to bring someone else to Christ. The list goes on. But one day… he will wipe away every tear and we will be with him in heaven and we will be able to see clearly and understand why those hard things happened. It is all for our good and His glory.

I am lucky enough to still have my husband here with me today but I know it doesn’t always end that way. If you are going through a hard time in life right now, I pray God gives you that eternal perspective. I pray he gives you the comfort and hope that nothing else in this world can give.  Take heart, sweet friends and lift your eyes above.