“Clear!”
His heart is out of rhythm and beating 200 times per minute…
“Cardioversion” is the official, friendly sounding name for what they are about to do…
Shock therapy for the heart is a layman’s way of describing it…
“I can’t sedate you,” says the doctor.
“Your blood pressure is so low, you might die from the sedation…”
“Clear!”
They deliver an electrical shock…
:01 Second after the shock…
“In the first second,” said my friend, “ I felt like I flew off the table…”
:02 Seconds after the shock…
“In the next second I thought my body exploded…”
:03 Seconds after the shock…
“Then my head exploded…”
Is his heart in rhythm?
He isn’t sure…
He issure of the indescribable pain he just felt…
“Never do that to me again, doctor!”
The doctor smiles slightly, but says nothing as he watches the heart monitor.
Minutes pass slowly…
5 Minutes after the shock…
“I’m sorry”, says the doctor. “But your heart is out of rhythm again.”
“Clear!”
The same procedure…
The same agony…
The same pain beyond description…
This time he can tell his heart is back in rhythm.
He lays in his hospital bed thinking about the last 8 weeks…
Eight weeks that started with a motorcycle ride with his friends…
A ride that ends with an accident that leaves him paralyzed.
He was starting to get back some motion in his arms when his heart went out of rhythm…
He has never felt anything as painful as the cardioversion.
The doctor walks up to his bed…
‘If your heart goes out of rhythm again”, asks the doctor, “should I repeat the procedure or let you die?’”
Recounting the story, my friend tells me…
“I thought of the pain I would avoid…
“I thought of meeting Jesus. Right now. Tonight.”
“But then I thought about all the people I love…”
“I was sure God has more for me to do here, so I said…
‘Do whatever you have to do to keep me alive…’
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain ~ Philippians 1:21-25
