[Magdalen] prayer request

[Ginga Wilder]

Friends, I am in need of your prayers.  Some of you know I have a long
history (since age 20) of labile and resistant to treatment hypertension.
I also have WPW (benign) and mitral valve prolapse.  Plus, some calcified
plaque build up in at least one coronary artery.  I have been quite
symptomatic with blood pressure elevations all summer and irregular
rhythm.  My internist has adjusted my medications which did not help more
than a few days and one took me too low.  I saw my cardiologist last week -
I am now wearing a heart monitor and will have nuclear studies and echo
cardiogram next week.  Yesterday, I awoke at about 4 AM feeling awful.  My
BP registered at 194/120.  I was able to get it down to 141/77 with
nitroglycerin.  My heart rate was very irregular.  I spoke with the
cardiologist yesterday afternoon.  He told me what to take and I felt much
better very quickly.

So, here's my confession.  I've dealt with episodes like this since I was
20.  My head goes to denial that anything is very wrong....I do not want to
overreact.  I do not trust my monitor to be accurate in these times, so I
try to ignore the symptoms as much as possible.  Before I would call my
cardiologist yesterday, when my BP elevated again, I went to my pharmacy
instead to check if my monitor was working correctly.  Well, yes.  My
wonderful pharmacist took my pressure 5 times with two different machines,
one a manual.  207/105 was the average.

So, please pray that I can allow myself to take care of me by not denying
or ignoring or minimizing my symptoms.  I will check in this morning with
the cardiologist and I have asked John to insist that I go to ER if
necessary.  End of confession, except I do find it much easier to take care
of others than me.  God, help me.

Thank you for your prayers and gentle discipline.  As Sister Elias used to
say, "I love you all."
Ginga