Crazy Summer Days

Well finally I've found the time to sit and write out my story. I've had people asking me to blog about my summer ever since June and I'm just now getting around to it.
I have known for a long time that I had high cholesterol. That I should really lose some weight and try to get my cholesterol levels down. I started experiencing mild chest pains back last fall. I kept on explaining it away because after all,  I'm only 39 years old. Back in January it got bad enough that I finally decided to go to my doctor and see if I could figure out what was wrong. He told me that my cholesterol was way too high, over 300 with my LDL's at 224 (Just for a frame of reference they should be below 70). He told me to go on medication. I decided I knew more than him and didn't.
Instead I told myself that I would lose some weight and start exercising. I lost about two pounds and started walking more often. It was during those walks that I started worrying. I would pump my arms when I walked and I noticed when I did that, that my chest would start to tighten and hurt.
In May I went with some friends to Florida and we would go on long walks on the beach. I was way to embarrassed to tell them but my chest would hurt so bad on those walks that I couldn't breath. I was afraid it was a sign that I was too fat so I would keep my mouth shut and look for excuses to sit as much as possible.
Then I went on another trip with some more friends. They too wanted to walk a lot (I have healthy friends) and I had to skip out on those walks. They told me at that time that I needed to go to the ER with those pains. I ignored them. I was scared and embarrassed and didn't want to hear what I was afraid they would tell me. So I kept ignoring the pain. I noticed odd things like pain that sent me to the bed just from wiping out the bottom of the oven. Trying to play basketball with the kids and not being able to.
The kicker came when I went to the store with a friend of mine. As we walked in, I noticed that I couldn't keep up with her. That I couldn't talk to her as we walked. Then I started to sweat.
I figured if I was nice and quiet maybe she wouldn't notice. She did.
We got to the meeting we were going to and other friends started asking me what was wrong. I kind of tried to brush it off just asking if they could give me jobs that weren't physically strenuous. They all insisted at that moment that I go to the ER. I panicked and started crying. My sweet friends gathered around me and started praying over me.
I went in to the ER and ended up staying for several days. My high cholesterol had caused severe blockages in my arteries and I would need stents. They put in one and told me that they would schedule more later. After I was sent home I was a very good girl and stayed put on the couch. The next day Jonny had run to work for a bit and I was alone with the four little kids. I started noticing a strong pain in my chest which was really bad since I was just sitting doing nothing. Molly ran across the street to get my neighbor. By the time she got there I was struggling to breathe. They rushed me to the ER again where they decided to go ahead and put in more stents. The doctor came in and sat by my bed and told me that this was very serious. That the vessels were so damaged that he wasn't sure he could get the stents in and that if he couldn't, the damage was to severe to perform open heart surgery. My life flashed before my eyes at that moment. Jonny had held it together perfectly the entire time until now. Both of us were crying. You imagine the things you would say to someone if you weren't sure you were going to live. Not one of those things came to my mind. Not one of those things that I had imagined myself saying came out of my mouth. I could only sit in silence while tears dripped down my cheeks.
They took me back and put five more stents in. Six stents all together. 39 years old and six stents in my heart. I am so glad that they worked. That all the prayers that were lifted up for me were answered. I am sad that they have to be there but so grateful for them at the same time.
I have since discovered that I don't just have high cholesterol that can be fixed with diet and exercise. I have what is called Familial Hypercholesterolemia.  
It is hereditary and requires heavy medication to keep it under control. Unless God chooses to heal me of it, it will never go away. I hate that I have it but at the same time I'm glad to know how to work on it.
The months since the surgery have been a little stressful. Life is very full and very chaotic at times and it is hard to remain calm at all times. The chest pains have continued and they have continued to scare me. I went back in this past week only to discover that my troponin levels had increased which is an indication of irregular heart activity. They did another angiogram and discovered that my heart has no damage and my vessels are still clear and there has been no more blockage.
This is a huge answer to prayer and I am so incredibly relieved and grateful. Still confused at the amount of pain and the increased troponin levels but grateful that it is not anything scary or really serious.
I would love to have your prayer for wisdom as to how to be calm and peaceful and settled and chill in spite of a crazy and hectic life. I don't want to go on anxiety meds because they make me kind of crazy and super tired. I would love to figure out a better way to relax.
I know this has been long but I have probably still left out details that I will think of later. This has been a crazy summer but also a summer where God has loved on me through friends and family and I am grateful for it. Grateful for all of you that checked on me and took my kids and sent me food and flowers and love.
"Two are better than one. If either of them fall down, one can help the other up." Ecclesiastes 4:9a & 5a
Thank you for helping me back up friends. I am blessed.💖