The Story of My Life with Heart Failure — Part One

Before you read the full story, I wanted to share this piece of my heart face-to-face.

This journey has changed me in ways I’m still learning to explain.

But through every wave, God has remained faithful.

🎥 Watch the short video here.

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, I flew home from a business trip to Dallas. By 11 PM, I was finally back in Thomasville, Georgia, exhausted but grateful to be home.

Less than 24 hours later, my life changed forever.

On Friday afternoon, after what I thought would be a somewhat routine echocardiogram, I was admitted directly into the hospital.

I can still hear the cardiologist’s words, “You are at risk for sudden cardiac death.” 

Nothing prepares you for hearing words like that.

Nothing.

I went from living a normal life… to suddenly being monitored in a cardiac unit wondering what next.

I left the hospital on January 27th with seven medications, a LifeVest, and a completely different life than the one I had walked in with just days before.

I couldn't eat anything I enjoyed anymore.

Seven medications felt overwhelming. I could barely remember to take a multivitamin every day before this.

And the LifeVest?

I remember thinking:

“How am I supposed to sleep wearing this thing?”

Everything felt heavy. Loud. Uncertain.

But here’s the part that still leaves me speechless.

I originally went to my primary care doctor because I thought I was dealing with a digestive issue. Because of my family history, he ordered an echocardiogram almost as an afterthought.

That test saved my life.

Later testing would confirm the diagnosis was hereditary.

The same heart failure that took my dad's life.

He was diagnosed at 48 and passed away at 52.

Now. Here. I was diagnosed at 49. Dear God.

But before I ever received the diagnosis… before the hospital… before this nightmare… something happened.

While I was in Dallas, I had a dream.

In the dream, I walked up to Jesus while He was sitting at a table.

He looked at me and said:

“I am sustaining you.”

At the time, I thought the dream was about my job. There had been uncertainty at work, and I assumed that’s what He meant.

The very next day, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

And suddenly those words meant something entirely different.

“I am sustaining you.”

Not “I might.”

Not “I’ll think about it.”

I am.

Present tense.

Even now.

Especially now.

A few weeks later, after my first follow-up appointment, I walked out into the parking lot and heard myself say:

“I want to walk on the water.” 

And in that moment, I knew this diagnosis was more than a medical journey.

It was a faith journey.

Peter stepped out of the boat in the middle of the storm because Jesus called him.

Not after the waves stopped.
Not after the wind settled down.
Right there in the middle of it.

And that’s exactly where I feel like I am.

In the middle of roaring waves.
In the middle of uncertainty.
In the middle of a storm I never would have chosen.

But Jesus is still calling me to come closer.

So this is what I know now:

God is still God.
And He is still good.

Miracles still happen every single day.

God still heals.

And He does not lie.

He is sustaining me.

What He speaks to me in this dark season, I will speak into the light. 

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” — Matthew 10:27

So that’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to share this journey.

The fear.
The victories.
The setbacks.
The prayers.
The miracles.
The practical things helping me survive this season.

Because I know I’m not the only one walking through something hard.

Maybe your storm looks different than mine.

But if you’re scared… weary… grieving… overwhelmed… waiting on healing… trying to hold onto faith…

Come walk on the water with me.

He is still sustaining us.

🙏Resources for the Season You’re In:

  • Heart healthy cookbooks
  • Kitchen tools
  • Pill organizers
  • Other essentials
  • Comfort Items 
  • Encouragement for the soul

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