The surgery was a success, the Implantable Cardio Deliberator (ICD) was placed securely in my chest, functioning properly, and my heart was responding to the pacing therapy. I was recovering in the ICU as planned, and I would be there overnight for observation as my cardiologist adjusted some of the medications used to stabilize the heart rate before my release in the morning. As I was resting, my spirit was full of gratitude, I was thankful for all the medical staff that was caring for me, the facility that was accommodating me, and the grace that God poured out in bringing it all together. I was especially thankful for the God given inspiration and innovative minds that created the technology and techniques used to restore my health, and I gave Him thanks and praise for my deliverance.
As the day progressed, I began to experience more consistent episodes of a dangerous heart rate and rhythm that was cause for concern for the medical staff. As they made their rounds or responded various alarms triggered by the monitoring equipment reading my cardiac function, I could sense their anxiety. I chose to remain faithful in His promise, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Ps. 91:14-16)
The condition I was experiencing known as sustained ventricular tachycardia, presented a very difficult clinical problem for my physician. Its evaluation and treatment are complicated because it occurs in life threatening situations that dictate rapid diagnosis and treatment. My condition continued to escalate and it became a very apparent that we were moving towards an emergency situation. My physician responded to the hospital’s emergency call, the nursing staff frantically positioning equipment and life support supplies, in response to doctor’s orders. Dr. Kangavari arrived and was calmly attempting to solve this problem. He stared deeply into the computer monitor that was reading data from my ICD, changing the rate that medication was being administered to my body; each adjustment however was uneventful in resolving the crisis.
As the anxiety level in the room elevated, my ongoing prayer was for anointing of the medical staff and blessing over the facility. I called down the Kingdom; righteousness, peace and joy. In my spirit I had an overwhelming desire to hear the word of God and a hyper sensitivity to people of faith, words of faith and acts of faith. On the contrary people charged with fear and doubt were very repulsive, their thoughts and words siphoned life from my spirit. In my hospitalization I had been very bold in my faith, praying out loud for all those caring for me and over all the devices in each treatment room, that all would perform in perfect order. The blessing from that, I was now surrounded by people of faith, nurses and other care providers unified with me in prayer and submitting to the Great Physician. These faithful were now summoning others that were within reach to my aide, not only physically but spiritually.
As the room got more frantic everything in the natural began to fade to black, and in the supernatural my thoughts and actions sharpened and became very precise. My desire to pray and hear prayer were insatiable, my supernatural instinct was to cry out for prayer. In my spirit the cry was loud and clear, “Pray for me, pray for me” over and over, in the natural my voice was faint and getting weaker. Then I heard a response, “We are praying” my reply was, “I need to hear you”. My spirit man knew this was not time for silent prayer; we needed to shout to the Lord, cry out to Him fervently with faith filled expectation for Him to move in power and glory. We have been given the power of life and death in our words, speaking life, prosperity and blessing into every area is a gift we have all been given, how we use that gift is our gift back to Him. My encouragement was found in faith filled people speaking life and hope into an increasingly hopeless situation.
Supernaturally, this experience was taking on the sense of battle; there would be a victor and a vanquished. My instincts for spiritual warfare began to take over, and I probed the battle field for allies and enemies. I needed to identify those that could charge the hill with me and those that I needed to leave behind. As I evaluated my resources I found lots of people that were caring and concerned, but few faith filled prayer warriors. It became very clear to me who was able to feed my starving spirit and contribute the strength required to maintain the battle. There were many loving people doing their very best and maximizing their physical resources, however this day would be won in the Spirit.
Now, I was looking up to a square light, a portal that would deliver me from darkness that had now engulfed me. There were shadowy figures that outlined the box of light as they peered over me to offer assistance. The light from above that pierced the darkness was where my spirit was fighting to reach, that was where the victory over death would be found. There was a very strong force from the darkness, the sensation was similar to suction, like the water spiraling as it is pulled through a drain. Each attempt on my own power was met by greater resistance from the force that seemed to be gaining momentum. The experience was like being trapped under the thin ice of a frozen lake, suspended in the murky darkness with light streaming through the ice from above. I was completely aware of the rescue team working frantically to liberate me from certain death, but unable to communicate with them to expedite their effort.
