An Angel visited me!

This past November of 2008, (and for the first time in about 7 years), I experienced chest pain. The prior experiences revealed nothing; even after running an EKG. So, the doctor and I chalked it up to stress.

This time around however, it was strange how it started in my left wrist, worked
it’s way up my arm, then into my chest, back and left jaw. It frightened me because I had never experienced pain like this and I knew that something was definitely wrong, so I
called 911. The ambulance came, the paramedics radioed the E.R. (just like on TV) and the paramedics were instructed to give me nitro glycerin, start an I.V. and then hooked me up to a heart monitor and also ran an EKG while they were at my home. After reporting my vital signs to the hospital they then were instructed to bring me to the Mission Hospital which is near my home in south Orange County, CA. I stayed over night for observation and to have an Echo Stress Test (Treadmill) the next day, along with yet another series of EKG’s. Again the doctor told me that nothing was wrong with my heart and suggested that I may have had an Esophageal Spasm because I had been experiencing severe heartburn and reflux. So, they sent me home.

On Thanksgiving night while watching TV with a friend, it happened again, i.e. the pain strangely started just in my wrist and then forearm area but soon radiated up into my chest, back and jaw- but again it was over within a few minutes.
Then 2 days later, on Saturday evening I was alone watching TV (I should stop watching TV?), and it happened yet again. This time the pain was so intense that it almost brought me to tears. I immediately called 911. Again and they rushed me to the ER where all kinds of tests, EKG’s and blood work was done.To no surprise, once again, they couldn’t find anything wrong with my heart.

Meanwhile the doctor took more blood to be analyzed and told me that he would probably send me home once again but this time with pain medication. I was to follow up with my general practicioner the next day.

He left the room to go check on my blood work. The medication that was given to me made me drowsy, so I closed my eyes. I asked God to help me and to touch me with his healing power. Like a brief movie, my life’s moments began to play out in my mind. Everything that I had done, both good and not so good, flashed before me. I thought especially about the lives of my children, my new grandson, and all the friends that I’ve known. I was afraid, and confused.I had questions like, what could be wrong with me? Why was the pain so unbearable? Why couldn’t the doctors tell me what was wrong?

Here is the miracle, and I am convinced that an angel visited my hospital room that night:

As I lay there, someone touched my hand. I opened my eyes and standing next to my bed was a small woman who looked to be Phillippino. She wasn’t wearing a nursing uniform so I didn’t think that she was a nurse. She was well dressed in a brown suit, with long flowing brown hair and I noticed that she was also quite beautiful. She said, “Mr. Horn, please don’t let them send you home again. Tell them that you want an Angio-gram”. I had no idea what that was, but thanked her for her advice, then rested my eyes again.
Not more than what seemed to be a few seconds later, I opened my eyes and she was gone.

The doctor entered my room and sat down at my bedside. He explained that he couldn’t find anything on my EKG that would indicate any heart problem and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I wanted an Angio-gram, and that I wanted
to be admitted to the hospital. I did not want to be sent home again without some kind of answer. I could not bear the pain any longer. I had reached my pain threshold. He said alright we can do that and sensing my frustration he said “don’t worry, I promise you that we are going to find out what is wrong with you”.
He stepped out of the room, then returned a few minutes later to tell me that my blood work was finished and that my heart was releasing enzymes. He explained that this was something that the heart did when it was under duress and that an Angio-Gram would in fact be a good idea. So, he referred me to a cardiologist who immediately instructed the E.R. to admit me to the hospital. The hospital informed the cardiologist that there were no immediate beds available except for one in the Cardiac ICU to which the doctor instructed them to take me there since he had seen my blood work and didn’t want to take any more chances.

The next day they prepped me for the test and explained what an Angio-gram was. I mentioned to them that I was unfamiliar with the procedure, but that someone had visited me the night before and told me to demand that one be done! No one, in the hospital that I asked could ever tell me who the person was. They couldn’t imagine who would be in the ER dressed that way and without an ID badge.

During the Angio-gram, they discovered 3 clogged arteries. One 95%, one 70% and the other was about 50%. The doctor informed me that my condition was very serious and that surgery would have to be done immediately. I was shocked and frightened. At 50, how could this be happening to me? I never dreamed that I would have a heart bypass, no not in a million years. My oldest daughter immediately flew in from Texas to be with me for the surgery and on Wednesday December 3rd the operation was a success. The next day (Thursday) they had me walking around the hospital wing and I was home in my own bed by Friday and on my way to an 8 week recovery.

I am so thankful that God heard my prayer that night when I asked him for help and sent a beautiful Angel to intervene. She could have been hospital staff, she could have in fact been an Angel, but either way this kind woman was certainly an Angel in my book. Perhaps, God used her to save my life. I will forever be grateful and I feel like the luckiest man alive today! I found out later that, according to my Cardiologist, when there is heart damage
it shows up on an EKG. But my heart had not been damaged and I didn’t have a
heart attack, so that’s why the EKG’s and other tests never revealed any problem. He told me that the news caster Tim Russert had died of a very similiar problem to mine, one that is initially hard to detect until it’s too late. God is soooo Good to me!

I wanted to express my gratitude for the wonderful outpouring of well wishes and prayers, there were so many who came to the hospital, called and sent their thoughts and prayers. I never realized how many friends that I had who love me, it was just amazing at the support that I received. Thank You to my family in Texas for their thoughts and prayers, including Mary and Adrianne who had sent their well wishes and called my former home church family to inform them and ask for their prayers. Thanks to my best friends John and Quenten for helping me so much after I got home, I couldn’t have done it without you! God Bless you and Thank You all for your thoughts and prayers. Gratitude is a word that I’m really learning the true meaning of, and most of all thanks to my Angel!