“There’s nothing more we can do for you…” Nobody wants to hear those words – especially from the cardiology team at one of the best heart hospitals in Virginia. I was sent home the end of March with those very words. The “plan” with the cardiology team is to “attempt” to get my health at a point where I will qualify for a heart transplant. This includes lowering my A1C to 7 or below – I was at a 14… I also would need to lose some weight – though the amount was not specified by the doctors. After my bypass surgery 5 years ago, I should have been more diligent. However – I was not. I did pretty good in the immediate weeks after that surgery, but soon after returning to all my “normal” life activities, succumbed to my old ways of eating, living, and stressing.

When I first was told by my team of doctors the current situation, I began to pray… “God, I am ready, but I’m not ready at the same time – I need to be here for my son and husband. I want to see Trenton graduate, get married, have kids (I think I’d be a pretty fun grandma). You are going to have to show me what the next step is.” I felt that He showed me immediately that I had to do whatever it takes to get my health under control, or this was it. The first thing that He put into my mind was – change my eating habits. I have over the years – especially after my heart surgery – gone in spurts of very healthy eating, including going “vegan”, but I did that with very unhealthy vegan foods – did you know Oreos are Vegan?! I did not really adapt a whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet. I may have not eaten animal products, but I was NOT eating foods for nutrients. God showed me right away that this WFPB diet was the route I needed to take.

My mom was able to speak with the cardiologists at both of the hospitals that I was in over those 7 days. Being a nurse (with a background in cardiology) she understood all the fancy words. She immediately explained the situation in very basic terms. “They can’t do anything for you at this time.” How heartbreaking (no pun intended) to hear those words but imagine having to tell your child that! She said to me – “pray about what you need to do, and I will pray also. I want God to show you what He is showing me.” When I told her a couple of days later that I felt God wants me to fight this – and I NEED to change my eating now, she said “GOOD! That’s what God has shown me too – so here’s the plan…”

6 weeks to get these changes implemented, 6 weeks to load your body with the daily nutrition needed, 6 weeks in sunshine, fresh air and working out (as you are able) … Mom had already started setting this plan in motion. We would go to Phoenix for 6 weeks and do this to give us a better chance to make these changes permanent in our lives. Bruce and I prayed about it and when we discussed it, he said – “You need to do this – I believe God wants you to go do this.” This shocked me – I thought he would have to be convinced to let me go and do this. In fact, everyone I thought would question this plan, immediately were onboard. Even my cardiology team were onboard – I believe that is because they honestly do not believe that I can change my health enough to turn this around.

I began cutting meat out of my diet while still in the hospital, I did have some dairy, but began some minor changes before I left. I lost 15lbs by the time I headed here and am still losing – even if it’s not as much as I thought it would be. We are so programmed to need to see numbers change, but there are other victories… When we got here, I couldn’t even walk the whole block that my sister lives on. Literally couldn’t. I was continually lightheaded, out of breath and SO tired – ALL THE TIME!

Now we are walking well over a mile (getting close to 2 miles) for our morning walk and doing a pretty fast paced evening stroll of at least .3 of a mile – usually a little more. I can get down on the floor to do stretching & crunches – I literally have not been able to do that in years due to my neuropathy (which has improved beyond description). I do still need rests, but not necessarily “naps” as I was taking when I first got here. The dark circles under my eyes are pretty much gone, my skin looks better, my swelling in my legs and feet has pretty much disappeared. I FEEL SO much better and am motivated to keep going.

It is HARD. Juicing is A LOT of work, choosing the right foods is hard (I want a Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich SO bad), grocery shopping is overwhelming, making a plan to do this at home is difficult, going back to my life is going to be tricky at times – BUT I am determined to do it – I am determined to LIVE.

Thank you to those who have been so diligently praying for me – I know God is listening and that HE is keeping me motivated. Don’t stop praying for me, for us. We all want to do this for His glory, honor, and praise!

The above is all written by Tiffany – it’s the story from her perspective!

Day 33 is done, day 34 is on the way.  “The heart is where life begins and love never ends” – anonymous.