Dr Joseph B. Fuiten (pronounced Fee-ton) is a friend of mine. He is in his early 50’s and is the pastor of Cedar Park Church in Bothell, WA. I first met Joe when he announced in the local newspaper many years ago about a “Yom Teruah” Service at his church. This captured my interest and we went to the service. I found him to be an outstanding pastor, a very wise yet humble man and we have had many exchanges over Scripture. He says I am a “crusader”, meaning “any vigorous, agressive movement for the defense or advancement of an idea or cause” and I thank him for that. We don’t agree on some things, but that’s OK. I still love him as a brother in the Lord. Last fall he had a heart attack – I’m not surprised…… he’s here, there and everywhere! It was his lifelong ambition to become president of the United States – until the Lord called him into the ministry. He is very politically oriented and is not bashful about being a solid Republican. He will be attending President Bush’s inauguration in Washington DC soon. Read this ‘heartwarming’ testimony and pray for him. He has a heart for Israel (visits every other year) and is truly a man of G-d.
What I learned from my Heart Attack!
Pastor Joe Fuiten, October 3, 2004
“For at least the second time in my life, I believe God has spared my life.
On Friday, September 17, 2004 I had a heart attack. A blood clot lodged itself in the main artery of my heart blocking the blood flow. As a consequence, my heart got so irritated it stopped beating.
Prior to the event, I could tell something was happening although I was not certain what it was. For about a week I could feel a tightness in my chest but I thought it might be a muscle strain from shoveling about 60 tons of rock that I had been doing over the last couple of months. Friday morning I made an appointment with the doctor. By Friday afternoon, something changed. I could feel pressure in my throat and over my shoulders, although no pain. It was clear I needed to go to the hospital. Linda insisted that I do it right now. I took two aspirin, and we headed out.
Craig Gorc and Gary Rightenour were already at the hospital on a different matter. I called to let Craig know that I was coming in. Gary, who has years of experience with the Kirkland Fire Department, told the Emergency Room to expect me. I walked into ER. They asked, “Do you need a doctor?” I answered, “I believe I do.” I sat down to answer their intake questions. Within a minute or so, it felt like a curtain suddenly obscured my view. I said, “I am feeling light-headed.” I wasn’t feeling pain, but my heart had stopped pumping. My wife, who was sitting there with me, said my eyes rolled back and I slid from my chair slumping to the floor.
Instantly, the ER staff dragged me into a room, hoisted me onto the table, and started working on me. A “Code Blue” went throughout the hospital PA system. Four Doctors and probably six nurses showed up. One doctor leaped up onto the table and onto my chest and began CPR. Others went looking for the “paddles” to shock my heart back into operation. The paddles did their work. My heart started again and I started to breath. I gradually came back to consciousness.
The ER staff moved me onto a gurney and literally ran down the corridor to the heart catheter room. Once inside, they inserted the catheter into the artery in my groin and moved it into my heart. I watched the monitor as they moved around in my heart. They discovered the blood clot and inserted a stint to keep the artery open. All this happened within 20 minutes of the actual heart attack. Judging by the loss of muscle activity, the doctor felt I had lost about 1/8 of my heart capacity. He said the heart has excess capacity and this should be no problem.
After the shock got my heart started, it was still highly irregular and beating at about 130 beats per minute. The doctor said if it did not improve, he would shock the heart again in the morning to get it back into regular motion. By midnight my heart had settled into its regular pattern.
The next morning the doctor checked my blood and said he believed there was less damage than previously estimated. He said maybe only 1/20 was damaged. In my followup visit a week later, Dr. Kim told me there should be no lasting effects of the heart attack provided I get my exercise and take off a little weight. (After two weeks I have lost 10 pounds.) I tried without success to get him to write me a prescription for a round or two of golf a week.
The doctor told me I was very fortunate. Half of those with this kind of heart attack die immediately. Another substantial portion end up with brain damage. I did not sustain any brain damage, although my friends joke that there would be no way to tell anyway given the previous condition of my brain. I will have virtually no long-term effects on my heart. For all this I thank God. I also thank all the people for their prayers, both before the incident and after, which made my successful recovery possible. At every turn, the right things happened. If something like this is going to happen, I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right people present to help.
I am trying to learn from, and benefit by, the experience so that I will end up stronger than before in every way. As a result, I want to share what I have learned so far from this experience.
First, there are times when a man should be quiet and obey his wife. On that fateful Friday, I could feel something happening in my chest and throat but I wanted to wait and assess it a little further. I had called my doctor that morning and told the appointment person there that I was having some issues with my heart and needed to get it checked. She scheduled me for an appointment five days later. When my wife asked why I was so quiet I told her what was happening. She immediately said, “You are going to the hospital right now.” I had heard that tone of voice before and knew there wasn’t going to be any further discussion. I quietly got up and obey my wife. That act of obedience certainly saved my heart and brain, and maybe even my life.
Second, I am glad that a lot of people in the medical community went to school instead of cutting classes. Several people helped me. First, Kevin Forrester, a heart nurse in our congregation told me earlier in the week that chest pains include more than just pain and I needed to get my heart checked. When the actual heart attack occurred in the Emergency Room of Evergreen hospital they acted very quickly. They got me off the floor and on to a table in record speed. Then a ER person, I think named Michael, jumped on to the table and began CPR while they went looking for paddles to shock my heart back into activity. That ER team knew what to do and did it well. Dr. Ed Kim was called in and he was in the heart catheter room within minutes. I estimate that he was working inside my heart within 20 to 25 minutes of the initial heart attack. They knew what to do and did it quickly. At times like that you are happy to be in America at Evergreen Hospital with a well educated staff.
Third, I learned that I am blessed by a family that loves me. I really appreciate what a good wife I have and together we have some great kids.
Fourth, we are blessed with a great team of lay people, Pastors, and staff at Cedar Park. Everything continued on quite smoothly while I was gone. The board has been very supportive of me and our very competent staff never missed a beat.
Fifth, you have to keep an eye on your body because it may be trying to kill you. My body reminds me of Gollum in Lord of the Rings. It might lead you to success or it might kill you along the way. So, you have to keep a very close watch on it. Part of it tries to heal you while the other part tries to kill you.
The bad Gollum says, “Feed us. We wants ice cream and potato chips, then we want to take a nap. We wants cream on our cereal and bacon and eggs. We wants donuts with glaze for lunch and French fries for dinner. And don’t forget dessert after every meal. ”
Why does your body want that? Because it is trying to kill you. You have to punish it. Just when it is getting ready to sit on the coach and watch a comedy on TV you grab it by the back of the neck and drag it out the door. Then you have a serious talk. “Since you tried to kill me, you are going to pay. I am going to make you sweat. Oh yes, you will sweat and your heart will race and you will beg for the coach. But no, you will keep going until the sweat is pouring off you like rain in the Northwest. And that little comfort pouch under your chest has got to go. No more comfort pouch for you. You tried to eliminate me, well, I am going to eliminate that.” And late at night, when your fat little body slyly asks for a snack. “NO! Not after what you tried to do to me.”
I know that some of you don’t believe your body would turn on you. After all you’ve done for that stomach of yours, you would expect a little loyalty. That is what I thought. I am warning you, there is a bad Gollum in there and he wants to kill you.
No matter what dreams and plans that you might have, however great, you need your body to help get you there. I am laying on the ER table (an experience which I found quite shocking.) The doctor looked at me when I came to and said, “You just had a huge heart attack.” I thought to myself, “What is up with this? I don’t have time for this!” Even when you get very busy, you still need to manage the body.
Sixth, there is often very little time to pray at the moment of crisis so you depend on the prayers that have already been prayed. When I felt this might be something different I took two aspirin, said a little prayer to the Lord, and headed for the hospital. A number of you have told me that I have been in your prayers a lot lately, even before this incident. There is no doubt in my mind that those prayers kept me alive and caused all the right circumstances to be orchestrated in God’s providence.
I think we begin this process when we dedicate our children to the Lord. We begin to lay down a foundation of prayer. God keeps all our prayers around his throne forever. Without prayer, I doubt if I would be alive today.
Seventh, your prayers, and the prayers of churches across this community, were critical to me after the event. It is one thing to be alive. It is another to have the prospect of being able to go about your business without impediment. The great care of the medical team was an answer to prayer. My nurse in critical care got an email from her church to pray for a pastor she didn’t know. She prayed for me, not knowing that later that day she would be caring for me. The faith of the medical staff sure came through. One person, on the way into the heart catheter said to me, “Your guardian angel was sure watching over you today.” Another person said, you are not supposed to say that, but the message was already sent. My nurse prayed for me on several occasions. They were beautiful prayers that clearly had the Spirit of the Lord within them. I am healthy today because God has heard your prayers.”
Reprinted with permission from Pastor Joe
Wasn’t that Special? Cedar Park was given the “Church of the Week” recognition from Pat Robertson’s 700 Club last week because of the church’s ministry to the communities’ needy by servicing and repairing automobiles at the church on a sliding scale, thanks to Pastor Joe. He has Washington State’s largest Christian School and a the “Chapel of the Resurrection”, a full scale Christian Funeral Home and chapel with onsite facilities. G-d has a lot more for him as he opens his eyes and heart to Truth. I’m glad he is my friend!
See you tomorrow!
Shalom, Sharaka
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It is by far, the busiest day of the week. I keep Messianic music on much of the day and turn on the light in my curio cabinet where I keep my momentos from Israel. This helps me get ready for the day. 
Opening brand new jars can be a feat in itself. Well, I have found a way to make it the easiest thing to do. Instead of banging a jar of jam, pickles, etc., with a knife until it loosens up, simply reach into the drawer and pull out the handy nutcracker. It adjusts to the size of the jar and I simply give it a good twist and off pops the lid!