4 Praises In Spite of My Recent Health Diagnosis

~By Sharon Czerwien

Hmmmmm—To bring up the following or not—that is the question! I have waffled back and forth for sure.

I am a tad private about posting certain things online (and certainly when it comes to health-related things).

*The main deciding factor for me to go public with the following information has everything to do with my desire to give God the glory and credit for many praises along my recent health journey!*

After a quick health preface, I will share four praises, in spite of my recent diagnosis.

A Recent Diagnosis

I was recently diagnosed with POTS Syndrome (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). I had the official 4-part testing done at an area hospital, and it was a relief to have the diagnosis versus it being something else.

I will not bore you with too many details, but the syndrome causes a variety of symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, windedness, brain fog, a heartrate that jumps all over the place, among many other symptoms. Symptoms are exasperated when changing body positions.

Here is an interesting article in case your loved one has the syndrome.

Now to the Praises!

1. God proved Himself faithful once again!

When gearing up for the official test, I asked my small group at church to pray for me spiritually during the test. I desperately wanted to keep Bible verses in mind during the difficult parts of the test. I wanted to remember to trust in God’s strength to persevere in the test so that I could use that event as an amazing testimony to share with my children when they go through their own truly difficult processes.

God proved Himself faithful when He promised spiritual strength when His child asks (Isaiah 40:28-31).

During the testing, He cared for me and gave me the strength to survive the appointment without giving in or panicking (1 Peter 5:7).

I praise God for the spiritual perseverance He gave me!

2. I have the best possible (for me!) family physician.

I feel so blessed to have my primary care doctor. She was formally trained and mentored in the area of POTS long before she and I crossed paths. A few months ago, she quickly suspected POTS and was able to put in a referral for the official testing in the bigger city nearby.

She has counseled me in “best practices” for POTS care and is a great cheerleader!

3. I have a new appreciation for healthy days!

Before my symptoms sprung up, I probably took my health for granted more than I should have.

Fast forward to now, I never know when I will have a day of flare-ups or not. I do not know when I will accidentally overdo things and “pay for it” later on, or when it is best to push through a day with movement for the benefit of my body.

I do not mention the information for pity. Quite the contrary! Now, more than ever, I am overjoyed for a healthy day. I no longer take healthy days for granted. (Plus, did I mention that I am thankful that my health diagnosis was not something worse!?)

4. I must rely on God’s strength continuously, which is humbling.

As mentioned above, I do not always know know what a day or week will hold with my symptoms. Sometimes flare-ups happen around a certain time and other times unexpectedly. I can be exhausted, and there are times that my brain fog is (figuratively) painful, and I feel a bit on the clueless side.

This situation is not a terrible place to be in, though! I have the opportunity that—in order to keep sane—I can thank God that He has put me in a place that requires me to consistently look up for His strength. This keeps me down a notch so that I’m not relying on my own strength.

These are life-lessons I can teach my children. I can praise God for that!

A Quick Conclusion

Thanks for reading my “Praise-God-Ramble”! I want to document these praises so that I can look back on them on the harder days.

I started 2023 with a desire to increase my faith. God, in His grace, provided the opportunity.

Please, understand—I am a work in progress! I have days when I fail spiritually. I do not have everything down perfectly in this health journey. I do not want to discourage others that on their spiritually hard days that they are failing.

Nope! You and I should not give up for good when we have our bad days. Let’s get back up and turn our praise to God and thank Him for the opportunity that He can turn our hardships into good.

Remember, bumps are okay!

Love,

Sharon