Many people have asked for updates on my upcoming heart surgery so herein i am risking an attempt at being offensive by sharing through a mass email…

For those of you who don’t know, i’m sorry that this is how you find out, but i will be having open-heart surgery on January 4th. (gimme a break, it’s not like this is something that just comes up in normal conversation…)

To make a long story short…i was diagnosed seven years ago with a bicuspid aortic valve and was told at the time that i would very probably be a candidate for a valve replacement at some point in the future. It’s something i’ve had since birth, but just never showed up until i was in my early 30’s.

Well, the future has a way of creeping up on you, and three daughters later, here i am with the appointment scheduled. I’ve noticed myself making light of the situation lately to the amazement of several people and i must remind myself that i’ve had awhile to get used to the idea.

I’ve had many people tell me that they want to pray for me and add me to prayer lists, and i sincerely appreciate that very much! Every prayer, thought and word is appreciated!

Some ways you can be praying for us are:

* preparation over the next couple of weeks as the reality starts to set in.

* For Duffy that she will be strengthened to lead our family while i’m in the hospital and recovering

* The girls (Natalie, 6; Courtney, 4: Anabel, 8mo.) that they come together during this time and show love to each other consistently, not just when it’s easy…

* That i will slow down and allow myself the recovery time that i will need and not want to jump back into things too early.

* For my surgeon, Dr. Michael Patracek; my cardiologist, Dr. Benjamin Byrd; I’ve been told by many that these gentlemen are at the top of their field. As i travel the halls of Vanderbilt Hospital, i have heard Dr. Patracek referred to as one of the top, if THE top valve surgeon in the world. People come from all over the world for him to perform their surgery, I’m thankful that i only have to drive about 20 minutes… I’m also thankful for Dr. Bill Maynard at Vanderbilt Internal Medicine…a great friend and a great doctor, who was the first person ever to hear the murmur that accompanies my valve condition.

* For our family that will be around us during my hospital and recovery time. We are fortunate to have many family members surrounding us to help around the house, get the girls to school on time, entertain Anabel, cook meals, etc…

* For my family at work. please pray that my absence will not overwhelm anyones workload…at least for a few weeks. I don’t want them to actually figure out that they can do it without me…:)

If your interested Duffy will be posting updates on her blog…http://www.mdbetter.com/ I think she has it updated through Twitter somehow. I’m lucky to be able to get on facebook without blowing a fuse, twitter is a little too much technology for me…

So that’s the BIG NEWS from the Betterton household! Please keep us in your prayers… We are very comforted that God will lead us though this time, and have faith in Christ as our Saviour. We are confident in the doctors and in Vanderbilt hospital as this surgery has a 98% success ratio. We look forward to seeing you soon and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you receive this twice or more, than it just means that we are on that many mailing lists together…or that something is drastically wrong with the setup of your computer… 🙂

Many thanks to you all for your well wishes and concern! We’ll do our best to keep you updated…

Sincerely,

Mike Betterton