Matters of the Heart

well well well... Apparently its not cool to be single anymore. All these people getting married... Wedding Fever seems to have gripped Kaleo 3. It's actually really exciting. Guys, our blog is way more eventful than any other year's (that's probably true, I dont actually keep up with any of the others though). Our Kaleo 3 Blog is like a Crazy Kaleo soap opera (we could call it 'the B.C.', but I'm sure Fox would hit us with some Lawsuites). Think about it, What happens on Soap Operas: Lots of people hook up and have frequent weddings, there's always a long lost twin brother or sister (1 may or may not be Evil), and there's ALWAYS somebody who gets into a sea kayaking accident going down a flight of stairs... .... ... ok I made the last one up, but the first two strongly support me. Actually, forget it, real life is way more entertaining than those lame soap operas.
SO I URGE YOU TO KEEP GETTING ENGAGED TO ONE ANOTHER...IT AMUSES ME! (and Congrats to all you love-birds).

I'm writing this blog because of a different matter of the heart. A more literal and physical matter. But this goes back a ways so buckle up and prepare for a couple months of recap.

After my wisdom teeth removal (which was my last post), I left home the day after to go to Staff Training at Qwanoes. A few days into staff training I came off my Tylenol 3's and my Antibiotics and (to my surprise and frustrated confusion) I Crashed. I felt So Weak, and unbelievably exhausted. So after a brief chat with Ryan Lee and after numerous apologies I went home to try and recover and figure out what was wrong with me. I did a ton of Blood Tests and Ultrasounds/ x-rays of organs. Test after test came back negative. No Mono, Spleen=Good, Liver=Good, No Diabetes... All these tests were saying that I was 'OK'. This news was bittersweet. I wanted to be fine, but I didnt feel fine. When someone tells you you're healthy but everything you're feeling tells you otherwise, it kind of messes with your mind a bit. Was I imagining all this fatigue and weakness? Was this a spiritual attack? Could this just be heat exhaustion from a mixture of too much sun and medication that advises avoiding sun exposure.... I had a few doubts cross my mind. I was frustrated and confused at that point, but I started feeling better so I called Ryan and got back to Qwanoes after missing the first 2 weeks of camp. I was at Qwanoes and Loving it. I felt good. Tired... but understandably so. Not an abnormal fatigue like before. Now I was running around and having fun. It looked like my health was back and I could forget this whole confusing experience.

During my second week Counselling (Junior High 2), my mom came out for a couple days to help in the nursing station. The first night she was there, she insisted I come say good night to her, and when I came, she found a private place to let me know that the doctors who did my Heart tests had found a small hole in between the ventricles of my heart. They wanted me to come home to do more tests and so they could explain what this means. This shook me up a little bit. I wasn't too worried, because I figured that if this was anything serious they'd be telling me to come home ASAP. But still... when somebody tells you that your heart is defective... its kinda scary. It was hardest just to live normally with that information. I really struggled to tell people anything about it. Part of me wanted prayer support, but another part wanted this to be kept 'hush hush'. Most people knew that I left during staff training, and I didnt want to draw attention that I was leaving again. But Mainly I didnt want to make a mountain out of a molehill. I didnt want to concern everybody and get people worried just to come back and say: It was nothing (I had already kind of done that once this summer with my unexplained exhaustion).
I was sick of people teasing and questioning my integrity with little digs about me 'Faking it' or 'Seeking attention/sympathy'. So I kept it in for most of the week, and slowly started telling people I trusted as the week drew to a close.

I became sick at the end of Junior High 2 with a bad cough which has progressively worsened as I've been at home. Possibly strepthroat or some viral infection (The clinic doctor will have results tomorrow). BUT FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS. Thanks to all those who have been praying for me , and to those who had no idea about any of this stuff... thanks for reading this far.
So after a follow-up Echo-Cardiogram (heart test), one of the doctors FINALLY met with me to put me out of my miserable ignorance. He told me its nothing to worry about. My heart is healthy and fine (but with a tiny tiny hole in between the ventricles). He said that what probably happened was that after my wisdom teeth, I didnt have a long enough prescription of Antibiotics, and some bacteria got into my blood stream and made me really weak and tired. Then at the end of our little session, he recognized that he had been reading me the results from the Echo-Cardiogram that they did two weeks ago.... so then they faxed over the new test results from the Echo-Cardiogram I took 2 days ago, and guess what: THERE IS NO HOLE ANYMORE. This is what the doctors call a Misdiagnosis. But Perhaps it had something to do with the prayer warriors over at Qwanoes. Maybe... Either way, I'm relieved and thankful for today's news. Finally I can relax a bit.

But I still feel pretty rough right now because of this silly throat cold I have going. I'm not fit to be at camp this week, and immediately after calling to let qwanoes know, I had a coughing spell that led to me hunched over a toilet for awhile (My Supper hurt sooo bad coming back up my raw, tender throat. ouch. I had tears).

So if you've been praying for me, Please don't stop, and know that I'm keeping busy praying for all of you. And if you arent praying for me... than i'm going to egg your house! (kidding... but... I would absolutely appreciate it if you would pray for my health, pretty please with a cherry on top).

I think I post the longest and lengthiest blog posts in the history of the word 'BLOG'. P.S. who invented that word? how do you think they rationalized that word selection...

OK... So. I heart you guys. Praise God and be encouraged, because prayer is powerful and effective. God is soooo good. Camp has brought me tons of Joy in the short time that I was able to be there. There is so much amazing stuff happening there. Maybe if I'm bored later this week I'll share some really cool stories from my time there, but right now it's time to end this novel...
So the hero lives on, the people rejoice, and Brady lives without a hole in his heart. YAY!
~BRADY