For more than a decade, I had been telling physicians at major East Coast medical institutions that something was terribly wrong. I was repeatedly told I had COPD and been given inhalers that did little to address what I was experiencing.

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Sabrena listened. We talked. And then she said something I will never forget.

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"If you were my father, I would take you by the hand and walk you down the hall to have this Myocardial Perfusion Study done."

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I relented.

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The study was performed the following March. The cardiologist informed me that my right coronary artery was completely blocked and a branch of my left circumflex artery was 92 percent blocked. He seemed rather surprised that I was still walking around.

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On May 3, 2023, I underwent cardiac catheterization and the placement of coronary stents.

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I have no doubt that Sabrena saved my life. Although she defers to the work of God. 

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Her willingness to listen, her insistence on taking my concerns seriously, and her determination to investigate what others had dismissed led directly to the diagnosis and treatment of dangerous coronary disease.

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That care also helped lead to additional abdominal stents in August of 2023  that relieved years of crippling pain and sleep disruption.

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But Sabrena gave me something more valuable than premier medical care.

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She shared her faith, simply and openly. Not as a lecture. Not as an argument to be won. Simply as part of who she is.

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Her witness to God's goodness, mercy, and love helped open a door that had already begun to move.

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Somewhere along the way, three words became especially important in our conversations.

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Trust. Rest. Wait.

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I had photographed birds taking flight over Canyon Lake. Later, I had the image printed on metal and gave it to Sabrena, with a handwritten reminder on the back.

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It was a small offering to someone who had given me something immeasurable.

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And it was another opportunity to practice something I was only beginning to understand.

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Love needn't be a transaction.

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I didn't have to repay a debt.

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I could simply offer something from my heart.