Category: Diseases and injuries

The Source of All Things-book review

But new evidence has revealed that anyone infected with COVID is at higher risk for heart issues—including clots, inflammation, and arrhythmias (irregular beats)—a risk that persists even in relatively healthy people long after the illness has passed.

A Heart Surgeon’s Quest to Understand Our Most Mysterious Organ

Diseases of the heart and lung are the leading causes of death all over the world. This post reviews 3 books I have read and reviewed that explain the intricacies of these two related and vital systems. One review is new, the other two have been previously published.

(This and other posts on this blog contain affiliate links that may pay a small commission to this blog if you make a purchase. )

diagram of the human heart
Heart diseases affect any and sometimes multiple parts of the heart- the atria, ventricles, the valves, the aorta, the pulmonary artery and veins, the walls and the coronary arteries (not shown in this diagram. )

The Source of All Things

A Heart Surgeon’s Quest to Understand Our Most Mysterious Organ

By Dr. Reinhard Friedl, With Shirley Michaela Seul; Translated by Gert Reifarth

Originally published as Der Takt des Lebens. Warum das Herz unser wichtigstes Sinnesorgan ist

In his memoir, Dr. Reinhard Friedl introduces us to the heart, describing its unique role in the human body, one he considers the most important of any organ. He believes the heart is the “source of all life”.

Dr. Friedl describes the heart’s structure and basic function, in detailed but non-technical terms. He does not view the heart as a mere pump as it is often described, but as a turbine, an engine.

Then he whisks us into the operating room as he performs a middle of the night emergency surgery to save a man’s life by repairing his damaged aorta. Later, he travels to a home to resuscitate a 34-week premature baby who wasn’t breathing. He describes the challenge of performing a delicate heart surgery on a 24-week premature infant. In each case, he acted automatically, calling upon years of training, using his mind and hands with precise attention to details, focusing only on the patient’s open chest on the table.

But operating with his brain was not enough for Dr. Friedl. He realized as a heart surgeon he needed to know and use his own heart. He wanted to find out

“Can we sense thing consciously with the heart? May we act from the heart? Is there a connection between the voice of the heart and illnesses, between a fulfilling life and one full of suffering?”

He explored the answer through meditation and deep breathing. He dove into the connection between the heart and the brain, studying philosophy, neurology, genetics, and even quantum physics. He finally concludes

“The greatest challenge for modern medicine is to bring back together the fragments of the human being and integrate them in holistic medicine.”

Dr. Friedl’s story wanders at times, as did his journey to self-discovery. One chapter title, Farewell to the Artificial Heart, characterizes the journey he started and continues; reading his memoir may prompt you to start your own journey.

This book is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary galley copy in exchange for a review.

BREATH TAKING – a book review

We take 7.5 million breaths a year and some 600 million in our lifetime. Breath Taking is an exhaustive review of why and how our lungs work, and what happens to our lives when they are attacked and injured by disease.

Keep reading
an illustration of the coronavirus with its characteristic surface spikes
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MSMI; Dan Higgins, MAMS

A researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the long term effects of COVID on the heart.

“Until now, people who suffered mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 were thought to have dodged the brunt of the virus’s brutal side effects.

But new evidence has revealed that anyone infected with COVID is at higher risk for heart issues—including clots, inflammation, and arrhythmias (irregular beats)—a risk that persists even in relatively healthy people long after the illness has passed.”

Read the article at this link-

COVID and the Heart: It Spares No One

exploring the HEART of health

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a world globe with two crossed bandaids

Doctor Aletha

Keith Wheeler-a Cross and COVID

No, I wasn’t mad at God, I know that bad things happen to everyone. Jesus said that whoever wants to save their life should lose it, (Luke 9:24) so I know that either way I would be with Him. Jesus is my hope, my confidence, and peace, in all my life, including COVID.

If you missed part 1 of this series, you may want to read it first.

Keith Wheeler- a cross and a collarbone

Keith walks around doing what he simply calls “serving God, loving people.” He started in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Good Friday 1985 and thought it was going to be a one-time event. But he felt God wanted him to continue carrying the cross around the surrounding towns, then the rest of Oklahoma, and on into surrounding…

In it, I introduced you to Keith Wheeler who has walked around the world-literally; he has covered over 25,000 miles on all 7 continents. He can’t say how many countries, since names and boundaries change, but it’s at least 180. And on every step, he has carried a 90 pounds, 12 feet by 6 feet cross draped over his shoulder.

Keith does this because he loves Jesus, and he wants people to know that Jesus loves them too. In his own words,

“I love God and I love the people of the world. To me, ministry is simply the overflow of a life lived in love with Jesus. I feel that Jesus has many servants but very few friends. It’s one thing to be called a friend; it’s another to actually be a friend. I want to be His friend.

2020-a travel interruption

After trips to Tuvalu, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Northwest Territories, Canada in early 2020, Keith’s travels were interrupted by the pandemic in March. For the rest of 2020 he walked through the Tulsa Oklahoma area, near his home and even made it to Washington, D.C. where he encountered some people he knows from Tulsa.

Keith in Washington, D.C.

I’ll tell you more about his 2020 activities in the next post of this series.

2021- travel resumes; then another interruption

He travelled to Paraguay in March 2021 despite difficult pandemic travel restrictions.  By the time he landed back home at Tulsa International Airport he was feeling unwell. Over the next day he continued “feeling a little puny”, with a sore throat and stuffy nose. He consulted a physician who recommended a nasal swab viral test-and so on March 21, 2021, Keith was diagnosed with COVID-19.

A special time with Jesus

On Keith’s Facebook page from March 21 through 28, 2021, he described his “COVID timeout”. He did a series of videos from his study, where he keeps his second cross that has been retired. He spent much of his time there, to remain isolated from his family. He called this a “special time with Jesus.”

In November 2021 I visited with Keith by video to talk about his life, his ministry, and specifically his COVID-19 illness. As I mentioned in part 1, it’s hard to interview Keith about himself, because invariably he turns the conversation back to Jesus. But that’s how he lives his life, so to meet Keith is to meet Jesus.

This part will be in interview format with me as AO and Keith as KW. It is edited for clarity and  I’ve inserted some background information for context.

The interview-November 2021

AO: Keith, how did you feel when you learned you had COVID-19? Were you a little mad at God, after all you caught it while you were travelling on his behalf? Did you worry that you might die of COVID?

KW: No, I wasn’t mad at God, I know that bad things happen to everyone. Jesus said that whoever wants to save their life should lose it, (Luke 9:24) so I know that either way I would be with Him. Jesus is my hope, my confidence, and peace, in all my life, including COVID.

AO: Keith, what was COVID like for you? How did you manage the symptoms?

KW: I had sniffles, a sore throat, and chills. I lost my sense of smell; and I still don’t have it for bad smells. The worst was my mental focus was off, so much so I couldn’t read.  I was sleepy and slept a lot. I kept myself hydrated, took vitamins, and concentrated on breathing.

AO: And what about your wife?

KW: Nicole was out of town when I got home from Paraguay and got diagnosed with COVID. So I had time to sanitize the areas of the house I had used and moved upstairs before she returned.  

She would leave meals at the bottom of the stairs, I would come down, take it back up. I would sit at the top of the stairs eating and she sat at the bottom, so we could still have meals together. When I felt up to it, we went outdoors for walks-she walked on the sidewalk and I walked in the middle of the street, 6 feet away.

In his COVID timeout videos, each day he said he was “doing well”, and by the 24th,  he was “better”. By Sunday March 28, he ended isolation-fitting since that was Palm Sunday, the day Christians remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey; a week later he would be crucified on a cross like the one Keith carries. (John 12:12-14)

By Good Friday, April 2, 2021, Keith was back out on the road, carrying the cross in Florida.

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much since my Covid “timeout”! Lots of fun things have been going on… As we carried the cross in Florida on Good Friday so very many precious, beautiful people came to the cross…

Of course, the pandemic was still active, so when necessary, Keith masked up-in his own style of course.

HAHA! WAAAY better than the “standard” blue face mask!

Keith and I talked about lessons learned from the pandemic and his thoughts on the division that has rocked our nation this past 2 years. He calls this a “season of adjustment” in which we have “missed the presence of Jesus.” I’ll share more about that in part 3, as well as a unique encounter right here in Tulsa.

Exploring the HEART of health with Keith Wheeler

a world globe with two crossed bandaids

Doctor Aletha