My Mycardial Infarction announcement from 2/19/04

Dear Friends and Family,

You have all heard by now that I had a wee little problem starting Monday night (2/16/04) at about 10:45pm. I, Rick Lingenfelter, olympic caliber athlete, trapped in the body of an international male supermodel, 36 years old, had a heart attack. The bad thing is that I had a heart attack. The good thing is, I had a heart attack. I can think of many people who maybe aren’t ready for this. Maybe their faith is weak, maybe they have no faith, maybe their body has no chance of taking it, I don’t know, but it worked out this way for a reason, and I am here today thanking you for your prayers and actions.

I had peace throughout the whole ordeal. That peace only comes through Christ. I don’t know everyone on this email list, some of you were on Susan Rychener’s email and I don’t believe we have met. If we have and I have just forgotten, excuse me, I just had a heart attack. My family and I really felt your prayers. The people I thought who would not handle this well, were OK. I actually was disappointed that everyone seemed so happy on Tuesday, surgery day. Would have been nice to see a tear or two, but, maybe next time. If you haven’t met me, let me say I am sorry, and please understand I tend to be a little sarcastic.

Monday night I got the classic symptoms and called my father-in-law for advice. He had been there before and encouraged me to go to the hospital. By 4:00am Tuesday it was clear I had had an attack and my scheduled stress test for Tuesday AM turned into an angiogram (not as fun as the name implies) and angioplasty (doctor induced heart attack…excuse me…it sucked…about six minutes of laying on the table feeling like you are really dying…the worst part of the whole experience). The 24 hours of nitroglycerin headache was a close second.

It was so nice that so many people visited me. Sorry if I smelled and looked un-GQ in my hospital dress. I just thought about it. The worst part was the dress. You know what you wear under those beautiful gown’s? Nothing. You knowwhat every hospital employee does when they come to see you? They lift it up. Then they push where it hurts and they ask if it hurts. Pam and my sister Tami felt this was fair that I experience what women go through.

There were so many people in that hospital without hope, in fear, sadly without visitors. I had a 70 year old roommate. He was intentionally obnoxious andeveryone who came in loved him. We had some great talks during our two days together. He has a good heart, well, bad, but good. We talked a little about faith as he realizes he may not have long to live. It was good. Thank you.

Remember Christ in all you do. Read some of my favorite verses Eph. 2:8-10 and remember it is not about us or what we do. I have included a couple of photos, one from the hospital when I was near death and another shows the hemotoma on my right hip.

Rick

Rambling for YFC from July 19, 2007

A little over three years ago something very special happened. Campus Life returned to Chillicothe. In the 70's Campus Life seemed to hit it's stride. I watched as my older sisters got involved. I tagged along to some of the larger "bashes" as my dad worked a grill or helped in some other way. They, adults and kids, really seemed to connect. In my young eyes I saw something I really looked forward to.

Skip ahead 30 years. I watch my son and his friends as they watch me help out a bit. We talk about someday when he will be old enough to...

Rewind 25 years. I sit at IVC and hope I am not noticed. Please, don't let the Campus Life leader see me. Don't let him come to the table I am at in the commons with my friends. I will show up on Thursday nights to the boring club meetings, but don't bring the boring club to me at school. Not in front of my friends. Oh I wish I was sick and not at school today. I wonder if the other 6 Campus Life kids got out of the commons without being seen. They are so lucky.

Skip ahead 15 years. They still have Campus Life in Chillicothe? Do any kids even go? Who? Who is the director? Oh, I think I have heard of him, maybe. Where do they meet? When?

Fast forward 7 years. If Parr's can't host, what will happen? No one else has enough room. Oh I hope the other adult leaders can come, there are too many kids. How many guys is Brent taking to the U P this summer? Hope all is going well in Africa for Kenny and the others on the mission trip he (IVC senior Kenny) planned. Brent, you are on the phone all the time, these kids won't give you a break. Your meeting starts in a few minutes Brent, you can't go through the commons, you'll never get out of there, use your school keys and go another way. She killed herself, they all need to talk to you.

Chillicothe. It is different. The Campus Life Director, Brent Fox, is different. From the very first day Campus Life returned to Chillicothe it has been different. The club was rolling full steam before a club night was even planned. Campus Life has traveled on two feet ever since. Brent began by taking it to them before he ever asked them to come. The number of kids involved grows and the burden on Brent grows. But we pray for more kids to come and meet Jesus, at the same time we pray for more Jesus followers to come help Brent serve these kids.

The Chillicothe club is not a club with great noticable parental participation (yet). It is a club that is driven by the desire that these kids have to relate to someone, something meaningful. These kids drive this club as Brent guides it's direction. These kids see Jesus (sandals and all) in Brent everyday.

Merry Christmas 2004

Until 2004, our little family was never interesting enough to send out a Christmas newsletter. 04 changed that. Here it is.

Merry Christmas
From
Rick, Pam, Josh & Erin Lingenfelter

December 9, 2004

I have toiled for two days trying to write a "Christmas Newsletter" in the traditional style. Trying to write on a template is tough. Pam read, reread, and reread again the first two drafts and decided the first was simply too depressing and the second was a weak attempt at coming from the 3rd person point of view. Pam wanted it written the way I write my emails, so I emailed myself this letter and transposed it for you with photos. If you opened this and find yourself reading, pause and admire the stamp (it is like a bow), the envelope (wrapping paper), and this letter (your gift...really...Merry Christmas you just opened your gift from us). Please excuse me in advance if anything in this letter offends or shocks you, I know no other way to write. To some of you this letter contains old news. Others will find out for the first time how much '04 has held for us and say "Wow, glad we're not you!"

God blessed us with a great, fun church to worship in. The kids we work with in church have almost as much fun as we adults have working together to serve God. We are blessed with great families and friends who rally around us and take care of us. Thank you all. Pam works with great people (me too, but that is family) while teaching sixth graders. Pam went on a DQ cake diet from April to October, quit running, and still looks fantastic (see photo below). We took a great vacation in June (3700 miles in the van) to South FL to hang with family and just relax (see photo above). Erin is 4 and she is 100% girl. Her interests range from purses to makeup to purses. She hears like the bionic woman and has a comeback for everything. Blessing (mixed). Josh is 8 and gets nearly perfect grades, never gets in trouble, really athletic, rides a motorcycle, shoots a gun, does magic, and on and on and on. Blessing. I run and workout everyday now and even eat things that were grown and not processed. I am actually in better physical shape now than 10 years ago. We are blessed. We know God has a plan for us and we are willing to follow Him no matter what happens.

In 2004, WHAT happened. (this is where this newsletter gets weird)

My heart couldn't hold anymore cream filling from Ding-Dongs and Ho-Hos and attacked me on Feb. 16th. I was home when it happened and waited 30-45 minutes for it to stop then immediately dialed 911...er...***-7170 and had Pam's dad drive 15 miles to pick me up to drive me 20 miles to the hospital. I am not quite as smart as I look. I survived. I got to be in rehab for several weeks with a bunch of very old people and I got a free tee shirt. That was the start of my diet and exercise routine.

Pam found post heart attack life stressful and turned to comfort food, DQ ice cream cakes, bought one every Saturday. She ran out of energy and quit exercising, she battled physical ailments, went to the ER, got CAT scans and blood tests, got her teeth re-straightened, you name a test or a type of doctor and she got it or saw them. Erin, always perceptive, wanted a little of her own medical attention so on April 28th she got a new set of ear tubes. The doctor also cut out her adenoids, all in the hope of not having another ear surgery (this was her fifth). It worked, all the way until Aug. 11th when she had another new set of tubes put in. We have always known she was tough, but six surgeries to prove it? Come on Erin, just beat up your brother if you want to make a point about your toughness. Not to be left out of the medical circus we live in, Josh faked a receding gum line issue and went in to have oral surgery on Aug. 12th (notice the date compared to Erin's last surgery). Through it all, Pam stayed true to her diet and non-exercise program, but started to feel somewhat healthier with fewer headaches and a little more energy.

I have a birthday every year on October 19th. Always have gotten something nice from Pam, so it is usually a good day.This year Pam got something. She wouldn't actually get it (them) until Nov. 24th, but it all originated on my birthday. On Nov. 24th Pam got an oobay objay (family newsletter so I disguised boob job with pig latin). Let me back up. An hour or so before that she got a mastectomy on her left side. Before that she had a dozen Dr.'s visits, two MRI's, two sonograms, a mammogram, and two lumps of cancer in her left estbray (breast). Those she found on my birthday. The internal battle her body was waging may have produced a lot of the ailments she fought during the year. Unfortunately we could find no link between her cancer and DQ, so no lawsuit can be initiated. The Dr. believes she removed all the cancer, but Pam still gets chemo starting in a week or two. She may lose her hair, which means we will start getting places on time. Blessing (mixed again). That is just the short term deal and is better than having cancer, right? Especially this kind which is contagious.

We are physically tired, emotionally drained, and tired of doctor's bills, but we are still alive and contributing to society. Our faith in Jesus Christ was strengthened through the trials we have faced this year. Our family and friends, and even some strangers, have showered us with love and kindness, fed us, cleaned up for us, cared for our kids, driven us, prayed and prayed and prayed for us, sent us gifts and encouraging letters, shopped for us, scooped snow out of our driveway, taken us on exotic vacations (not yet, but we are willing to go if anyone is offering), covered for us at work and church, you name it. We can't repay the kindness we have been shown. All we can do is say thank you and be there for you when your " year" happens. For now we will just try to live a life pleasing to Christ and serve Him in any way He asks. We love you all.

Rick, Pam, Josh & Erin

PS - Pam must have oral surgery before chemo starts...believe it or not!

You have to start somewhere

Having always been confident and cool, I figured it is about time to spread myself around. I may never actually share this blog address with anyone, but if I do, I'm sure it will be of little actual benefit to mankind.

Here goes.