Hey Church family,

First off, thank you for giving me these weeks to be able to rest. It’s been a tremendous blessing for me and my family. I miss you all dearly!

I wanted to give you an update on a medical issue I’m dealing with. This past Wednesday night, I was admitted to Baptist Hospital with numbness in my right arm and right leg. They did an MRI and it revealed I suffered two strokes on the left side of my brain. By the grace of God, I never had any paralysis or slurred speech, only numbness. They performed several different MRIs and tests to try to find the cause, but everything came back negative. However, an Echocardiogram revealed that I have a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale), which is a small hole in the inner dividing wall of the heart. This is something I was born with. In fact, about 25% of people have this from birth, so it's not uncommon. However, it looks like blood clots developed somewhere and that little hole allowed them to travel up to my brain and cause the strokes. The first step is to close the hole in my heart in order to reduce the chance of any more clots getting through and causing another stroke. I already met with the surgeon and will have that procedure done in about two weeks. The good news is that it’s not a difficult procedure and is minimally invasive. The second step is to find out what caused the blood clots in the first place. They are doing those tests in the following two weeks as well.

I can’t begin to express how grateful I am that the Lord protected me from severe damage. I am already home feeling good with no symptoms. I am back to normal with no lasting effects. Praise God! I just need to take it easy until I have the procedure done. We will be giving you more updates as they come along.

For now, just pray that the Lord will protect me from any more strokes and help the doctors determine the cause for the blood clots.

Love you all! Can’t wait to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Pastor Omar Giritli

Lead Pastor, Christ Fellowship Church

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

– Psalm 46:1