'Life' shared in Arise; the Allan Limas story

shared by Allan Limas on December 17, 2024 Arise Concert

I stand here in front of you all as a witness of God’s love.

In the morning of July 1st, my daughter Allanya accompanied me, along with some friends, to go to Toledo to attend the burial of a friend. The travel was stressful because of heavy traffic, we missed lunch and it was already late afternoon when we started to go back to the city. We were still in the mountains when I first began to feel pain in my chest and back. This episode has happened a few times in the last six months, but I just rest and it usually goes away after a few minutes. But this time the pain persisted, I was getting dizzy and I was having a hard time breathing. Literarily gasping for breath while I was just sitting in the car. The medical term is dyspnea, and it’s serious.

When we reached Naga, we stopped for awhile because I wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t breathe. My blood oxygen level was dropping dangerously low.

I was rushed to the nearest hospital, SouthGen, and after a battery of tests, the initial diagnosis was pulmonary edema. There was water on my lungs and I had a heart attack. And that if I did not have the immediate medical intervention that afternoon, I may not have survived. My wife was notified about my condition when she arrived.

I actually thought I felt much better already, enough to even suggest to go home, but I knew it was just the meds taking effect and the oxygen hooked up on me. I was in pretty bad shape, all tests confirmed blockages in my arteries and that my heart couldn’t pump normally. The next attack may be massive and it could happen at any time. The doctors have scheduled for an immediate angiogram with best case scenario for an angioplasty and at its extreme – an emergency heart operation.

It was disheartening news, so to speak, but my realization was I did to myself, there was no one to blame but me. This did not happen overnight. Decades of unhealthy lifestyle – smoking, drinking, salty, greasy and fatty foods, erratic sleeping and stress. And with history of heart disease on both sides of my family – it’s something inevitable. Maybe my being active in sports and outdoor activities helped delay it–I was an avid cyclist, I played football and badminton competitively, explored and climbed mountains.

I remember being really sad, not just for me but also for my wife and the kids. The past years, even before the pandemic, had been really tough. I’ve always believed then and now that we’ve been able to survive somehow because of God’s grace and protection. But this had been the toughest so far. It couldn’t have come at the worst moment; we simply did not have the financial resources for the operation and medical bills. It is going to be a real challenge.

The Lord has blessed me with a new lease on life, and I need to go through the procedures and operation to get physically better. And through His will, it got done.

Three weeks on three hospitals was like a blur - I don’t even have the words to describe it – but it was the tremendous support of friends and family that sustained me all throughout. I am eternally grateful for everyone’s prayers. God’s love manifested through the love of my family here and abroad, the brothers and sisters in our community, my fraternal brothers and friends in various socio-civic organizations, classmates from high school and college, everyone really. Thank you, thank you.

The operation was successful. According to my heart surgeon, it was uneventful. So, no out of body experience for me. But the blueprint of God’s mantle of protection was all over – how He guided the hands of the surgeons, the nurses who cared for me, the supply of blood and medicines.

I was very calm when I was wheeled to the operating room, I just left it all to the Lord. I was praying the whole time and offered it to God. A good priest-friend of mine visited me a few days prior to administer the sacraments and hear my confession. Spiritually, I was ready for any eventuality.

Every step of the way there were numerous miracles – from being enroute to the hospital during the first attack (another 5 or 10 minutes and I would have been unconscious), the numerous friends who were there to assist with our needs, the resources, the room and slot available at the government hospital...

And my favorite miracle is that God loves me so much that he gave me a wife who loves me so much. I am so thankful to Jill for being there for me, for her strength and courage, for her overflowing love. Despite of me. I am nothing without her. Thank you and I love you babe.

And to my wonderful daughters whom God so blessed me with, thank you for your prayers and giving me inspiration. I am slowly recovering and still doing cardiac rehab now. There are good days and not so good days. It’s different for everybody, and the timeline for full recovery may be six months, may be a year. It’s an advantage I was athletic before, but there’s many things I still couldn’t do. So I’m taking it one day at a time.

It is really difficult, not just with the physical recovery but also the emotional and spiritual. On my many walks I’ve been anxious on the uncertainties and difficulties of the present and future. But my heart is secure in the knowledge that God is always with us.

I am what you will call a work in progress. God loves me for He gave me another chance to be a better version of myself. To be the best version I hope I could be.

While my story may not be anything unique, it was God’s plan that I am able to be here in front of you all brothers and sisters. May the love of God touch and heal each and everyone’s heart....Thank you and good evening...