Through many years of living with serious illnesses, I have learned two essential truths: health is a relative concept and you are dependent on God's grace and power to be able to live a normal life.

The children of my times in rural Puerto Rico were not taken to doctors for their health needs. I was one of them, although it was discovered when I was 17 that I had been born with a congenital heart defect. However, I never felt sick or physically limited, and at that time, I was attending college and serving as a student pastor in a very small congregation in the mountains. I continued to serve as a rural pastor during my college and seminary studies. While serving several congregations, I was also director of recreation for our camp and conference program in Puerto Rico .

After 17 years of ministry in the island, I came as a pastor to the Bronx in New York . Pastoring five years there was a hard challenge to face. Eventually I was recruited to become Program Director for Hispanic and Bilingual congregations under the Division of Homeland Ministries. That year, in 1973, when I was 39, I was seen by a cardiologist for the first time. My condition was serious, although I had a larger compensated heart. By that time I was a member of our Church Health Plan. In 1974, a very difficult and expensive heart surgery was done to replace my aortic natural valve with an artificial one. There were several problems that I eventually overcame. The Church Health Plan took care of everything. I recovered totally and was able to begin pastoring again on a full time basis. Several years after, a pacemaker was installed to help in the cardiac function.

I retired in the year 2000, after 49 years of ministry. I thank the Lord for He is the giver of life and health and also thank the Church Health Plan for its vital part in my recovered health.

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Barbara Blaisdell loves being a pastor. It has been her passion for more than 26 years.

“I've no idea what St. Peter will ask when I arrive at heaven's gates but it really doesn't matter to me – for I'll be able to look up at the right hand side of God and point and say ‘I know those people; I got to be their pastor for a time.' And that will be heaven enough for me,” explains Blaisdell.

In early 2003, illness threatened to end the ministry that she so loved. “I began experiencing debilitating pain – headaches, back pain, pinched nerves, excruciating muscle spasms.”

The physicians tried several approaches: physical therapy, painkillers, muscle relaxers, chiropractic care, etc. None of these treatments were successful. “I finally tried a pain management specialist.” The treatment plan included steroids injected into her neck and back through what she describes as “huge needles.”

“The treatments were not pleasant. The side-effects were worse,” recalls Blaisdell. In addition to the injection pain, over the course of treatment she gained ninety pounds.

The added weight placed additional pain and stress on her joints and heart. “The pain and immobility just got worse. My blood pressure skyrocketed. I had four strokes, and lost even more mobility.”

The physical suffering was soon joined by financial and emotional pains. “The fees for the pain management treatments were so high we had to sell our second car just to pay the co-pay. Then in November of 2003, I was forced by the debilitating pain to resign from my beloved congregation.”

The family lost half of its income and faced the challenges of having two children in college as well as living in one of the most expensive areas of the country, the San Francisco Bay area.

“I don't know what we would have done. Well, I do know. We'd have been homeless. Our children would not have been able to finish school.”

“But God, in God's infinite grace, provided the Pension Fund's disability plan, so that my family could be cared for while I was undergoing treatment and recovery. The church's disability benefit allowed us enough time to make plans to move. And, I was able to get the healthcare I so needed.”

Today Rev. Blaisdell is “on the way to recovery” and working as a part-time, volunteer in ministry. “Being able to be in ministry again fills my heart with great joy.”

“My husband Chuck and I feel we owe a great debt to the family and friends that have surrounded us and the church that sustained us. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) could not do the work that it does without the solid support the Pension Fund gives its clergy.”

“We ask you to give generously to Heartbeats of Faith.”

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As senior pastor of Good Shepard Christian Church in Houston , Texas , the Rev. Norman Fiddmont was the picture of health. But in September 2001, just two years before retirement, that picture changed.

“He went for a routine visit with his doctor,” recalls the Rev. Marilyn Fiddmont, Norman 's wife and ministry partner. “His doctor ordered a few standard tests, and we thought nothing of it.”

The tests results, however, showed elevated levels that were of concern. A colonoscopy revealed a tumor.

Learning Norman would need both an oncologist and colorectal surgeon, the search began for the best physicians. “Friends rallied around and began researching doctors, ” says Norman . They found physicians that were not only the best in their field, but also among the best in the world.

“We were able to make contact and be accepted by those doctors immediately (it seemed like a long wait but I have since discovered it wasn't.) Within one month, I began treatment. Medical coverage was never an issue.”

The oncologist recommended a rather intensive treatment of chemotherapy, administered in a three-four day course in the hospital, combined with 25 treatments of radiation.

“The chemo treatment worked very well on his cancer, but was toxic to his kidneys. Soon his kidneys began to fail,” recalls Marilyn. Another specialist was needed.

The chemotherapy made it possible for the tumor to be removed. Following a series of surgeries over several months, this portion of the crisis seemed to lessen.

Norman 's kidney function remained poor and required dialysis. “This was devastating. We thought this was going to be a life-long journey,” said Marilyn. “I was on dialysis for three months then the kidney functions began to return. While not great, they are good enough for me to continue a fairly normal lifestyle,” says Norman

Norman recalls, “The healthcare benefits we had enabled us to get some of the best treatment in the field.”

“I remember as those copies of various medical bills etc., came to our home, Norman began to worry how we would pay them. I told him to not worry about them and when everything was processed, we would know what we really owed. I must be honest; I anticipated several thousands would be our portion. I thought we would have medical bills that would impact the rest of both of our lives. The final hospital bill for our portion arrived, and we couldn't believe it...it was nothing close to what we had feared,” explains Marilyn.

“We never realized the value of the healthcare coverage we have through this denomination until we were faced with this catastrophic illness. It made a tremendous difference in the quality of care, and consequently, the outcome. My doctors call me their walking miracle. But, I know my church is one of the major reasons that my health was restored. I'm considered a survivor now.”

“When I entered into ministry I never thought one of its biggest blessing would be health insurance.”

“The healthcare program saved us; not only from a treatment standpoint, but from what we thought would have been a financial burden for years to come,” Norman says. “We pray that this same level of care will always be available to the faithful servants of the church.”

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Pat Helme was the Office Administrator for the Indiana Region from 1985 until she retired in 1997. Before that she had worked in several offices at Illinois State University and Butler . Frank Helme was on the staff of the Northeastern Area (now Region) 1959-1964, Illinois Region 1964-1983, and Office of Research (related to the Office of General Minister and President) 1983-1997. They are retired, living in Texas .

When Pat said, “I can't do that…I can't do that…I can't do that” at 5:00 in the morning we knew something was really wrong. We should have known the night before when she decided to go to bed instead of watching the Super Bowl because “the screen looks like a picture with the paint running down.” Frank dialed 911.

That was the beginning of our experience with TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura “That's why we call it TTP,” one nurse explained). This rare, sometimes fatal, blood disorder causes soft clots to form in the smallest blood vessels. The clots slow blood flow in places like the eyes, heart, kidneys, and brain. They cause problems in vision, renal function, and mental processes.

In the United States fewer than four adults in a million have it each year. “Because the specific cause is unknown,” according to the National Institutes of Health, “specific prevention is also unknown.” There is, however, a known, effective treatment: plasmapheresis.

For the first five days doctors tried to determine what the real problem was. TTP shares symptoms with a number of other health problems and, because it is so rare, it is not among the first things doctors look for. They tried “exotic fungus” and “rare virus” possibilities. When the TTP diagnosis was made, they had to transfer Pat to another hospital because not everybody has pheresis equipment. She has no recollection of that week in Intensive Care Units.

Some patients recover from TTP after four or five pheresis procedures. Pat needed 81, most of them during 73 days in and out of the hospital. In one of the outpatient treatments a pulmonary embolism developed, which put her in the Critical Care Unit, unconscious for another week. One of the critical care physicians wrote in his notes, “I do not expect this patient to live.”

During that episode her legs forgot how to walk and one arm swelled so much the pressure damaged the nerves to her hand. That put her in the rehab center for ten days and kept her as a rehab outpatient for another six weeks – until she could sit on the floor and get herself up again without assistance. The physical therapist had a small sign, given to her by another patient, which said, “House of Pain.” Pat would have given her one if she hadn't had one already.

Finally, 20 months after Pat skipped the Super Bowl to go to bed, her hematologist said, “I am releasing you as a patient. I am confident the TTP is gone.”

The next day the breast surgeon said, “That malignant tumor in your breast is so small, I think we got most of it out in the biopsy, but we need to do a little more surgery to be sure.”

After a brief time in the surgery center and several sessions of radiation she earned the title, “Breast Cancer Survivor”.

For nearly two years we were on a first name basis with doctors, nurses, aides, medical technicians, hospital housekeeping crews, and the patient care coordinators in the Church Wide Health Care office. We are grateful for their ability, their training, their skill, and for their care and compassion. We couldn't have made it without all of them. The Beatles were right: “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

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