Hemochromatosis
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Now I’ve posted on Instagram about this before, but for those that don’t know I was born with a genetic blood disorder called “hemochromatosis” that basically means my body holds iron and doesn’t let it go. Iron enters the body mostly through our daily diet. A normal body properly regulates iron levels by identifying when there’s too much and then gets rid of the excess. For some reason my body can’t do this and over time, extra iron builds up and starts depositing itself in major organs like the heart, liver, pancreas and pituitary. If surplus iron is not removed via phlebotomy, the practice of drawing blood, organs can become diseased and eventually shut down. If left untreated, hemochromatosis can be fatal.
Thank God this never happened to me because I obviously wouldn’t be here, but that’s where I was headed! It breaks my heart when I think about how many people throughout history have suffered from this silent killer completely unaware. That is why it’s referred to as the “rusting disease" because the accumulation of iron in the body is akin to the way metals rust when exposed to oxygen and moisture. The overload of iron can cause major damage, essentially "rusting away" the body's joints and muscle tissue slowly but surely.
Sounds fun right?! When I first discovered I had “hemo” back in March 2019 at the age of 34, it came as a total shock to me and my entire family. No one had ever heard of this long word before; much less been diagnosed with the condition. It turns out that both my mom and my dad unknowingly carried the recessive gene and ended up passing it on to me. I don’t blame them . . . that’s just genetics man! Most people ask me, “How did you figure it out or what symptoms did you have that led you to the doctor?” Well for starters, I always felt hungover and back then as much as I was partying, I honestly assumed a lot of what I was feeling as the aftereffects of alcohol. But I constantly dealt with extreme fatigue, my joints would crack, my muscles always ached, and I would get lightheaded each time I exercised. But the kicker was that I couldn’t sleep!
Side note: a big reason why I wanted to create this blog and start writing is because social media doesn’t tell half (if any) of someone’s story. You could’ve seen me back then and thought I was the healthiest guy alive, but I also became good at masking my pain. Concerts were a great outlet and although fun, they just distracted me from reality.
Anyhow, as some of you may have experienced, there are few things worse than not sleeping. Despite having tried almost every sleep aid and pill on the planet, this is an area of my life that I still struggle in. But it was my poor sleeping habits that pushed me to see a sleep specialist back then who first noticed my iron was abnormal. Weeks passed until I was scheduled for an exam with my primary care physician, who in the past had dismissed my frequent complaints as “standard” for guys my age. But it just so happened that on that fateful day he was gone and his nurse practitioner (NP), an amazing and smart woman named Michaela, decided to run a full iron panel and check on my “ferritin” levels. Coincidence? There’s no such thing with God! To my recollection, Michaela had recently come back from a conference where someone spoke about the connection between elevated ferritin and hemochromatosis. Michaela had a hunch to dive deeper into my irregular iron levels and ended up saving my life. When my genetic test came back positive for the hemo gene a few days later, it was a eureka moment that left me speechless and in tears as we finally found the “needle in the haystack”. After the initial shock wore off, I composed myself and thought, “how in the world will I ever get healthy again?”
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” -Luke 1:37
What was also hard during this time was that Natalie, my family and other close friends couldn’t help but think I was going crazy because after countless doctor’s appointments and much grumbling by me, we never got to the bottom of it until Michaela decided to trust her gut and I’m forever grateful that she did! On my About Page I refer to this whole season and the following years of frequent bloodletting as my “personal wilderness” because when you’re in a wilderness you never know when it’s going to end, just like the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8 after leaving Egypt. But I do find it ironic that around the same time I re-committed my life to Jesus in early 2017 (see my first blog), this is when I entered into unforeseen physical hardship which ultimately taught me how to trust and rely on God.
Maybe this is what the Apostle Paul means in his letter to the Romans:
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:26-28
This was my grandmother Moonie’s favorite verse in the Bible! For some perspective, I’ve completed roughly 40 phlebotomies and removed 24,000+ mL of blood equaling just over 6 gallons, which is four times the amount contained within the average human circulatory system. When I look back and grasp how God not only helped me during this time but used my health crisis to perfect His power and will for my life, it’s mind-blowing. I now understand Paul’s plight and his contentment with his limitations and “thorn in the flesh” because it turned him into the strongest advocate for Christ. What a BEAST!
Without hemochromatosis, there’s a chance I might’ve never cried out to God asking for His help. Without becoming truly weak, I might’ve never needed to depend on my creator for strength and learn how to be an obedient disciple of The Most High King. And remember it’s the third person of the Trinity that helps us when we are utterly broken, hopeless and lost. When our situations seem dire and we don’t have the words, the Holy Spirit steps in and takes control for those that have surrendered to Jesus and have asked Him to be their Lord. What I once viewed as suffering I now see as God’s grace in action:
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:3-5
The Apostle Paul was one of the most impactful saints in the history of the church because of his boldness to preach about Jesus’ death and resurrection as the means of salvation through faith. Although it ended up costing Paul his life, he was many things to many people back in his day and to me now he is the GOAT because I find so much of his story relatable. Paul put his earthly, temporary struggles in eternal perspective (even while in jail for years at one point). When I consider all that he went through for the sake of sharing the Gospel, it gives me courage in my own faith journey and ministry to push forward with joy knowing that one day I will receive an “imperishable wreath” (1 Corinthians 9:25).
Paul emphasized that salvation is a gift of grace, received through faith in Christ, and not earned by good deeds or works. All you must do is believe, turn away from sin and turn towards God. The gift He offers us is free and easy to obtain . . . why? Because it cost God so much! Paul stressed the importance of living a life transformed by this faith and the indwelling Holy Spirit, that enters into us the moment we repent of our transgressions and place our faith in Jesus as our Savior. This act of faith allows the Holy Spirit to come and reside in the believer forever, beginning a lifelong process of spiritual growth and transformation.
Although the fight continues and I’ll always have to give blood, I’m healthy today and grateful for God’s mercy. I may never be the same physically, but I’m brand new spiritually and that’s what counts in the long run. Ultimately, I know that my Heavenly Father’s will is working to completion in me and I take comfort in the words of the Apostle Paul who said the following about anyone willing to seek Jesus first:
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” -Romans 10:13
