The Lord is still working brothers and sisters!

Many know brother and sister Ben and Mandy Tamayo, faithful members of EVPC since 1990. brother Ben recently experienced the miraculous favor and healing of God in his own life, and his body.

On Monday, December 16th, brother Ben was at work when he experienced chest pains, shortness of breath, weariness, and more. Brother Ben’s job is a physical one, he drives out to varying home locations and helps to set up wiring and equipment for sound systems, so he is constantly on his feet and moving equipment around. Despite all of this, he went ahead and continued to work in this condition for the rest of the week. He did not know the cause of the pains and weariness he was experiencing.

On Sunday, December 22nd, brother Ben experienced a heart attack in the early hours of the morning, waking him from sleep as he felt chest pain and his left arm going numb. He woke his wife, and they decided to call the advice nurse, who instructed them to come in to the hospital and get checked. He took an aspirin and they left for the hospital. While on their way, brother Ben felt the aspirin kick in and felt much better. He wanted to turn around and head right back home, but fortunately sis Mandy decided he wasn’t going back without getting looked at.

They arrived, and Brother Ben underwent a blood test and an EKG. He passed both, but the doctors advised him that in heart attack cases it is not uncommon for signs to take several hours to become evident in the bloodstream, and told him they would run additional tests in about six hours to be sure. Six hours later, he was tested again, and passed the EKG, but the blood test detected levels of enzymes in the bloodstream indicative of a heart attack. They admitted him at about 12:00 pm.

After he was admitted, sis Mandy called sis Cheri to ask the church for prayer, and Pastor Nielsen and Pastor Wiley were informed and began to pray for brother Ben.

The next day the cardiologist was able to come in to see brother Ben, and told him the cause of the heart attack was likely either a blood clot, which would require surgery to remove, or leakage of a heart valve. They used a Cardiac Catheter camera up through his arm into his heart to take a look, and found that it had indeed been a blood clot blocking a valve. When brother Ben woke up, the cardiologist told him that he was very blessed, because that blood clot would normally require surgical removal, but had broken off on its own and left only a small remnant that they could dissolve with medication.

Brother Ben was incredibly blessed to be released from the hospital on Monday, December 23rd, the day after he had been admitted. The cardiologist told him that on that same day he’d seen three other heart attack patients. Two were younger men who had both passed away as a result, and the third was an older man who had experienced a quadruple bypass and was left in critical condition. The cardiologist told him that he was very blessed to be in the condition he was in, and brother Ben knew that it wasn’t a coincidence. Our God had His hand on brother Ben through it all, and gave him a testimony instead of a tragedy.

The doctors told brother Ben that he had a 70% probability of a second heart attack within the next 72 hours and that he would need to be admitted again when it occurred. 72 hours later, brother Ben hadn’t experienced another heart attack, so they requested he return to the hospital for a stress test. He was put on a treadmill and they pushed the limits of his heart in an attempt to test if his heart would fail again. But they only proved what we already know: our God doesn’t do anything halfway. Brother Ben passed the stress test better than average, and the doctors were convinced that his heart was stable and strong.

He was released and given medication to eliminate the remainders of the blood clot, as well as advised to improve his diet.

In the face of working all week in his condition, then a heart attack, a blood clot, and several others around him in similar situations who either died or landed in critical condition, Brother Ben’s biggest loss through it all has been having to sacrifice Coca-Cola. Our God is a healer and a protector.

“Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord they God,
he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6,
KJV.

Brother Ben thanks God for His hand of protection on him through the whole thing, and knows that he has more to do for the kingdom. He serves as a chaplain on the City of San Jose’s Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force, and is able to share the gospel and the spirit of God with troubled youth and damaged families. He’s seen miracles done in the lives of those in need, and has brought some to bible studies or to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Even as he sat in the hospital, a friend who he’s shared the gospel with called him and asked about getting baptized. Brother Ben was so excited to do it that Mandy had to remind him that he was sitting in the hospital. But within a week he was able to baptize his friend and begin a Bible study with him. God is good church!