By ASR Jim Henderson
This article was first published in our Spring 2025 Ready magazine. Since then, Jim has started at Defence Medical Services (DMS) Whittington in Staffordshire.
Jim left SASRA in 2022, but following a successful heart transplant, he has returned as a part-time Scripture Reader.
In November 2022 I very reluctantly left the work of SASRA through ill health.
Having been sent to Papworth Heart Hospital twice for possible heart transplant assessments, I knew my heart failure was getting worse, but I still hung onto the gospel account in John 11:4 where Jesus told his disciples, in relation to Lazarus:
‘This sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it’
The Papworth assessments were unsuccessful, and I wasn’t listed for heart transplantation. Both my wife Shirley and I came to the conclusion that the transplantation door was closed.
On our return to Stoke-on-Trent, my cardiac consultant requested a second opinion, so I was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for assessment. This time it was successful, and I was put on the routine transplant list in December 2023.
On 22 April 2024, I was awoken from a nap with a phone call from the hospital. The transplant nurse asked how long it would take me to get to hospital if they called me. There was a possible heart available, and she would call me back once she had spoken to the surgeon.
She called back. We were on our way.
We had asked friends and family from all over the world to hold us in prayer.
Our journey there was serene; we were both perfectly calm, remembering our prayer that if God was to give me a new heart, it would be a perfect match and that all would go well. We had asked friends and family from all over the world to hold us in prayer.
Image: Jim had a heart transplant in April 2024.
We arrived at the hospital at 19:00, by 23:00, I was prepped for theatre and by 01:00, after saying goodbye to Shirley, I was in the care of the anaesthetist. Shirley was in the waiting room until 04:00, when she was told the operation was going ahead. The procedure went well, and I came through it okay. Everything was not plain sailing, however, and the following months were a rollercoaster of emotions, but the Lord was our strength through it all.
The Lord was our strength through it all.
I always felt that my time as a Scripture Reader ended too soon, so I approached SASRA’s Executive Director and asked to be considered again as a part-time Reader. I am thrilled to have been reaccepted into the work and am looking forward to starting in May.
Pray with us
- Praise God for the provision of a successful heart transplant for Jim and for bringing him through the recovery. Pray that God will continue to have His hand upon Jim's health.
- Give thanks that Jim is able and willing to return to the work of SASRA. May the Lord provide and bless opportunities for Jim to share the powerful gospel message as he works at DMS Whittington.
