“My husband’s heart attack became one of my greatest blessings”

By: Diane Mayo

All my adult life, when I read the Word of Wisdom and came to the verses about eating meat sparingly, I wondered what it meant and how to do it. I had completely bought into the idea that meat and dairy products are necessary for good health. I kept trying to cut back on the amount we were eating, thinking that that was obeying eating it “sparingly.” As I look back, I realize that I was slowly changing on my own. I would take very small portions of meat and enjoy the other dishes on the table. Meat, even in small portions, was becoming distasteful to me. I distinctly remember one morning when I was thinking about fixing eggs for breakfast. I paused and asked myself if I could eat them. The answer was, “absolutely not.” So I fixed my normal oatmeal and relished it.

Then my husband had a heart attack just before Christmas in 2017. All four of the major arteries in his heart were 90 to 100% blocked and others were over 70%! We were shocked. He had always been so healthy and strong. Our jaws dropped when the doctor told him he was overweight and needed to lose about 20 pounds. Before this, he could eat anything he wanted and hadn’t changed weight for years. We studied the information the hospital gave us and immediately cut out red meat, switching to white chicken and fish. We also had to cut out all his favorite foods: potato chips, French fries, ice cream, candy, etc. Everything he loved was on the “no” list. 

The instructions also told us to consider a non-meat meal a couple times a week. I was drawn to that and started trying to find help to know how. I had an impression that I should hold off for a while and study the Word of Wisdom. It took me four days to study it because I kept stopping at verses I had never considered before. It is not a coincidence that the day after I finished my study I was introduced to whole food, plant-based eating and the Discovering the Word of Wisdom website. My husband and I watched the video, which detailed everything I had just discovered on my own! A new world had just opened up and I was ecstatic! 

I was also led to read D&C 10:4, “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided…” I read all I could and tried to figure out what to eat. My husband was not ready to cut out meat so I continued to provide healthier alternatives and add some non-meat meals also. Two weeks later I was ready to make the change. My husband accused me of jumping in with “all four feet.” I told him I didn’t have four feet, but he said that is the way I attack things when I am excited. 

From that day forward I have not looked back. I don’t have the cravings many people struggle with. It feels like I have come home to a home I didn’t even know existed. I changed because I had gained a new testimony of the Word of Wisdom, hoping that it might help me also, but not worried if it didn’t. 

Thirty years ago we were in a car accident that gave me severe whiplash, which eventually turned into arthritis in my neck. Our youngest son was two years old at the time. and I never lifted him again because of the pain. I have not been able to lift my grandchildren either after they were a few months old. I struggled with anything that involved lifting, pushing, pulling, chopping, typing, playing musical instruments, etc. etc. Three years ago when I was at my worst, I had to finally quit working as a bookkeeper and have a spinal chord stimulator implanted to control the pain. About five months after changing my diet, I was surprised when I lifted my two-year-old granddaughter and waited for the pain to return, but it didn’t. Little by little I was able to do simple things, like chopping all the fresh fruits and vegetables that my husband had been doing for me. A few months later I helped reroof a house, dug holes, lifted and loaded branches from the trees we cut down, did canning all by myself, and on and on! 

My greatest joy came when I was able to play the piano for our granddaughter’s baptism and substitute in Sacrament Meeting for our ward organist. One of my sorrows had been not being able to play more than one or two hymns at a time and only on a good day. Recently when our only available organist became ill, my husband let the bishop know I could try but it had been nearly 15 years since I had played the organ. The bishop told the ward that I was substituting at the last minute and how long it had been. No one even knew that I used to play the organ! I later had many opportunities to explain that I hadn’t been able to play because of the pain I was in, but that healing was occurring. I am looking forward to explaining why I am healing. I am so grateful to have music back in my life!

The Lord truly has opened my eyes and shown me hidden treasures in the Word of Wisdom. He has fulfilled promises I was given many years ago that the day would come when I would no longer be bothered by the effects of the car accident. My gratitude is overwhelming.

My healing is not complete yet, but I am no longer on any pain medication, and I haven’t used the spinal chord stimulator in eight months. My husband joined me after a while. The changes have been challenging for him, but he is committed to improving his health. He tells me he doesn’t want to leave too early and take a chance on a young whipper snapper chasing after me. He lost 30 pounds and is down to his high school weight. He is completely off his blood pressure medication and borderline on being able to quit other medications. My parents, a brother and a sister have also joined us. It has been an amazing journey for each one of us.

Diane Mayo and her husband Vaughn are in their mid 60’s and have lived in Pleasant Grove, Utah for 13 years. They are the parents of four children, 13 grandchildren, and one soon to be granddaughter-in-law. They are self-employed landlords. Vaughn takes care of the houses and tenants, and Diane does the bookkeeping and taxes. They love working together as a team. They enjoy swimming, taking walks, spending time with family, playing games, and serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Diane is renewing her love of music with her ability to return to playing the piano and organ since healing has occurred. Vaughn also enjoys woodworking.