Three years later , Pastor Pearl , a long-time Meridian Public School District teacher , was ordained senior pastor and overseer of First Apostolic Church . Like her husband , she too had returned to school later in life and earned her master ’ s degree from MSU-Meridian in 2019 at the age of 69 .
When Huggins suffered his heart attack in 2018 , he was 76 years old . It took him by surprise .
Having been diagnosed with hypertension in the late 1980s , Huggins took medication regularly . He hardly was ever sick . He exercised regularly and has been a vegetarian for 48 years .
“ I prided myself on being healthy , but you come to find out that there are some things in your DNA that are hereditary that will creep upon you ,” he said .
His father , Dennis E . Huggins Sr ., a pastor who once was a cook and chauffer for the automobile manufacturer Henry Ford , suffered from hardening of the arteries and died from heart disease at age 73 .
While Huggins was in the hospital , doctors performed angioplasty to restore blood flow through one of his arteries that had narrowed and become blocked .
“ There was an artery that was blocked right in the middle near the sternum ,” he said .
In a normal heart , between 50 to 70 percent of the total amount of blood in the left ventricle is pushed out with each heartbeat . Huggins ’ heart was pumping out at about 10 percent , a serious condition that could unexpectedly take his life .
“ They said you are lucky because most of the people who come in like you , never leave here ,” remembered Huggins , who spent four days in the ICU . “ I said , ‘ No , I ’ m not lucky . I am blessed .’”
After he continued to retain fluid over the next couple of months , his physician sent him to UAB Hospital in Birmingham for more extensive treatment .
In the hospital , doctors drained nearly 40 liters of fluid off of him and performed surgery to implant a pacemaker and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to help control his abnormal heart rhythm and to deliver a shock to his heart if the rhythm becomes dangerous .
It was there at UAB where hospital staff taught him the importance of reading food can labels . Those meat substitutes he was eating , the canned and processed foods , and the V8 Juice he drank daily were high in sodium .
Consuming too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure which can increase the chances for developing heart disease .
“ They told me I was putting too much liquid and too much sodium in my body , and it was causing that hardening and blockage ,” he said .
He now reads the labels of cans , drinks and food packages to see how much sodium is included . He watches the types of food he eats , and he has increased the amount of time he spends on his treadmill and exercise bike .
Last July , Huggins had a slight scare when he contracted COVID-19 . People with heart disease are at increased risk of severe illness from the coronavirus , which immediately made him and his family fearful .
“ July was a battle for me ,” he said . “ My family , my church family , and everybody who knew me was convinced I was not going to make it because of everything they say about pre-existing conditions .”
His doctor told him to try and tough it out by staying home and staying quarantined from the rest of the family .
“ He was warning me not to end up at the hospital , because the hospitals were full of COVID patients at the time ,” he said .
His doctor prescribed daily doses of an antibiotic , zinc and vitamin C tablets . Despite enormous fatigue and weakness ,
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“ I prided myself on being healthy , but you come to find out that there are some things in your DNA that are hereditary that will creep upon you .”
Bishop Dennis E . Huggins Jr .
Huggins continued with his exercise routine , so he was up and moving around . Even when he did not feel like eating , his wife and daughters forced him to eat grits or anything he could keep down .
“ It was a feeling and a sickness I have never had in my life . I felt horrible ,” he said . “ Sometimes people don ’ t take it seriously with wearing these masks , but I don ’ t take any chances now .”
Over the weeks , he gradually improved and the chills subsided . Slowly , he regained his strength .
In an echocardiogram taken last October , his heart was pumping about 40 percent , a vast improvement from before his heart attack , he noted .
At the Huggins family ’ s restaurant , Mom & Pop ’ s Soul Food Kitchen and Barbecue Restaurant on North Frontage Road , they try their best to watch sodium and fat content in a lot of their dishes . The restaurant is managed by daughter Julia , a graduate of Meridian Community College .
At the restaurant , they cook with family recipes that have been passed down for more than two generations . To help keep down the fat content , they do not use meats when cooking any of their vegetables , preferring to use spices and other seasonings to add flavor , Huggins said .
The barbecue sauce featured and sold at the restaurant is a special sauce Huggins has been perfecting since he was a young man . While at Ball State , he bottled his Soul Sauce and sold it to a well-known student hangout .
“ We call it the Soul Sauce . I based it upon how my father used to make it , then I took it from that point and have added to it over the years ,” he said , jokingly . “ I now have put the ingredients together , and like the Coca-Cola family , have put it in the family vault so they can pass it on .” T
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