December 2

Since discovering that there is a guest wireless internet connect here at the hospital, I’ve been trying to respond to as many of your emails as I can. I can’t tell you how much your words of comfort and encouragement mean to me. I sense a great wall of prayer surrounding us on every side.

Last night they put Barbara on a different respirator because they wanted to try a more aggressive treatment that the other one could not sustain. Her lungs are sounding better, and x-rays show that the pneumonia has started to clear in some places. However, for some mysterious reason, her oxygen levels keep bottoming out. So, this new respirator is giving her powerful, long sustained blasts of oxygen, followed by a very short exhale. They say that this is a very traumatic way to breathe (just think about it – we tend to have longer, slower exhales). As a result, they’ve switched her to a different sedative and are keeping it at a higher level (this one allows for less fluid into the body). She is probably able to hear us, but the sedative helps her to quickly forget what is going on. If you’ve ever had an out-patient procedure with just enough sedative to knock you out, you probably know what this one is like. One great issue of concern on this front is that every time they move her, even bed rotations to keep her from developing sores, her oxygen level bottoms out.

Her kidneys are weak, but praise God, continue to move some fluids out. The problem, which is typical to any patient that is laid up for an extended period of time, is that she is now greatly swollen. They’re trying to limit her fluid intake and promote kidney function, but this is certainly a matter of concern. The heart doctor is concerned about how long her heart can function like this.

She continues to run an intermittent temperature, but thankfully, they haven’t gone as high as they did several nights ago.

It’s good that we’re seeing a bit of clearing in her lungs, and that her kidneys continue to function. The nurses remind me, though, that this is like building a house of cards. We have so many things going on that they’re trying to carefully put each piece in place without causing everything to crash. Her blood pressure has been good, although her heart rate is a bit elevated. While I continue to maintain optimism, I’m also aware that things could go wrong really fast. She is as much in God’s hands as any person can be right now.

Here are some ideas of how you could help me to pray today:

That her lungs will continue to clear, and that her heart and kidneys will grow stronger,

That her oxygen levels begin to improve,

That the neck surgery continues to grow strong,

And that this immobility will not cause her arthritis to lock her up indefinitely once she recovers.

I am going to bring the message for tomorrow morning’s worship service at GFM. I have felt the specific calling of God this week that I was to do this. It seems important to me that I demonstrate that the Spirit can help us to do hard things even in the face of crisis. Please pray that this crisis takes a quick positive turn for the sake of all of us. When I’m not sitting her by Barbara’s side, my mind is constantly with her. Many of you know what that’s all about!

Thanks again for your prayers and for your encouragement for me to keep these updates coming.

In His power,

Greg