(Chief of the Medical Staff Giclee by Nathan Greene)
Click HERE for Scriptures on weakness.
Sage advice for me and others in our fears: Help Me In My Unbelief
2/11/06 - 12:45 p.m. CST
In response to the request for Richard on my main page from last night, he slept 12 hours, woke up, and is feeling GREAT!!! NO coughing, NO heart pains, NO nothing!!! Hallelujah!!! Last night as he was getting into bed, he began having a HUGE coughing spasm. I had JUST prayed that if the Lord was willing, I would LOVE for Him to grant me the blessing of the Gift of Healing. When Richard began his spasms, I began stroking his forehead, silently praying for healing in the name of Yeshua. The spasms quit INSTANTLY! I don't know if He granted me this Gift, or if he had been having an allergic reaction to the Vicadin they've had him on for pain, but all praise be to the Almighty for whatever it was!!! He'd not had a Vicadin since bedtime last night. Thank you ALL for your prayers! Love you all! Peg
P.S. No word on his brother, Boyde, yet.
1/31/06 - 1:57 p.m. CST
Well, we just got home from visiting Richard's surgeon, Dr. Bhatia. He is extremely pleased with Richard's progress, and said he looks great! He is still feeling some pain from where they made the surgical cuts, but even that is lessening. And he is still a tiny bit weak and gets out of breath when he's up and moving too much, but Dr. Bhatia said that is to be expected... after all, his surgery was only 8 days ago! Unfortunately, since our truck is so large (a 1 ton), even if I push the seat all the way up and sit on enough pillows to see over the dashboard, I still can't reach the pedals (I'm only 5'1"), so he will have to start driving me on Monday, when I go back to work! Dr. Bhatia said that him driving is not the problem, just that if he were to get into an accident, and his chest were thrown into the steering wheel, it would cause him great problems. So I need for you all to pray for phenomenally fast Divine healing, and safety behind the wheel. I can't tell you how much your prayers, your love for your fellow brother & sister, and your compassion mean to us both! We will be eternally grateful, and the Lord will see to it that you are blessed! I love you all!
1/29/06 - 11:14 p.m. CST
Richard's HOME now!!! I'll write more in the morning!!! Love you all! Peg
1/27/06 - 3:27 p.m. CST
Richard can come home Sunday!!!! YEA!!! He's doing MUCH better! They are in the process of weaning him off his oxygen, he's able to get up and walk around a bit, and sit in a chair, and his pain is lessening! Thank you ALL for your prayers, love, and concern, and please continue to pray for his complete healing! Love you all! Peg
1/26/06 - 3:10 p.m. CST
Richard is FINALLY in his own private room, and is sitting up in a chair for as long as possible to build his strength as quickly as possible so he can come home and be with me and his puppy dogs!!! He's feeling quite well, actually, with the exception of weakness from being stuck in bed since last Wednesday! The Father is healing him very quickly... praise His Holy Name!!! And I called an old GF whom I haven't spoken to in years, and she asked me if I'd like for her to take me to the hospital tomorrow!!! Boy, WOULD I ever!!! Love to you all! Peg
1/26/06 - 9:43 a.m. CST
Hi, brothers & sisters! I just got off the phone with Richard... GREAT news!!! They finished removing ALL his tubing, and his ongoing nausea stopped instantly when they removed his stomach tube! He's been up and moving quite a bit, building his strength. He's still weak, because getting up and walking around wears him out, but it's getting easier. The doctor said he looks magnificent! His pain from the surgery is MUCH less than when he had his first open-heart surgery in 2001, for several reasons. With the first surgery, the cut him from stem to stern, had to break his clavicle and pull it back, hook up the heart & lung machine, remove his heart and work on it, then put it back in. They also had to cut his leg from groin to ankle to remove the veins to use. This time, the incision in his chest was only about 4-5" long, they didn't have to even remove his heart, but worked on it in his chest (he thinks), and the incision in his leg to remove the veins for use was only about 3" long!!! Thank You, Father, for today's technology, and for a fantastic surgeon like Dr. Bhadia!!! They plan to put him in a room today, and plan to release him on Saturday OR SOONER!!! His son, Josh, is coming in Friday night to be with us. The only thing I miss is being able to see Richard. I've had no way to even get to the hospital, but I'm betting that the Lord knew how desperately I need some rest, so that may be why! Love you all! Peggy
1/25/06 - 8:00 a.m. CST
I talked to Richard's nurse several times this morning. She said he slept GREAT last night, so they were able to keep his oxygen on all night. By "oxygen thing" (I have NO idea what the technical term is!), it is a gadget that fits over his nose, and actually PUSHES air into his nostrils and lungs. This is to clear the lungs, build lung strength, and build up his oxygen level to 100%. They sat him up for 30 minutes this morning, before the pain became too much for him, then put him back to bed, gave him pain medication, and he's sleeping now. They still plan to move him to a room today if everything goes well, and they are planning to release him on Saturday. They are pleased with his progress! I'll update you later today if anything changes. Love to you all! Peg
1/24/06 - 9:00 p.m. CST
I just talked to Richard's nighttime CCU nurse, Rebecca, and she said they had recently done an Echo on his heart, and it looks and works GREAT!!! I asked her to watch his oxygen apparatus (name TOTALLY unknown to me!), which forces air into his nose and lungs, to build up his lung strength (HIGHLY important... his oxygen level should be at 100%), so that he will heal faster. Earlier, he had sort of hyperventilated and couldn't breathe well. She said that they were going to try to keep it on him all night, after giving him his pain shot and some STRONG sleeping pills! She said he had merely gotten too excited and tried talking too much, which was like fighting against it! She said if he does better sitting up in the morning, and his oxygen level is built up, they will put him in his own private room, and we can then talk on the phone!!! This morning he insisted (again Rebecca's better judgment) that he be allowed to get up and sit on the toilet. NOT GOOD!!! She said his blood pressure and heart rate began dropping, and he turned ashen! They put him back into bed for the day! Also, if he improves at the rate they expect, he will get to come home Saturday!!! Please pray for these things, because I miss him SO very much!!! She asked me if I had anything I wanted her to tell him, and I told her, "Just tell him I'm very deeply in love with him, and I have off through NEXT FRIDAY (the 3rd)!!!" She said he'd been worried about my having to go to work, and not having transportation. I told her that I had "asked the Lord to please handle it"... and as usual, He knows what's best for me!!! Love to you all, and please keep the prayers coming!
1/24/06 - 6:16 p.m. CST
Well, Day 2 of Richard's healing process... what a wonderful man he is!!! I arrived at the hospital with his sister and brother-in-law, Verne & Steve, who have been staying with me since last Friday (PTL!!!)! Dr. Bhatia stopped by while I was in his room (still CCU), and he is very pleased with the way Richard is looking and progressing. If ANYONE out there needs a top notch cardiac surgeon, he is THE one!!! He handled Richard's first bypass surgery as well. We stayed from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Richard is getting some serious rest, thank God, since rest is healing in itself! His color is much better today, and he has had NO heart pains! He had severe angina before this surgery, which the TMR (laser perforation surgery) is supposed to get rid of! Hopefully he will do well during the night, because if he does, he will be moved to a private room outside of CCR tomorrow, and I can finally talk to him on the phone! As it stands right now, I have NO transportation to/from work (which is probably a blessing, because I've been under SO much stress, that I needed the rest, physically AND mentally!!!), to/from the hospital (THIS I hate!!!), or anywhere else, so my sweet boss is going to get a temp to fill in for me the rest of this week and all of next week! I am, however, extremely lonesome for Richard, because here on this earth, he is the other half of me (the two shall become one flesh), and we don't do well without one another! But some really great things have come out of this experience, too. You know what the Lord says, "All things work together to the good for those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose.". Every morning, just like always, I prayed that He would allow me to be a blessing to someone that day, and a witness for Him, and He has led more blessed people into my life during these days, who needed uplifting, who needed prayers, who needed a friend, who needed to hear about the Lord, etc. Special thanks to all the marvelous nurses who have cared for Richard during this time, as well as marvelous doctors! Special blessings to them all! A special thank you to Megan and Beth (at TRH), and Rick & Richard's nurse tonight (Cora, I believe)! Love you all, and please keep praying for his RAPID recovery and the Lord's continued peace on me and our loved ones! BTW, I am getting ready to put up one fantastic article by Cutting Edge!!! It should be up in about 10 minutes, so be sure to check it out! I will put a link to it by Richard's Update link!
1/23/06 - 7:59 p.m. CST
All praise be to the Almighty, Richard's doing fantastic!!!!!!!!!! My thanks began last night, however!!! Friday and Saturday (48 hours), I had only gotten a total of 9 hours of sleep, I was mentally and physically frazzled, and I was in desperate need of sleep last night!!! Richard had called me about 7:30, and we were all planning to go to bed about 8:00, and try to get some sleep, since we were going to go to the hospital early to visit with Richard first. Those who know us well, know that the Lord OFTEN talks to me via Richard. Richard told me, "Darlin', the Lord said to tell you to do this... grab your Bible, crawl into bed, pray that He will open your heart and your mind to understanding of the Scriptures, open somewhere in the Psalms, and begin reading. Especially read Psalm 23 and Psalm 91. And I'll bet you will be asleep in NO time!" I did, and even with the several phone calls from Richard last night (when they were preparing to move him, after they got him to the other hospital, and when he found out about the rescheduling of his surgery), I still slept 6.5 hours!!! Anyway, they began operating on him at 9:20 this morning. The nurse called several times throughout the procedure to let us know how things were going. They did a triple bypass, then shot 40 holes into his heart with a laser, which is supposed to keep the blood flowing correctly for good, and keep blood from clotting in the arteries, creating chest pains and clotting in his arteries. The surgery took 4.5 hours, then we had to wait an hour before visiting him in Recovery. I was flabbergasted when I looked in on him, and he looked absolutely fantastic!!! They removed his breathing tube within the hour, and he was already picking on his male nurse, Rick, who has a GREAT sense of humor!!! Dr. Bhatia (God's gift to heart patients!!!!!) stopped in, and was absolutely thrilled with how good he looked, and how well the procedure had gone!!! He said Richard had such a strong heart, and a STRONG will to live!!! He said that when he finished working on Richard's heart, and put it back into his chest, the INSTANT he hooked it back up to the arteries, it began beating on its own... just like the first time!!! 90+% of the time, he has to use the paddles to start the heart beating again on its own!!! It's better than I could have even asked for!!! As soon as Dr. Bhatia left (after telling us the surgery went well), Verne (Richard's sister) and I went into the chapel, fell to our knees at the altar, held hands, and praised the Almighty, and told Him how very, very much we love Him, and will love Him forever!!! I also thanked Him for the marvelous brothers and sisters He has led into our lives... I am eternally (PUN INTENDED!!!) grateful to you all for your prayers, love, and care, and pray His richest blessings on every single one of you!!! I will have to write to the ones of you who wrote to me individually when I can get back on track!!! I am THRILLED beyond words!!! I love every single one of you, as does Richard and our families!!! BTW, if all goes as well as they think it will tonight, he should be in his own room by tomorrow, and home by the weekend!!!
1/23/06 - 1:09 a.m. CST
Richard just called. They have rescheduled his surgery for 8:30 a.m. today.
Peg
1/22/06 - 11:04 p.m. CST
Richard just called. They have him in his room in ICU at the other hospital. His surgery begins at 1:30 CST tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for all your prayers... as of tomorrow, he will finally be able to start mending! Hallelujah!!! Love to you all!
Peg
1/22/06 - 6:47 p.m. CST
We got home from the hospital early today. We are all absolutely exhausted, mentally and physically. Richard only got 2 hours of sleep last night (mind racing, he said), and I've only gotten 9 hours of sleep in 48 hours (mind racing also... this waiting is horrid!)! He's STILL waiting for them to transport him to the other hospital, and they still have to do the vein mapping in his legs before they can even consider surgery! Bless his heart!!!
I decided, as exhausted as I am, not to try to keep up with my Daily Updates for this week. With as much time as I've been spending at the hospital, the mental and physical fatigue, and having to go back to work on Wednesday, I just plain don't have any energy left over! I've asked the Father if He minds, and He hasn't given me any indication that He does (I know that He knows I wouldn't do this otherwise), so I'm going to just take the time off. I will let you know tomorrow how things go, and I pray that He will hold me together tomorrow, and will guide the doctors' hands! Love to you all!
Peg
1/21/06 - 10:19 p.m. CST
JUST got home from the hospital! Richard is in good spirits, but dreading Monday, as am I! Praise the Lord, but his sister and brother-in-law came in today to be with me until sometime Monday after the surgery! What a blessing! I'll be SO glad when the surgery is over, and Richard can begin the healing process! I miss him dreadfully, especially at night! They will be moving him tomorrow afternoon to the hospital where they are going to do the surgery. That's quite a bit further away from home, but VERY close to where I work, so my bosses can take me there every day at lunch until he's home. Love to you all... I am exhausted!
Peg
1/20/06 - 7:13 p.m. CST
Finally got home from the hospital! Monday, they are going to do triple bypass, as well as a new laser surgery that places perforations in the heart to keep the blood flowing well. I stayed with him from about 9:30 this morning. They are keeping him on morphine every 2 hours for the heart pains, as well as Heparin and Fish Oil drips. I will see him for a while tomorrow, but then they are moving him to a different hospital, which is close to my work, but far from my home, so I won't be able to see him until after surgery, unfortunately! I miss him SO much, I can't begin to tell you! And his surgeon is absolutely magnificent! Well, all, I am absolutely exhausted! It's impossible for me to tell you how touched I am at the great outpouring of love and prayers. God bless every single one of you, please keep the prayers up, and I love you all!
Peg
1/19/06 - 8:56 p.m. CST
Hi, all!
What a frustrating day THIS has been! Richard was in the cath lab from noon until 2:30. They discovered he had lots of scar tissue that was shooting blood clots out... thank the Lord he went in yesterday!!! He also has 2 other blockages, but they can't put stents in because he has 8 already, and that is the max. When they brought him out of the cath lab, he had a heart attack, so they took him BACK in for another 3 hours and ballooned the arteries. His surgeon (who studied under Dr. Debakey) is one of the top in the Nation. He and Richard's cardiologist are going over the pictures tonight, and will let him know in the morning what they are planning to do... triple bypass or what. I'm so mentally exhausted, I don't know what to do. I will update you when I return from the hospital tomorrow.
Thank you SO much for the prayers, please ask the Lord to forgive my weakness, and ask Him to give me some good rest tonight, and help the doctors tomorrow.
Love to you all in the matchless Name of Yeshua!
Peg