Weekend Update

I don't normally blog on the weekends, but so many of you have sent emails asking how my brother Doug is doing. Let me tell you, your prayers have been answered! If you've been reading my blog, you know that Doug was put on a heart pumping machine to work his heart for him so his heart could rest. Friday the doctors were hoping to have his heart up to working at 50%. However, Friday night it seems my brother's heart no longer needed the machine and began working at 100%! The doctors told my parents they did not expect Doug to live through the helicopter flight to Oxford; and 9 out of 10 patients they see with his condition don't live for more than a few hours. The doctors and nurses are dumbfounded as to his quick recovery so far and can't seem to explain it. We can. We know it is all due to prayer. Although his heart is beating on its own, it is still very weak or "bruised" as the nurse put it. It will take some time to get back the strength it once had. In the meantime, he will remain in ICU until the defibrillator surgery, which we anticipate to be this coming week. They brought him out of the sleep-induced coma for a few hours today. He is in pain, but mostly due to being in the same position and not being able to move with the equipment hooked up to him. I hope to make another trip to Oxford on Sunday. My sisters and their families are there to keep my parents and Doug's wife company, along with their children.

Our prayers now turn to praise as we are so thankful to have him with us. Now we will keep praying for his continued improvement so the next surgery can take place and he can begin his full recovery.