Prayers Needed

My brother needs your prayers again and so many of you were so diligent in praying for him when he had his heart attack last July (see archived July 12, 2007 blog entry and those following that week). We found out Monday Doug, my 48 year old brother, has to have another heart procedure. He has been so faithful with his exercising in getting his heart back up to speed and losing weight but here lately, he's been out of breath and retaining fluid. It seems when he had the heart attack last summer, the heart surgeons went in and fixed the "bad" portion of his heart with a stint and defibrillator as a priority, not expecting Doug to live but just a few days---long enough for us to say good-bye. Now that "bad" portion of his heart has healed, much to the surprise of the cardiologists. He had some blood work done earlier this week and the results were not good. The doctors looked at this chart and found where he had another part of his heart that had blockage. They knew this back in July, but they prioritized the worst portion first to save his life at the time. Now they've decided to go back in and do either a stint or open heart surgery with a bypass tomorrow morning thinking that's why he's having trouble breathing and retaining fluid. Unfortunately, they can't tell us which one they will do (stint or bypass) until they get in there tomorrow.

To be honest, my brother's spirits are high; he is not worried at all. He says he's "been through this before and it can't be any worse than it was the first time around". It's the rest of the family who is on the edge!

I will be claiming Job 10:12 for him, "You have granted me life and favor, and your providence has preserved by spirit." I know Doug will appreciate your prayers and we'll witness a miracle once again!